diaper dimension Little Shield and Sword Epilogue

[Guilend]

On 1/17/2022 at 10:34 AM, Genossin said:

Hopefully I can finish chapter 15 tonight

I can’t wait 

[Genossin]

Chapter 15- Reunion 

 

I open the carrier as quickly as I can, ducking under the stage.  I see the source of the alarm- it’s a bracelet they’ve got strapped to her.  I make quick work of it with my knife, but Melanie is still crying.  

 

“Mel, it’s me!  We’ve got to run!”  I scoop her up and dash for the emergency exit backstage.  This isn’t how it was supposed to go.  We were supposed to slip backstage with no notice.

 

Now we’ve got to get out of here, and back to the East.  At least I’ve got Melanie with me- the two of us should be able to bluff pretty effectively, we’ve done it before.

 

Why is she still crying?

 

“Melanie, I’m sorry, I need you alert right now, we’re going to get out of here.”  I stroke her face.  Poor kid has been through way too much.

 

The next thing she says turns my heart to shards of broken ice.

 

“Daddy!  Where go?  Unh enh baby p…” 

 

What did they do to her?  I can also smell that the treatment has left her as incontinent as promised.  Poor thing.  At least the creep who made her call him “daddy” is dead.

 

“Melanie, it’s me, Konrad.  We’re going to get back home, but I need you to think with me, and be quiet, ok?”  She smiles at me, tears still in her eyes and says “Daddy say ‘shhhhhh’”

 

Is

 

Is she calling ME “Daddy”?

Ok, confusing feelings set aside, I’ve got to get this girl home so the medics can treat her.  And she seems to be too out of it to help much in our escape.  I keep walking, purposefully but not hastily.  With the diaper bag in one hand and Melanie in the other I should look like any other well-adjusted western amazon citizen with a hapless little as my prisoner.  But now I’ve got to find my own way to the border, and they’ll never let a little cross without papers.  I don’t have a western passport- I was officially a Herr Kirschbaum attached to the tour, not an audience member.

 

Maybe General Mahlsdorf knew I wouldn’t leave without Melanie and not issuing me a pass was a way of telling me to hurry home.  Too bad I wouldn’t have listened.

 

Police cars have arrived at the entrance to the stage and the officers are talking with some amazon men at the door.  I duck out of sight and round the corner.  Melanie sneezes, but stays quiet.  She still has that weird, childish look on her face, and is staring up at me.

 

“I promise I’ll get you home, little one.”  I can’t believe I just called her that.  Why does it seem so right?  Ah well, keep running.  

 

There are only 4 points I can cross, not counting the river.  Swimming across the river with a helpless baby, let alone climbing the midriver fence under fire doesn’t sound like a terribly viable plan.  All land crossings will be heavily guarded.  

 

I’ve reached a parking garage, and walk up the ramp.  Anything to buy time.  

 

Get it together Konrad.  Decades spent stopping traitors from crossing the wall, and now you can’t think of any way to do so yourself?  Well, they’ve always had help, time, and the determination to steal from their community to stimulate their creativity.  Sometimes they’ve built miniature airplanes, stolen tanks, dug tunnels, used scuba tanks…

 

The tunnel.  It’s still open on our end.  Where did it come from in the west?  Ok, think, think, we scouted it.  It led into one of our little-sized buildings on the Sun Alley.  From where?  It was a bowling alley, I think, where was it?  Ok, the western Sun Alley is about…

 

15 Miles east of here.  Walking.  Carrying Melanie.  Well, 15 miles isn’t too far for an amazon; I can make that in 3 hours, even with Melanie’s carrier.  All right, let’s see what’s in the diaper bag.  I set the carrier and the bag down, and start going through it.  A clean diaper, wipes, powder, a changing mat- rough to the touch, some sort of unfinished denim, a bottle of water, a baby bottle full of what looks like milk.  I’m going through it to look for anything else that might help me with her.  I wish Mrs. Stiller had left her wallet in here, but it doesn’t look like it.   Unfortunately, I see my little friend is starting to murmur and moan.  I’m going to have to change her before we set off, I suppose.  Fortunately there’s a restroom in the parking garage.  I lift the bag and the carrier, and go inside.  Sure enough, there’s a changing table right there, complete with all manner of restraining straps for littles.  Doesn’t look like Melanie will be needing those.  I’ve helped her out of diapers before, so why does this feel like it will be so invasive?

I set the changing mat, down, lift her out of the basket, pull up her dress, and buckle the waist strap around her.  Poor thing, her diaper is really full.  

 

Poor me; the smell is worse than the air in Jänschwalde!

 

Ah well, if my mother could do it in a dark, airless room for two years, I’m sure I can do it here.  

 

I open her diaper up.  It’s smeared everywhere, and, sheathing my hand in a wipe, I start cleaning Melanie up.  She squeaks as a cold wipe touches her somewhere she should never have been touched without her permission, and I try to soothe her.

 

“Ok, Melanie, I’ve just got to get you all clean, ok?  Then we’ll have to put you in another diaper for now, and we’ll go home.”  Her head rolls to one side, and her face just looks blank.  I look around, oh, there’s the clean one.  I open it and slide it under her.  (Probably should have done that first).  What am I forgetting?  Oh, the powder.  I’ve never done this before.  I’ve only helped her out of diapers, not forced her into them.

 

I try to shake the powder out, but I drop way too much, and she sneezes.  I wave the clouds away from her little nose, and reach down.  I guess I should rub it in?  It still feels wrong to touch her there.  I rub as gently as possible, and reach for her hand with my clean one.  A quick wash, and I’ve got her taped in as well as I can.  Melanie is squirming by now, but not saying anything.  I note that rather a lot of drool has run down her face, pooling on the table next to her.  

 

Oh, little one, what did they do to you?

 

I unclip the strap, and smooth out her dress.  Her arms go up and she smiles as we make eye contact.  Could she really not see me while I was changing her?  My face was less than 5 feet from her.

 

“Uppies pwease, Daddy!”  My best friend is sitting on a changing table, in a little white dress and a diaper, and she’s got no idea what’s happening around us, it looks like.  And she thinks I’m her father?  I scoop her up into my arms and she makes little chirping noises as she burrows into me.  I feel her little lips skimming over what little of my chest she can make.  

 

Is this her trying to eat?

 

“Are you hungry?”  I ask Melanie.  She sort of nods.  “Uh huh.”

 

Verdammt, A Broch, what am I going to do, am I going to feed her that blasted milk?  That can’t be good for her, but it might help keep her quiet.  We’ve heard amazon breastmilk puts littles to sleep, and if she can’t help me get us out, at least she’ll sleep through it.  I produce the bottle, and sit down in the stall, cradling Melanie in my left arm.  The way she latches onto the bottle is really scary- she can’t seem to get enough of it, but I see her dark little eyelashes fluttering.

 

At this moment I think she’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, and I can’t help myself making shushing, soothing noises.

 

Ok, she’s out.  I gently put her back in the carrier, and strap the harness.

 

I’ll get you home, Melanie.

 

. . .

 

I’m surprised at how easy it’s been to reach the Sun Alley.  I’ve seen three police cruisers pass me by, but I guess there are just too many captive littles being paraded around for me to stand out.  Of course I’ve stopped to change clothes once or twice, but our People’s Police wouldn’t be fooled so easily.  These westerners are soft.  

 

I shouldn’t underestimate them, though.  I count at least six heavily armed Border policemen-five amazons and a betweener- at the Sun Alley checkpoint.  My men are right across the border, I can even see some of them, but they can’t cross the line, or fire without provoking a major incident.  The Acimerans might even seize on an exchange of fire to bomb the whole country.  It’s got to be the tunnel, and I see the bowling alley.  

 

I’m headed for the door.  Have they noticed?  I walk past it- it looks open.  I’m past the view of the guards at the checkpoint now.  I duck inside.

 

It’s long, as you’d expect a bowling alley to be.  My eyes sweep the building quickly- it’s out of service, all right.  And I can see where one lane has been torn up.  Must be the tunnel!  Just a few quick strides and I’ll be on the lane and headed for the 

 

“Halt!”  

 

One of their border guards, another betweener, has just sprung up from behind the return chute on the next lane.  He’s barely 7 feet, no wonder I didn’t see him.  He’s got a pistol drawn on me, one that’s way too big for his tiny hands.  Ok, desperate measures.

 

“All right, you’ve caught me, Gefreiter.  But you don’t want to do this!”

 

“Freeze, Communist!  We’ve got you, put down that little.” he’s jittery.  Dark hair like Melanie’s.

 

“Do you know what they did to her?  They put machines into her to stop her walking, to make her helpless.  Just to sell her.”

 

“That’s their right, she’s their property, now put her down or I’ll shoot.  You’ve got 4 seconds!”

 

I gently set Melanie’s carrier on the countertop and put the bag next to it.  

 

“You’re a betweener.  If they can make the perfect little toy out of anyone with these machines, how long do you think you’ll last?”  This strikes a nerve and his arm seems to lower, but only for a moment.

 

“I’m not a betweener!  I just haven’t had my growth spurt yet.  And someday I’m going to be a daddy to a little of my own, just like the daddy you took her from.  You’re sick, breaking up a family this way!”

 

“You’re still a betweener, kid.  Come with us, you’ll be safe.”  This is a big mistake.  The Gefreiter fires at me, and is nearly knocked over by the recoil.  His shot shatters a case behind the counter, and I vault up and behind it, pulling Melanie’s carrier with me.  The shot woke her, and she’s sniffling and screaming now.  Nothing I can do but wait for him to come.  And the others will be here soon, too.  I pull out the general’s rolling pin from the diaper bag.  My hand brushes the bottle of powder.

 

Powder.  

 

Maybe…

 

I hear the guard’s steps approaching, and 2 more ear-splitting reports from his weapon, wood and plaster are raining down on me.  Now or never.  I rip off the lid of the powder, and throw it over the counter, trailing a cloud of dust with it, and I hear an oath.  I grab Melanie, and run around the counter, barreling for the guard.  We’re in luck; he got a face full of the powder, and before he brings the gun to bear again I’ve jammed a sleeping dart into his windpipe.  With a gurgle, he crumples.  I turn around to find the entrance to the tunnel when at that very instant the main door bangs open, and the rest of the squad comes running in.  

 

They’re moving behind me to block the alley leading to the tunnel.  I’ve only got one move left, and I bolt for the stairs.  The first betweener skids to a halt before the motionless heap on the floor, and pivots to pursue us.  My feet are pounding the stairs hard enough to take them three at a time.  I hear hammers clicking as I burst onto the roof.  Nowhere to go here, wait, I’m 20 feet in the air here.  The wall is right behind me!  Once I’m over it, we’re in the death strip, they’ll not dare to follow us there.

 

I spin and run, dropping the rolling pin, it’s just me and Melanie now and we spring towards the rounded top.  I feel my collarbone break as I hit it side-on, but my left arm is fully over the top.  I swing my right side up, Melanie’s carrier summits the barrier, and I can see our watchtowers.  I’ve just got to hoist myself over with my arms and I’m there.

 

A quick swing, and I’m on top of the wall, just need to drop gently and

 

BANG

 

The ground rushes very fast as we fall, and I can’t move for some reason.

On 11/29/2021 at 2:55 PM, kerry said:

I just read this, and I have to say it is one of the most fascinating things I've ever seen on a diaper story site. Just seeing the point of view of the East Germans faced with dealing with the capitalist West is unusual enough, but when you add in the fact that this is the DD, where we all know that things happen to Littles that should never be tolerated, well, it is thought-provoking. Histories are indeed written by the victors, but in this case it's pretty clear why people in Melanie's country think of the West Germans as "fascists," and it is hard to disagree with them.

I honestly don't have a clue about the argument that occurred in the early days of this story about its historical validity, but I don't really care either: this is fiction, and AB fiction at that. It isn't supposed to be a history lesson. And even if it were, well, I'd think it makes perfect sense for the East to look at what they are doing as "right" and what the West is doing as impossible to fathom. It's certainly true the other way around! I'm glad that you finally moved this thread to the main section, as it has allowed more people (including me) to find it!

Well, here we are, one chapter to go, and I hope it's still interesting!  I'm brainstorming a possible sequel, too.  Any suggestions thusfar? 

[Guilend]

26 minutes ago, Genossin said:

Well, here we are, one chapter to go, and I hope it's still interesting!  I'm brainstorming a possible sequel, too.  Any suggestions thusfar? 

One more? Oh wow. I can’t wait. No idea on the sequel till the end. 

[BabySofia]

I can't complain about cliffhangers since I do it to everyone... but don't make us wait too long!!!! Pretty please?!? ? 

Good chapter!

[Genossin]

39 minutes ago, BabySofia said:

I can't complain about cliffhangers since I do it to everyone... but don't make us wait too long!!!! Pretty please?!? ? 

Good chapter!

Is it really a cliff hanger if they've already fallen off the cliff?

 

Don't worry.  I'm writing the last chapter now, and plan to post it and the epilogue as soon as I finish them.  (My D/D group is less than pleased with my extended hiatus, so it's time for this project to end sooner rather than later).

 

I'd very much like to discuss a timeline with you.  This story has been set in 1982, Exchanged seems to be in the early 20 teens.  DiaperedPrince and I have been talking a lot, and I'd love to have a master list of major events so I can make future stories as compatible with Exchanged and InBetween as possible.

 

Again, I am so excited you're reading this ❤️

[Moon3ye]

The argument to the in-between was well chosen.

What surprises me is that in your story there are apparently no contacts or spies in West Berlin to whom Konrad can turn.

I mean Melanie also knew some in the West where she could have gone to establish contact.

If you look at history, there was not a single important place in West Germany (and I count Berlin among them) where there would not have been something like that.

Otherwise I am curious how the finale is.

For a continuation you could take the reunification and just like the real reunification the LGBTQ community from the GDR protested against the laws of the FRG which would have criminalized them, a well organized little movement could come to set changes in the FRG.

[BabySofia]

49 minutes ago, Genossin said:

I'd very much like to discuss a timeline with you.  This story has been set in 1982, Exchanged seems to be in the early 20 teens.  DiaperedPrince and I have been talking a lot, and I'd love to have a master list of major events so I can make future stories as compatible with Exchanged and InBetween as possible.

Happy to talk via DMs about this one. I don't want to spam your story page here!

[DiaperedPrince]

Great chapter. Even knowing the ending I love how you surprise me.

3 hours ago, Genossin said:

Is it really a cliff hanger if they've already fallen off the cliff?

They fell off a building Gen. Buildings aren't cliffs. ?

[Genossin]

15 hours ago, DiaperedPrince said:

Great chapter. Even knowing the ending I love how you surprise me.

They fell off a building Gen. Buildings aren't cliffs. ?

The lost City of Petra has entered the chat

[Genossin]

Chapter 16: Adoption

 

I’m awake.  Where am I?  It’s bright, and I try to sit up.

 

Ow.  Ok, I will not try to sit up.  Oh no.

 

Melanie!

 

The next thing I see is General Mahlsdorf.

 

“Easy, Captain, you’re home, this is the Stasi hospital and you’re going to be fine.  Doctor, he’s awake.  Wolf, this is Dr. Brecht-” a betweener woman in a lab coat comes in, but I can’t wait to ask

 

“Where is Melanie?  General?  Doctor?  Where is she?” Why are they looking at each other like that?

 

“Dammit, where is she?  Is she all right?  Did she fall?”

 

“Konrad…” Mahlsdorf says sadly.  No, no, no.

 

“She…  Her body is fine, or at least she wasn’t hurt in the fall.  Everyone else made it back fine, too.  Your friend…  She’s alive and healthy but there are effects of the nanomachines we didn’t know about.”  I’m silent.  

 

“They don’t just attack the muscles, they also attack the brain.  And we can’t even figure out if she can survive without them, let alone how to remove them.  Dr. Brecht will explain more.”  The general takes my hand as the doctor elaborates.

 

“I’m sorry, Captain.  This is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen, even from the west.  You’ve almost certainly noticed that she’s completely incontinent, and her muscle memory, tone, coordination has all been ripped to pieces.  Looking like her muscle tissue, it’s like someone hit her with a tenderizer at the molecular level.  She’ll be able to crawl short distances, and maybe hold small things, but she’ll never walk again, and she’ll even have trouble sitting up on her own.  But the really sick thing is what they did to her brain.  They’ve stripped the language centers, emotional regulation, the cerebellum, the frontal lobe, it’s the most radical lobotomy I’ve ever seen.  So many neural pathways are blocked, some others are just gone, and memories…  Even taking the ones out of her legs would be a job but they’re burrowed all into her brain and nerves.  There’s nothing I can do.”

 

Those monsters.  They couldn’t just take her freedom, they took her mind.  They took her from us all.  I’m almost afraid to ask but I’m curious why.

 

“What can she do?  What good is she to them like this?”  Dr. Brecht smiles sadly.

 

“Well, from studying these machines and what our coders have been able to decipher…  This is just preliminary of course but we got a big break yesterday.  A friend in the west sent us some of the planning documents for this project.  It’s pretty grim, but they’ve not quite gotten everything they wanted yet.  They want to be able to make a little into a perfect little doll, sort of a caricature- not really based on any real stage of development.  For example, Comrade Tilgner has been reduced to about a 6 month old’s level of physical ability, but seems to have the vocabulary of a 14-month old. And as for what’s actually happening in what’s left of her brain, it’s anyone’s guess.  Her ability to form new memories seems pretty limited, though I’d like to perform more tests.  Anyway, one thing they were trying to do was trigger the imprinting reflex.”

 

“Imprinting reflex, Comrade Doctor?”  Dr. Brecht sighs, and continues.

 

“This is a delicate matter, Captain, General.  As you know, we all believe in freedom and equality for littles.  They are our fellow workers, not the toy children the west treats them as.  But there are some… Differences.  Differences in how little brains develop.  Some research, and bear in mind this isn’t conclusive, but it does seem that littles have a natural instinct to bond to amazons.  It’s incredibly strong, like a baby’s attachment to its parents.”  This is so strange, it sounds like some sort of western advertisement.

 

“You can’t be serious, Doctor!  So many littles live fine without amazons caring for them!”

 

“You’re right, Captain.  Now, littles grow up, and learn to live independently, but there’s this tendency they seem to have.  And those monsters at Green Valley were trying to trigger it.  But it’s precisely because this instinct exists that they failed!  Little Comrade Tilgner was supposed to regard her new captors as her ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’, but she didn’t, she doesn’t.  She already imprinted on someone, and it’s stamped in virtually every neuron in her head.  They couldn’t change that, and they won’t be able to anytime soon from what I’ve seen.  They can lobotomize a little but they can’t make her love them.”  

 

I lay back.  It’s a lot to take in.  Melanie imprinting, like some sort of baby duckling?  But she was always so grown up, so brave, she did so much with me that I’d never seen a little do before, she’s always been with me, why would a little be best friends with an amazon?

 

Oh.

 

Oh.

 

“Doctor, she called me ‘Daddy’ when we were running.  Do you mean she already thought of me that way?”  Dr. Brecht purses her lips and looks into the distance.

 

“To some extent, on some level, yes, though how much she knew it is still to be determined, and you can understand we’re not in a hurry to do any research here that could possibly be twisted into supporting the ‘maturosis’ theory.  That’s about all I know at this point.  General?”  Mahlsdorf pats my hand and says

 

“I wish I had good news, but the engineers aren’t optimistic.  These infernal machines suck power directly from the body’s heat.  We haven’t found any way to disable them, let alone prevent someone from falling victim to them in the first place.  We’ll keep studying them of course, we’ve only been at it for two days.  Anyway, the good news is you’ll be fine.  They just hit your thigh and Dr. Brecht got it all set and dressed.  A few weeks of physical therapy and you’ll be ready for light duty.  If you want to take some more time though, I’d understand.  You could go visit Melanie in Moskau by then.”

 

“Wait, in Moskau?”

 

“Konrad, we don’t have the sort of facility she needs here.  We have the creches of course, but she needs round-the-clock care.  We certainly owe her the best care we can give her.  That means sending her to Moskau as soon as Dr. Brecht is done with her studies. The poor girl went through all this for us, after all.”

 

“General, she’s still going through it, and she will be for the rest of her life.  I’ve lost so much of her, I don’t want to lose what’s left.  I’d like to adopt her myself.”  Mahlsdorf looks at me with a hard look.

 

“You know what you’re getting into?  She’ll never be able to be on her own, it won’t be like raising a child.  She’ll be like this, completely dependent on you, for the rest of her life, unless some miracle happens.  You’ll need to get a crib, a changing table, and generally get your apartment ready for a baby to live there.  Are you ready to see her soil herself every day, growing old and never remembering she used to be a free woman?”

 

“General, I don’t know.  I do know I’m not ready to live without her.  Dr. Brecht said she imprinted on me.  Maybe it’ll help her to be with me, I don’t know.  We can set her up in a creche near the station, and she’ll live with me.  Now, I’d like to see her, please.”

 

It takes some doing to get me into a wheelchair, but soon we’re rolling into the children’s wing.  I finally see Melanie- she’s in a crib on her tummy, playing with a stuffed otter.  It looks like she’s just wearing a diaper, and I can already feel that I’m blushing.  I’ve never seen her breasts before; I really see how little privacy she’ll have. But then she looks up as I wheel alongside her and I see a great big smile.

 

“Daddy!  Daddy uppies pwease.”  She tries to lift her arms up but plants her face on the mattress.  A nurse reaches into the crib and picks her up.

 

“Let’s go see your daddy, little Comrade!”, and then she’s in my arms and the tears won’t stop.  This sweet little, barely 5 feet tall- she feels so fragile-, and I’m stroking her hair while she clings to my shoulder.  Her little feet feel cold on my leg, and I lift her up so I can cradle her.  Her dark little eyes are sparkling.  The nurse hands me a blanket, and I wrap her in it. Just her little face and one hand are outside the wrap.  The nurse chuckles.  

 

“Looks like we’ll need to teach you how to swaddle her.  She really is a cutie.  Is it true what they say, she lost her mind in the west?”  I nod, not taking my eyes off my friend, my daughter’s face.

 

“That’s so sad, I’m sorry.  I’ll leave you two alone for a while.  General, let’s leave them to it.”  The two women leave us, and it’s just me in my chair holding Melanie tightly.  Her hand brushes my mustache and she giggles.

 

“Melanie, do you remember anything?  The post, the bakery, FC Hansa?”  She looks at my mouth, and I see hers moving as if she’s trying to say something.

 

“Daddy eec muh peg!”  She stops and looks frustrated, and I stroke her face.  She tears up.  I pull my hand away, worried I’ve hurt her but she leans towards me and just says 

 

“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy i’m not headgood Daddy miss Mommy.  I wove you Daddy nogo gen.  Nogo.”

 

“No, Melanie.  You’ll never have to leave me again.”  I bow my head to nuzzle her, and she greets my face with little kisses.

 

I wheel us out to the nearest patient lounge.  Melanie is happily cooing on my lap.  I stop my chair and begin rubbing her back. The nurse hands her her otter, and she giggles, having it slide along my legs.

 

The TV is on.  It must be Sunday, the Black Channel is coming on.  Comrade Schnitzler begins the program.

 

“Today, Genossen und Genossinnen, we bring you news of crimes so vile, that they have not been equaled on German soil in decades.  Many of you saw this terroristic broadcast into our country last week:” footage of the propaganda Melanie and I saw plays, muted, as Schnitzler keeps speaking.  

 

“This barbaric promise, of awarding a little as a reward to those amazons who desert our country, is only exceeded by the operation needed to deliver the goods.  It has come to our attention that former SS personnel are operating a torture and conditioning center in Aachen, where littles have their brains destroyed by new insidious machines, leaving helpless toys where once stood free human beings.  Comrades, this crime shows the levels of dehumanization wrought by the west and their horrible theories of the free market.  A free market means unfree people, and none of us can feel secure in our humanity while our comrades are literally commodified!  Now, as we speak, a little is recovering from this reprehensible violation in the Stasi Hospital, and I’m sure all of us will wish her a speedy convalescence.”

 

General Mahlsdorf reenters the nursery and sadly smiles, turning off the tv.

 

“You probably don’t need any reminders of that right.  Wolf, I don’t know what I was thinking.  Of course you must be the one to adopt her.  Oh, and since she was working for the Stasi when she was disabled, she’ll be on a full pension.  We’ll arrange for you to access it as her guardian.  If you don’t already have one, there’s a crib from the estate I seized, back in 45.  I’d like you two to have it..  And if there’s ever anything I can do-”  the nurse comes on quickly-

 

“I’m sorry, General, telephone for you.  They say it’s an emergency.”  Mahlsdorf thanks her and hustles to the phone.  I wheel us after her in time to hear her say.

 

“What, so soon?  Just now?  Where did they get the signs, as if I couldn’t guess?  They’re here?  All right, I want Unifiers out there right now, the 3rd company should be on standby.  Lock it all down.  I want the lot of them in a gulag in 48 hours!”  She’s trembling with rage, and pulls her sidearm.

 

“You don’t need to see this, Captain.”  She strides towards an observation deck and looks down with a hatred I’ve not seen before.  I wheel after her, and the sight down on the street is sickening.

 

A small but growing knot of people, amazons and betweeners, have gathered outside the hospital.  They’re handing signs to each other as if to demonstrate.  Even from here I can read the signs.

 

GIVE US OUR LITTLES

 

LITTLES MAKE A FAMILY- FREE OUR FAMILY, GIVE US LITTLES

 

TRAVEL MEANS ADOPTION- LET FAMILIES FORM

 

MY PARENTS AND MY FUTURE CHILD ARE WEST

 

ONE GERMANY, FOR THE FAMILY

 

IF THE STASI GET A LITTLE, I DO TOO

 

I look at the general in disbelief as five more people come running up the road and take the signs.

 

“General, these are our people!  They’re actually demonstrating for the right to enslave littles…  How is this happening?  How have we not trained this out of people yet?”

 

She doesn’t answer, only holstering her gun and watching as the police pull up.  Finally she speaks.

 

“That was just at the drop of a hat.  If this is happening all over the country…  The west may have just found a weapon we can’t defend against.  Wolf, get better quickly.  I’ll need every man I can trust if we’re going to keep this country free.”

 

The End

[Moon3ye]

I bet the person Melanie refers to as mommy is the nice nanny she tried to save.

I am glad that Konrad and Melanie survived.

I am not surprised that there are people who see Littles as babies.

Education and enlightenment is one thing but instincts are instincts.

I am really curious about the epilogue that you have announced and a possible sequel.

[Genossin]

Oh yes, the epilogue won't take long to write.  I hope to have it up by tomorrow night.  The sequel, if I write it, will involve Ernst Thälmann Island becoming a haven for littles

[Moon3ye]

17 minutes ago, Genossin said:

Oh yes, the epilogue won't take long to write.  I hope to have it up by tomorrow night.  The sequel, if I write it, will involve Ernst Thälmann Island becoming a haven for littles

The island is only 7 square kilometers.

Even if that were larger in DD than ours, that's not a lot of space to become a safe haven.

As an East German, may I introduce the island of Rügen, which is 926.4 square kilometers in size, as a safe haven?

Maybe under the protection of the United Nations which is more pro little rights and protects the island?

[DiaperedPrince]

4 hours ago, Genossin said:

The End

Great chapter again, but whoa, this is the end? What happened to the Epilogue?

[Genossin]

3 minutes ago, Moon3ye said:

The island is only 7 square kilometers.

Even if that were larger in DD than ours, that's not a lot of space to become a safe haven.

As an East German, may I introduce the island of Rügen, which is 926.4 square kilometers in size, as a safe haven?

Maybe under the protection of the United Nations which is more pro little rights and protects the island?

Rügen was where they filmed Heiße Sommer, wasn't it?  Good idea.  I'll do some thinking, and will definitely want to talk with you more.  I'll want to come up with an idea for why it's not annexed like the rest of the GDR.  My thinking was that "Cubanascnan" would protect Ernst Thälmann Island and let a handful of refugees settle there...  It would be cool to keep it in the DDR neighborhood, though

[DiaperedPrince]

27 minutes ago, Genossin said:

I hope to have it up by tomorrow night.

Ooh nice.

[Genossin]

2 minutes ago, DiaperedPrince said:

Great chapter again, but whoa, this is the end? What happened to the Epilogue?

Oh, it's coming tomorrow

[DiaperedPrince]

4 hours ago, Genossin said:

eec muh peg

Didn't quite get this, what's Mel saying?

[Genossin]

2 minutes ago, DiaperedPrince said:

Didn't quite get this, what's Mel saying?

meant it to be unintelligible, but apparently it's hard to generate random gibberish

[Moon3ye]

25 minutes ago, Genossin said:

Rügen was where they filmed Heiße Sommer, wasn't it?  Good idea.  I'll do some thinking, and will definitely want to talk with you more.  I'll want to come up with an idea for why it's not annexed like the rest of the GDR.  My thinking was that "Cubanascnan" would protect Ernst Thälmann Island and let a handful of refugees settle there...  It would be cool to keep it in the DDR neighborhood, though

Feel free to write me if you want to know something or need help.

I would be very happy to talk.

[Genossin]

2 minutes ago, Moon3ye said:

Feel free to write me if you want to know something or need help.

I would be very happy to talk.

Oh you're definitely on my list of people to talk to once i finish the epilogue

[Genossin]

Epilogue

 

10 years later

 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wolf, but we don’t think you’ll be a good fit for our company.”

 

This is the sixth rejection in three days, and I’ve just about had it.

 

“That’s Major Wolf, thank you, and can I ask why? I’ve got 28 years’ experience, 25 in a leadership capacity!”

The hiring manager, a western amazon of course, frowns.

 

“MISTER Wolf, as far as the federal government and this company are concerned, your career was as an enforcer for a criminal organization. That hardly qualifies you for work with us. Now, if you want some friendly advice, Green Valley has opened a new adoption center two blocks west of here, and they’re looking for security personnel there.” I glare in silence.

“Well, then. There’s a new Valu-mart opening where the retirement home used to be. Perhaps you could work there. Good day, Mr. Wolf.”

 

I leave the building, and begin the walk to Melanie’s daycare. There’s a lot I miss about the old days, but right now what I miss is the streetcar service to this area.

 

The first few years of being Melanie’s Daddy were fine. We always tried new ways of reaching her and helping her remember, but it seemed her brain just couldn't handle anymore than the patterns those machines left in it. So I focused on making her happy. Sometimes I even dressed her in her old Pioneer uniform and took her to demonstrations.

General Mahlsdorf and the rest of us worked like stakhanovites to crack down on those amazons who thought they were entitled to own a little, but that propaganda broadcast, which we unwittingly reinforced, had a massive impact, just as Melanie feared it would. Defections increased, our economy slowed down, and real shortages started cropping up. And through it all was the church and the west, working hand in hand, promising us the moon lay just behind the wall.

Both sides of Berlin saw a record number of little abductions on the day our wall was opened. Rebels grabbed the nearest little they could find, and held them captive in one hand while smashing the wall with sledges, bats, drills, whatever they could find in the other. The rest of us just stood there, waiting for tanks that would never come. There were too many for us to do anything. Every meter of street seemed to have our people tamely reciting the west’s slogans for some tv crew or other, being swiftly rewarded with rolls of west-marks once the camera was off.

I thought I knew what it was like to lose all hope the day I woke up in the hospital. November 1989 showed me how wrong I was. Then the refugee housing was burned. Then the Gay youth shelter was attacked.

Within two years our country was unrecognizable as anything other than an outpost of the west.

 

The sun is going down already, and I see my fellow unemployed workers, mostly betweeners and littles, beginning to look for doorways to spend the night in. In the early days, we’d put some of them up in our apartment, but the lease has forbidden that. If I can’t find a job soon, we’ll be out there too, sleeping under the light of the neon advertisements and the rarely functional streetlights. Here I am. Across the street I can see the “Joyful Heart” Daycare. It’s not like the creches used to be, not nearly as clean, and it costs most of what I’ve saved from Melanie’s now-revoked pension to keep her here. I enter. It looks like most of that money goes to the sculptures of the passion cycle in the entry hall. A few cheap plastic cards dot the walls with slogans like “Every Little Needs a Parent” and “Pray for More Adoptions”. At least we have a friend here.

“Hi, Simone. I’m here for Melanie.” The years haven’t been terribly kind to either of us. The co-op is gone, so she’s stuck working here. Fortunately for us, she has always been Melanie’s favorite babysitter. Sometimes Mel can even manage a “Hi Soan” on her more lucid days. Simone smiles, tiredly.

“Sure thing, Konrad, let me go grab her.” As she rises and proceeds into the nap room, I notice the letter on her desk, and the teardrops all over it.

“In Keeping with the Economic Freedom Policy of Reunification, and the abolition of unconstitutional minimum wage laws, all JHDC employees born in the east will now earn competitive opportunity wages of 1 mark per hour. Employees born in the west will continue to earn 5 marks per hour, as a testament to their superior work ethic and contributions to our democratic Fatherland. Unity, Justice and Freedom!” I shake my head. More and more companies are adopting these policies, and since so few religious companies will hire women at all, women’s wages have fallen below subsistence levels, and wages for littles are, if anything, worse.

Simone returns carrying a smiling Melanie, who is determinedly sucking on a pickle until she sees me and calls

“Hi, Daddy!”

“Hey, Babygirl.” It's still a pang to see her in the daycare's uniform- a onesie with a plaid skirt over it. Apparently all littles are thought to need religious education now, but I suspect it's just to make them look more submissive and helpless. I take her from Simone and ask.

“Did we do anything fun today?” Melanie says something unintelligible and goes back to her pickle. Simone laughs.

“Yes, we did! We used finger paints to make handprints. Hers are over on this wall. She really likes red, doesn’t she?”

I look at the tiny handprints on the sheet, and yep, they’re red as the flag of hope. I kiss my little’s head and pat her thickly-diapered bottom.

“Yes, she always did. Hey, not to pry, but I saw the letter. I’m sorry. Can the union help you at all?” Simone shakes her head.

“They’re headquartered in Aachen now, anyway, and they say the priority is legacy employees, not Ossis. I’ll have to move soon. It won’t be so bad- an ex of mine defected in 87, and she’s offered to take me in.” I sigh. It’s still illegal to be gay in some western states, including west Berlin.

“Be careful, Simone. I know Melanie will miss you, and so will I. You want to come over for Latkes? I don’t have much to offer you as a going away gift, I’m afraid. Here’s 5 marks, it’s what I’ve got for now.”

“Thank you, Konrad. And thank you, little Melanie, for always being ever so sweet. Bye-bye.”

We head out. There’s a station not far from here that will take us back into Treptow. Carrying Melanie, I get a lot of smiles. It’s funny- having adopted her, I seem to be a well-adjusted family man with a little as my captive. There aren’t a lot of other former Grenzers who get even the respect I do.

A large amazon- shorter than my 12 foot height but perhaps wider in girth- strolls up to us.

 

“Lovely night for something extra, isn’t it, Sir? I’ve got the good stuff, straight from New Amsterdam in Acimera!” I pass him, wordlessly.

 

A newspaper kiosk has just put up a special bulletin of the Mirror. I glance at the headline and gasp.

“UNCLAIMED LITTLES MUST REPORT TO STEADY HAND”

Fishing into my pocket for some change- how strange the heavy western coins feel after all those years of our aluminum marks- and I snatch the paper. It’s just as horrible as it sounds. Now that the Steady Hand Foundation has sold off our public property for pennies on the mark, they need something else to do.

“A special press conference by the Unification Ministry has addressed the lack of proper maturity testing in the new states. Effective tomorrow morning, every unadopted little, must report to the nearest Steady Hand Foundation office for care and maturity screening, to ensure a healthy society free from the increasing scourge of maturosis. Any unadopted little not in Steady Hand custody by noon will be placed in the Green Valley corporation’s adoption centers, which they are generously offering to help littles achieve excellent health and quality of life.

“For the purpose of this law, a little is defined as any person 16 years or older who has not reached the height of 2 meters, and the minor children of the same. The following children will be considered littles from birth unless and until they reach 2 meters and pass a maturity test; children with 3 or more little grandparents, or at least one little parent unless the little parent has no little parents or grandparents and waives custody rights. This latter category will be considered betweeners or the second class unless they are shown to be primarily associating with littles. Finally, any illegitimate children suspected of having little ancestry will be considered littles until and unless they pass maturity testing and reach the age of 18. Finally, any betweeners, second or first class, will be considered littles if they can be shown to have ever been married to a little.”

Oh look, they even got the old chart out and just changed the labels. Oh well, it's about time they learned to recycle.

 

I clutch Melanie tighter. She burrows into my neck, and farts. I can’t help but laugh. Our world is going to hell, but at least she doesn’t know it. I pat her bottom as we sit and wait for the streetcar.

A shorter amazon woman of about 40 is sitting next to us. She looks over and smiles. It’s really striking because of how blue her eyes are, and her slender, elfin chin’s accentuation of her expressions. She looks at Melanie, then at my greying hair.

“Goodness, is she your first little? She looks very happy with you!” Melanie seems to perk up at the stranger’s voice, and I try to hush her with back rubs.

“You’ll have to forgive her, Ma’am. She’s a bit tuckered out from daycare. But yes, she’s wonderful. She’s been with me for about ten years now.” The woman has a wistful expression on her face.

“So it was possible for littles and amazons to be family in the east, even back then. I’d heard from a friend that was true, but I was never able to visit.” She looks genuinely sad. Probably wanted to take one of our littles for herself. I’m still a bit prickly, between what’s being done to workers all over the country and to littles in particular.

“Yes, we lived together just fine before all this happened. Now I’m out of work, and she’s lost her pension. We’re eating up our savings to keep her in daycare while I look for a job, but no one wants to hire an Ossi. The really sad thing is that this was done to her in the west- I didn’t do it. She used to be quite a strong, capable young woman, and her pies were the best in town. But now she’s spent ten years as helpless as a real baby. She turns 34 next month, and what does she have to look forward to? My only consolation is that my country didn’t let you in to get your hands on her.” Melanie seems to be struggling now, and it’s really confusing, I’ve never seen her like this. She looks at me and asks

“Daddy, down. Down pwease”. I squeeze her shoulder and set her on the bench. She’s grinning and nibbles my finger as I brush my hand over her face and hair

The woman is silent, looking at the pavement, then says

“I’m sorry. But it wasn’t your country that didn’t let me in, it was the Federal Republic. You see, something happened ten years ago, something not very nice. I tried to help a little get back to the east, but we got caught. I’m a Gaulish citizen, so they just deported me, but I never saw the little girl again. Until…”  she looks long and hard at Melanie, then shakes her head.

“No. I’m sorry for what we’ve done to you. I only came here because they’re desperate for nursemaids, so I got a visa and I could actually get a job running a humane daycare here, but it really is all built on suffering, isn’t it? I’m sorry, Sir. I should go.”

Suddenly she looks down to see two small hands on hers. Melanie has crawled to the woman’s side. Tears running down her face, she utters a word I hadn't heard from her since our brief stay in the Stasi hospital ten years ago.

 

“Mommy!”

The woman jolts, stunned. After a breathless moment, she gasps,

“M-Melanie? You- you remember?”

Melanie just grabs tighter onto her wrist with her little hands.

“Mommy!”

She repeats excitedly.

She spins around, face lit up in a smile more radiant than I've ever seen in my life.

“Daddy, daddy!! Daddy, Mommy!” She yanks her over with surprising force, and releases one of her little hands to grab onto my fingers. With each of her tiny hands grasping one of ours, Melanie squeaks,

“Daddy, Mommy, home!”

__________________________

 

[DiaperedPrince]

Nice. Perfect ending to a very well-written story as a whole. Glad to see it completed!

[Moon3ye]

Good conclusion.

I am glad that Melanie finds the nice nanny again.

I almost thought that Melanie sees her as her mommy.

I hope that together with Konrad they get a little better over the round.

Some things are a bit exaggerated but partly true.

Wages are in East Germany to this day (over 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall) worse than those in the West, especially in the public sector.

Everything became incredibly more expensive, especially housing.

And the economy was down in the East because West Germans bought up the companies in East Germany for incredibly little money and brought far too many of them to the West.

The only thing I'm incredibly glad for that hasn't taken hold here in the East is the religion informing the church.

Yes, you have a few here who came from the West, but they still don't have the influence they have in the West and I'm personally very happy about that.

[TerranV]

This was a great story.

Glad for the reunion at the end. Genuine hope in an otherwise dark story.