Lake Party Slave Game, Part 5

[dakswiggin]

New character in this chapter, so I've added a link for visualization.

All of the Girls are in college, Approximately 21 years old

Amber - Redhead, 5'4" (think Amy Adams) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0010736/bio ... _ov_bio_sm

Erica - pale blond, 5'6" (think Katheryn Winnick) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0935395/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Julie - black haired, 5'7" (think Rosario Dawson) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0206257/bio ... _ov_bio_sm

Morgan - brunette, 5'7" (think Erica Durance) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1570568/?ref_=rvi_nm

Heather - raven haired, 5'4" (think Olivia Munn) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1601397/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm

Christina - brunette, 5'7" (think Morena Baccarin) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1072555/bio ... _ov_bio_sm
(riot police carry them) These are a version that can be released and reused.
Introducing
Gabriela Cortez - auburn, 5’6” (think Angelina Jollie) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001401/bio ... _ov_bio_sm

Lake Party Slave Game, Part 5
by GreyRose

The Sunday morning shift of guards arrived and Seamus got them turned around and out the door before they noticed the tangled blankets in the holding pen. About this time Petie and Josh returned to close out their work day.

Speaking softly so as not to wake up the girls. "Guys, your shift is over, but if you are willing to stay around on your own time I think you might find it worth your while. At the very least it will be entertaining."

Glancing over at the holding cage the two agree with some smirks and chuckling. Seamus tells them he needs them to take care of a couple of things. Both men are surprised and confused by what they are asked to do.

After the younger men leave, Seamus leans back against his desk watching the sleeping girls letting them enjoy a last few minutes of quiet. The moment arrives and with a smile he stands, and approaches the holding cage, time to get this party started.

“WAKEY, WAKEY! Up and at ‘em slave girls!” He yelled as he rattled the mesh of the pen wall. The racket this caused was enough to wake the dead. The sleeping girls wake in a panic, limbs flailing, confused by the noise and the strange place they find themselves in.

For several seconds they don’t understand their being naked and their feet chained. The girls clutch their blankets to them, trying for some modesty. It takes a few moments but slowly they wake up enough to remember, but the knowledge is cold comfort.

Under the old man’s glare, they slowly lower the blankets exposing themselves. As he continues to glower at them silently, the girls nervously fidget and shift until they are kneeling in a line. Knees wide, back straight, hands palm up on their thighs; none of them look him in the eye.

After several moments of silence, he relents, “All right my sleeping beauties, it's time for good slave girls to start their day. I want you to form a circle, kneeling just like you are now.” The girls start moving, but not fast enough. “I SAID MOVE!”

The girls quickly scramble to form the circle. Nervously they wait for whatever it is that the security guard has in store for them.

“You girls are going to spend time doing what good slave girls do. Blondie! You start. You will be the first caller then everyone responds, even the caller. Then it moves to the next girl, then the next.” Seamus orders.

The girls are stunned, they understand that he’s wanting them to run through Slave Mantras. And they know what those mantras will do to their heads.

As the silence stretches thin, Erica starts hesitantly, “What rights…” Seamus barks at her, “Louder! Slave girls are proud of what they are!”

This time Erica barks out, “What rights does a slave have?!” All six girls respond, “NONE MASTER!”

Heather to her left, calls the next mantra, “What must a slave girl be?” The chorus, “A SLAVE GIRL MUST BE WET AND READY!”

Julie calls next, “What is Slavery?” The reply, “SLAVERY IS DESTINY!”

Morgan, “What pleases a slave girl?” All six call out, “EVERYTHING I DO IS TO PLEASE MY MASTER!”

Christina, “What rights does a slave girl have?” The group response, “ NONE, MASTER!”

Amber, “What are you?” In reply, “I AM A SLAVE GIRL!”

Having come full circle Erica starts it all over again, “What does a slave girl do?” The slave girls reply, “I WILL DO ANYTHING TO PLEASE MY MASTER!

For every mantra that is called and they reply, each of the girls can feel the shift in their heads. Each line hammering deeper and deeper into their psyche. They can feel the slave girl that had been created inside them grow stronger. Each could feel their pussy’s flower as their slave passion rises. What plans they had for being strong, confident free women were being crushed under the relentless power of the slave mantras.

The girls quickly lose track of time, getting lost in slave girl head space. Each mantra being called and responded to with more and more passion.

By the time Sgt Jones tells them to halt, each girl has nipples hard enough to cut glass and a pool of pussy drippings on the floor beneath them. Each is panting with the passion hammered into them through the mantras.

“Stand! Form a line facing the door! Back Elbows!” Seamus barks like a drill instructor.

The girls rise to their feet surprisingly gracefully despite their ankles being hobbled. They form a line with Morgan being closest to the cage door, behind her the others line-up obediently; Julie, Christina, Heather, Amber, Erica. All of them fold their arms behind their back grasping the opposite elbow.

This morning it is the old man by himself that puts all the girls into a coffle. After the mantras, the girls are unable to even think of disobeying his orders. In fact his commands made their cunts clench with desire to please him.

The slave girls eagerly obey his every command, Seamus does not even need to attach a leash to Morgan’s collar. The coffle of slaves eagerly follow him as he leads them to the same bathroom as they went to the night before.

The Sargent stands just inside the door of the room, a simple gesture sends the girls to the toilet. This morning they go through the motions quickly and they line up for the shower like the night before.

“Not this time slaves, line up at the sinks.” Seamus tells them quietly, the hard walls of the room making even these quiet words echo. “Wash your hands, your face and your crotch. Somehow you have all gotten very dirty. Dirty Slave Girls!”

Even as his words humiliate them, they each feel a tingle of excitement that they have the attention of a Master.

There are three sinks Morgan, Julie, and Christina are the first to wash themselves. Once done they step along letting the other three clean up as ordered.

While not what was intended, the girls cleaning up helps them clear up their heads some. Their walk back to the security room gave them some time to pull themselves together, and pull themselves out of the slave girl mind that the mantras had pulled them into.

The mind games left the girls feeling very nervous, and they bunched up unconsciously seeking comfort from the others. When they returned to the cage the old man left them leashed when he locked them inside. They guessed that what was happening next was going to be soon.

They huddled talking quietly trying to recover their confidence but they were having trouble undoing all that the mantras had done to them. They heard Petie call in on the radio, the old man replied saying that he wanted Josh to take the main package to the conference room and for the younger man to join him in the office.

A few minutes later the lanky young man arrived carrying a couple of small bags and a small box. The box Seamus takes over to the girls. “Sorry kids but we don’t have slave kibble on hand, so you’ll just have to make do with some donuts.” He returns a moment later with more bottles of water. They know they should eat but their nervousness is so intense that they have no appetite, they do manage to drink the water.

After what feels like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, “All right girls, you have an appointment. And you want to please your… guest.” Seamus tells them with a grin. The girls shudder as his choice of words bring back the mantras they so recently chanted.

Once again they head down the long wide hall, but this time they take a turn and head to the front of the building. The group is in sight of the front door when they turn again, this time into a conference room. At the back of the room is a large heavy table with two separate doorways behind it. On the table is a laptop that is powered up, as behind the table is a widescreen monitor that is displaying the laptop’s screensaver.

The slave girls are arrayed in a line in front of the table, and they are left in the coffle. Seamus tells them, “Kneel down, facing the table, PRESENT!” The girls quickly assume the commanded position, knees spread wide - back straight - eyes down, focused on the ground about 3 feet in front - hands behind the back, with wrists crossed. Seamus continued, “You are to keep your eyes down unless told otherwise. If you raise your eyes you will receive 5 strokes from a crop. If you speak it will add more.”

The old man takes a place directly behind the girls, Petie to his left behind Morgan. Josh, having already been in the room, stands to the right behind Erica. It takes a few moments before the girls finally settle down enough to satisfy Seamus. He quietly steps around to the door on the left side of the table, and knocks softly. “We’re ready for you Judge.” he says before returning to his place behind the girls.

As soon as they heard the word ‘Judge’ the girls tensed, their nervousness spiked to new levels. They knew this was the moment, if they failed here they would no longer have a say in their own future. The moment stretched until the girls thought they would implode from the tension, finally the door opened and they heard the sound of a woman’s high heeled shoes slowly and confidently come around to the front of the table.

“The court of Judge Gabriela Cortez is now in session,” Sgt Jones announced. All of the slave girls heads snapped up at that name. Christina and Heather cried out, “Professor Cortez!”

There casually leaning against the table, was their course instructor. Wearing a black leather mid-calf length skirt with a crimson silk blouse.

An imperious finger freezes the girls like deer in a headlight. “Tsk, tsk.. In your slave collars barely 12 hours and already you are all Slave Stupid!” The Judge’s quiet silky voice sends chills down the girls spines. “Now resume your positions and wait to be addressed.”

As the girls snap back into position, the judge turns to the security officers. “Sergeant Jones we have the accused, would you introduce me to your fellow jurists?” The auburn haired woman requested.

“Your Honor,” he gestures to his right, “Josua Bronson summer hire.”

Professor Cortez perks up at the name, “Wait. Bucking Bronson? You have a celebrity on your staff?” Looking the muscular young man over, enjoying his obvious discomfort at her recognition.

Seamus laughs at the younger man's embarrassment, “Son, you better get used to being recognized. It’s not everyone that sacks a quarterback, recovers a fumble and then runs it in for a touchdown. And you happened to shake off everyone that tried to stop you!”

With a grin and a shrug Josh struggles to get over his shyness, ‘Ahem, an honor your Honor.”

Sgt Jones gestures to his left, “And here we have my nephew Pyotr Denisov, we call him Petie.”
Petie tears his gaze from Morgan’s ass, and flashes a smile at the Judge.

“I can see who got all the height in your family, Seamus!” The Judge quips.

Returning her focus to the girls, “Time for us to proceed with the reason for this meeting. I give you permission to look at me and speak. Since you are wearing collars, you will address me as Mistress. If you speak to the men, you will address them as Master. If you offend the court you will prejudice us against your case. Do I make myself clear?” Her tone is stark and ominous, a chill running down the spine of the girls.

Slowly the girls raise their heads, looking their teacher, their Judge in the eye. The regal woman asks again, “Am. I. Clear?” The girls nod and murmur their reply, “Yes, Mistress.”

For a moment all the girls are silent, then as several start to speak Heather wins out over the others. “This was just supposed to be a game, some stupid game! We got the idea from your clases. Please, please you have to let us go, Professor!” In her intensity she half rises but the leashes linking her to Christina and Amber keep her from making it all the way.

Again the imperious gesture stops the flow of words, “Bad girl! Sergeant, if you would?” The Judge asks.

With a nod Seamus steps forward and pulls out one of the ball gags from yesterday and quickly jams it into the stunned girls mouth. With a quick zzziiip the distraught girl is silenced.

“Now would someone like to try that again, with a little less hysteria?” The Judge asks the girls.

Christina clears her throat, and with a glance at Heather to her right, “Your Honor, we had been discussing your lessons and...” the exotic brunette covered the story of how the girls met and ended up at the lake yesterday.

Nodding, the older woman confides to them, “Every semester that I have taught my Slave Culture class, at least one girl has found herself right where you are. It’s the slave psychology discussions, some girls just have to experiment.”

“Usually it’s just one or two, the previous record is three girls at one time. You girls are quite the overachievers!” She adds with a chuckle. “But I can see that you girls are… quite well equipped for a simple game. Would someone care to elaborate?”

Erica shifts, her leash chiming softly, “Well, your Honor, we wanted to try and create as complete an experience as possible so I created the bar-code tattoos. I wanted us to look as close to real slave girls as we could manage.” Her tone was as conciliatory as she could make it.

Amber jumps in, “And I scrounged up the collars, again so that we could create the look and feel of slavery. We were trying for an authentic experiment environment, it would not have been up to the standards we experienced in your classes if we didn’t.”

The Judge smiles, “Well I must say that I am impressed at the lengths you girls went to. Anyone looking at you six could only see real slave girls. Those bar-codes do look like I could take my phone and call up any of your slave accounts just as if they had been officially applied. And those collars do look like they are permanently installed upon your lovely throats.” Her words chilled the girls at how close they were to the truth.

With a tilt of her head, the Professor asks, “And what’s with the ankle jewelry? That’s not standard for your average slave girl.”

The other girls all turn to look at Julie, who blushes, “Well your Honor, when I saw some slave girls working outside they were wearing hobbles just like these. I thought it made them look very sexy, being forced to take such tiny steps. And… and I wanted to know what it felt like to be controlled that way.” The caramel skinned beauty bowed her head as she admitted this secret.

Gabriela is silent for a moment as Julie's words sink in, and watches how these words affect the other girls. “Well now, that took some strength to admit. All in all, I am impressed at how well you girls did. If this were a class project, I would give you all an A+ for the semester on just this project alone.”

“You girls have done such an amazing job that I just have to try something.” The auburn haired woman slides off the table and pulls out her cell phone, she indicates for Morgan to rise to her knees. The girls nervously watch as their teacher scans the tall brunettes bar-code and returns to the table.

The Judge does something with her phone before turning to her laptop again. As she turns back to the girls, they can see Morgan's file from the National Slave Database appear on the monitor on the wall. They can see the photo’s Erica took yesterday at the lake, and the account listing Morgan as a slave in that very public forum.

Gabriela watched the girls as, in quick succession, each of the other girls' files pop up on the screen. All 6 girls could see that they are now listed as slaves. It takes a few beats as they realize what this means, looks of horror come to each of the girls faces.

“Yes, you are very good. Was this your work Erica? After all you were the one that created the bar-codes.” The girls erupted, Heather screaming into her gag. The others were a confused babble as they all tried to say something about this.

They let the girls go until they started to rise, Sargent Jones stepped in, “STOP! Do not move!” It takes all three men controlling the girls, forcing them to remain on their knees.

It takes a few minutes before the girls are quiet once more, eyes wide, panting from the adrenaline still coursing through their veins. The Judge waves at Josh, “Young man, if you would be so kind to bring that package up to the table?”

With a grunt, Josh steps forward carrying the lock box from the lake. The girls are stunned to see it there in the room. They watch as he sets it gently down on the table. Once again Gabriela sits on the table before she drapes an arm across the box possessively.

“You see girls, I knew something was up when I saw that the supplies for my classes had been disturbed. Not just once either. None of you were very good at burglarizing my things. So it's good none of you are planning on a life of crime.” The Professor tells the girls.

She pats the metal box, “Is this the magical lifeline that will prove you girls are truly free women? I am a Judge and I need evidence, not hearsay before I can make a ruling.” Gabriela tries to open the box but it remains steadfastly locked.

“Oh dear, it does not appear to be cooperating. It's not opening for us.” The Judge pouts at the girls. “Well if this metal cube won’t cooperate, lets see if we can’t find some other evidence hmm?”

Judge Cortez shifts on the table and spins the laptop and types away for a bit. The girls have no idea on what kind of evidence there could be, so they watch the Judge intently.

The widescreen monitor behind the Judge springs to life and the girls realize that there must have been a drone following them last night. A time lapse video shows as they arrive at the lake and set up their camp. They watch as they stripped and the other steps they had gone through last night. Events continued up to when the girls formed their circle and locked the collars. With a click Judge Cortez freezes the image at that moment.

“Gentlemen, tell me what is it you see occurring at this moment? Sargent Jones, what do you see happening?” The Judge formally asks.

The girls can hear the old man clear his throat, “Well your Honor, I see women of their own free will allowing a free person to lock a slave collar on them.” The Judge nods in agreement.

With a smirk, “Mr… Bronson, what do you see from the evidence presented?”

Josh clears his throat, “uh, your Honor Mam, I see girls allowing themselves to be collared.”

Turning to the final member, “Mr Denisov, what have you to say?” The Judge asks Petie.

Tearing his eyes from Morgan’s ass in front of him, “No argument from me, they asked to be collared.” His deep voice surprised Professor Cortez.

“Girls this is not something you shared with the court. You did not tell us that you each allowed a free person to collar you as a slave. You did not inform this court that you were each registered with the National Slave Database. That…” The Judge was interrupted before she could continue.

“No,no,no,no! The accounts were not released to the public database, we were still listed as in grading mode!” Erica burst out. Without needing to be told Seamus leaps forward and with a zziip a ball gag is once again filling Blondie's mouth.

“Oh bad girl! Interrupting your betters that way.” Judge Cortez snarls at the girl. “While what you said might have been true at one point, but in my investigations last night I uncovered your work. It was easy with my authority to find and put those accounts into the general database. After all it would have been a crime for all that work to be wasted.”

“As I said earlier, this is not the first time girls have been kneeling exactly where you are now. There is legal precedence for self enslavement, and you girls have met those requirements better than most I’ve had in my court.” she continued.

“But I am going to set your enslavement's for 4 years, after which time each case will be reviewed and your ultimate status will be determined at that time.” She paused to let her words sink in, the girls sagged as all the tension left them.

“In the past there were only a few girls, a small enough lot that I could manage them myself. However you girls have set this court a challenge. We don’t have the resources to handle the lot of you.”

“Sargent Jones, do you know of anyone that I might be able to call on as agents of the court? We are in need of several individuals to take on the responsibility of maintaining a slave.” The Judge asked.

With a smile Seamus replied, “Your Honor, I think I can speak for my men when I say we are willing to take on the responsibilities you are asking about.” Both Josh and Petie are looking stunned, with growing smiles.

There is a quick negotiation, where it is agreed that each man would take ownership of the girl they had selected the night before. The Judge would take the remaining girls, Morgan, Julie and Heather.

The Judge has some final items to cover with the girls, “Tomorrow you girls will be sent to training, what they are calling slave girl boot camp. There you will remain for 4 weeks, or until you have completed the training to their satisfaction. Believe me this is not something you want to do more than once!”

“Also you girls get to be part of a new program, they have decided on something better than the bar-codes.” She holds up a slide with a tiny capsule in a clear section in the middle. “This is based upon the chips used in pets. Tomorrow you will be chipped, just like good pets. After that you can be scanned and they can have your complete history right there on the spot. So be happy, when those unsightly tattoo’s fade away you won’t have to have them re-applied!”

“Oh and since we have reached a verdict in your case, we’ll be dealing with your actions today. Each of you has been a bad girl.” The Judge tells them, before putting a list on the monitor. “For each of these you will receive 5 strokes of a crop.”

Punishment record:
Morgan 1
Julie 1
Christina 2
Heather 3
Amber 1
Erica 2

= = =

[GreyRose]

Sorry to say this is probably as far as I am going with this story. Originally this story was supposed to be 2 maybe 3 chapters, but the characters had more to say and convinced me expand it.

I have an idea for a follow up with some of these characters that has been firing my imagination.

- - -

I do have a question for you all. I tried to foreshadow the twist in this chapter, did that come through or do you feel that this was a complete surprise?

[jeepster]

Great addition. I loved the plot twist with the appearance of Judge Gabriela Cortez. Her appearance along with her ruling was a complete surprise to me as I did not pick up on any foreshadowing in previous chapters. I loved it.

I must confess that I was rather thinking that when the Judge kept reinforcing that each girl allowed a free girl to collar her that she was going to rule that the free girl would then OWN the collared girl rather than the security guys. It would have allowed the story so many possibilities to continue. The court, (the judge professor) would supervise the 4-year enslavement adding fodder for her own paper on slavery furthering her career as she challenged the girls into their conflicting roles on campus of student, slave and slave owner trying to complete the demands of the professor to see how they responded - all purely for academic research yet under the full weight of the law.

At any rate, I really loved the story as written. Marvelous stuff. THANK YOU!

Hooked6

[davidwcummins]

I do love the way they all walk into it. Can not wait to see what come next.

[jeepster]

Love it ! Hoping for some more!

[GreyRose]

Hooked66,
Thanks for your comments, I'm glad you enjoyed the surprise ending. Maybe if you re-read the earlier chapters you might catch the low key comments that were my foreshadowing.

But if you think about it, when the girls closed the collars they were in a circle. Each girl was free when she closed the collar on the girl in front of her, but as soon as the collar closed on her neck she was no longer free. (Yeah, its a bit of circular logic, but it worked for the plot. )

The Judge did end up with 3 of the girls, and anyone that thinks she won't keep tabs on the other girls doesn't know the Professor.

While I didn't say so in the story, the drone operator is a girl from a previous class that fell into this same trap. The Professor has an as yet to be defined stable of slave girls from previous years. She probably could have handled all 6 girls, but she's experimenting to see what happens when the girls are spread around a bit. She saw an opportunity with Josh & Amber having paired off, which is the plot for the next story.

The follow up story has the working title: The Cheerleader Gambit
The general plot is that Amber is allowed to continue going to classes, and to stay on the Cheerleader squad. And yes the other girls have issues with a slave on the squad, but things may not go the way they want them to....

I'm hoping to work in some guest appearances of the girls in this follow up. The Judge is definitely affecting events, so she might appear and bring the other girls along.

Thank you to Jeepster & DavidWcummins, such positive comments do fuel the imagination. So I will be working on the continuation story I referenced here.

[gary]

Loved it, thank you for the excellent story

[Hooked6]

I do have a question for you all. I tried to foreshadow the twist in this chapter, did that come through or do you feel that this was a complete surprise?

Hooked6 . . . Maybe if you re-read the earlier chapters you might catch the low key comments that were my foreshadowing.

I hope my comments weren't viewed as negative criticism. I replied honestly and . . . you did ask. Truth be told, foreshadowing works for those who enjoy the "aha moments" or the "I KNEW IT!" moments that readers who are into the minutiae of a plot live for. For those like me who fail to pick up on the "Easter eggs" that you seeded throughout the story, a surprise ending is like the rarest of fine wines - something to be relished because "surprises" in literature rarely succeed as people usually see it coming making the story predictable (probably because of all the foreshadowing.) When an ending does catch a reader off-guard, readers will be talking about it for a long time sharing their delight with others.

My personal view is that foreshadowing is a useful tool NOT to be over done. I suspect you succeeded with both types of readers with your story, which in itself is quite an accomplishment. In hindsight, it appears you included just enough tidbits in the story to keep the ending from appearing as rather lame "Deus ex Machina," but not enough to ruin the surprise for those of us that live for that sort of thing - like me!

In summary, I LOVED the story and I am glad that you are thinking of doing a follow-up.

Hooked6

*** Deus ex machina (/ˌdeɪəs ɛks ˈmækɪnə, - ˈmɑːk-/ DAY-əs ex-MA(H)K-in-ə,[1] Latin: [ˈdɛ.ʊs ɛks ˈmaːkʰɪnaː]; plural: dei ex machina; English ‘god from the machine’) is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function can be to resolve an otherwise irresolvable plot situation, to surprise the audience, to bring the tale to a happy ending, or act as a comedic device. The deus ex machina device is often criticized as inartistic, too convenient, and overly simplistic.

[GreyRose]

Hooked66,
Yes you did give me an answer to my question, and it was very welcomed. I'm very familiar that just because I'm thinking one thing as I write, that doesn't mean my readers will be reading it the same way. That's what's great about the written word, the readers imagination is engaged and new vista's are opened. There have been times feedback has given me new ideas and added elements to the story I would not have without their input.

You let me know that my efforts were just about right. Which is what I wanted to know, I find that very valuable feedback, thank you.

[YvelTwin]

GreyRose. Another good story, thank you. Some comments. First, the foreshadowing of the professor winding up knowing about things all along did work, and the ending was not particularly a surprise, but it was good. The actual sex scenes that you wrote were well paced, hot and fit both the characters and the plot. Clearly the implication of this world is that there are a goodly number of girls for whom submission is a powerful desire.

It was particularly effective to see the three male characters choose and bond with a single girl. It makes the men much more sympathetic than the typical domineering and uncaring male that is the more common antagonist for this type of story. While early in the story it felt like the girls were awfully "easy" it is clear by the end that that is the nature of girls in this world who would undertake such an experiment.

On the other hand, you have six characters, which can be hard to keep straight; however, they all really had very similar reactions. In future, when you are going to run with so many characters, there may be the potential for conflict between them, this may well result from differing rates of acceptance of their submissive nature. Just a thought. I did enjoy the internal conflicts within the girls as they quickly gave in to their submissive desires and only later fought back against them. It was a good creative idea to use that structure, rather than the more typical pattern of their resistance being slowly broken down over the course of the story.

As you note in your first comment after the story, this was where you stopped, rather than really being a full ending. Still the protagonists did seem to be well on their way to acceptance of what they were. An acceptance that they did not have at the start, even though they thought that they were just playing at it. Thank you again for a very enjoyable read.

[reddbunnz]

A great series. Hopefully someone else will pick up the pieces and proceed. Here's hoping.