textfiles/sex/EROTICA/V/vleck.txt

        It had taken Kim over two hours to find the shop, tucked in as
it was to the rear of a launch lift platform from the flight
deck.  As far down in the core of the station as this location
was, the gravity was spastic, changing dramatically the further
she went from the residential halls.  Right here it seemed to be
about one gee, although it had been so long since she had been
planetside that it was hard to tell.

        The neoarc sign over the small door read "Ms. Vleck's."  That
was all, nothing else.  It was hard to believe that behind this
rust spotted exterior lived one of the more powerful
thaumaturgic practitioners in orbit.  

        Kim swallowed hard, and then reached up to press the door
alarm.  She was far too young to remember when magic had become
part of the science continuum back in the late 2030's. 
Thaumaturgy had been an accepted thing for her all her life,
speeding man on his way to the stars.  Ever since Kim was young
she had wanted to be a mage.

        It was not that easy however.  More of a genetic predisposition
than anything else, good mages were born, not made.  Kim had
been incredibly envious ever since her little sister was
discovered to be the bearer of genes for becoming a mage of
Force, able to create and control nuclear reactions with the
right training.  Later on, when she found out she too was a gene
positive, she had been wildly exited.  This had later turned to
disgust when it was discovered that her ability lay in an
incredibly esoteric form of arcane lore.  She was one in a
million, one in a billion.  Kim was a aieralist, controller of
air in enclosed spaces.  In other words, about all she could do
was manipulate balloons.

        After deciding she still wanted to learn, even if in such a
strange way, Kim then had to find a mentor.  It had taken three
weeks to locate one on this out of the way station, then several
more to get her to agree to take Kim on as a student.  Today was
Kim's first day of schooling.

        Kim could hear the dim sound of the buzzer as she pressed the
button.  The door slid aside with a groan, and she stepped
forward into darkness.  After a few moments the surroundings
became a bit more visible, congealing into display racks filled
with small trinkets.  As she stepped closer, she realized that
each small item was made up of entwined balls or long sausage
like shapes.  In spite of this, there were some incredibly
complex pieces of amazing beauty.  Kim was soon engrossed in
examining a full replica of a Hermes-Class starship in 1\3500
detail.

        "Ahem."  Kim started up.  Out from behind the counter came a
small woman, barely up to Kim's shoulder.  She was somewhat
older, having the look of well worn skin that many spacers get
after long years with little ozone.  Although she was shorter
than Kim, she more than made up for it in width, having
shoulders easily twice as broad as Kim's.  Barrel chested and
wrapped in some sort of toga, she reminded Kim of a boulder come
to life.

        "Kimberly Tanner, I presume?"  The woman smiled, revealing
pearly white teeth.  "Ah, I see you are examining some of my
work."

        "Yes... Um, it's quite nice..."  Kim was somewhat taken aback
by her new mentor.  This was hardly what she had expected. 
Unlike the soaring cathedrals of the matter manipulators, or the
even more grandiose homes of the mages that could handle more
than one plane of control, this place was small, almost cramped.
 She had expected more, even from a master of such an
insignificant form.

        The woman seemed to sense this.  "Not quite what you expected,
is it?"

        "Well..."

        "Come child.  If I am to teach you, you must at all times be
truthful.  This is not the home of some grand and powerful
controller of the fifth force of the universe, is it?"

        "No, I suppose not, Master."  Kim blinked as the old woman
beamed.

        "Master.  I haven't been called that in years!  There are not
many who wish to learn this sort of thing anymore."  She ran one
finger down the edge of one of the display cases.  "Truthfully,
I am quite surprised you sought me out."

        "Well, I, um..."  Kim paused, abashed.  She had been told to be
truthful however.  "It's always been a dream of mine to be able
to manipulate some form of thaumatergic energy.  Even if it is
something so small."  Kim gasped and covered her mouth.

        Far from being offended,  the woman continued to smile.  "But
you came to me, even if it seems 'so small'.  Come girl,  turn
around for me.  Let's see what you look like."

        Kim set down her travel bag and turned slowly, feeling Ms.
Vleck look her up and down.  Although quite thin, she had always
done some sort of aerobic training, giving herself a wiry build.
 At the age of eighteen, she had become resigned to looking
somewhat like a boy unless she were willing to undergo surgical
alteration, which seemed a bit excessive.  Beyond that was
magic, but that way, while far less invasive of the body, was
also far too expensive.  It was her face that stood out however.
 With high and prominent cheekbones emphasizing enormous eyes of
seemingly endless depth, she had managed to mesmerize more than
one person.  A talent that was somewhat wasted in the present
situation, she thought to herself.

        Ms.  Vleck wandered around her for a moment, mumbling to
herself in a language that Kim could not make out.  After a few
moments of this, she went behind the counter, motioning Kim to
follow.

        Kim was surprised to see the extent of the house.  She had
expected it to be small and cramped, much like the showroom. 
This was not the case however.  The rooms were airy and open,
well lit and clean.  The studio impressed her the most however. 
Over ten meters across and high, it had various tables scattered
about and loaded down with all sorts of odds and ends.  Across
the back of the room stood several canisters with various labels
warning of gaseous contents.

        On the central table, like a diamond in its mount, burned
something Kim had never seen before.  A complex and ornate
mounting, looking like it were made of solid gold, was mounted
firmly by mechanical waldos.  Over it flowed living flame,
swirling and looping almost to the ceiling, but never leaving
the area over the mount.  The colors were myriad, dazzling in
their brilliance.

        "You like?"  Ms. Vleck smiled.

        "It... It's beautiful," Kim breathed.  "What is it?"

        "A sculpture for the coronation of Maris the Fifth.  I did one
for his sister when she was enstated, so he thought he should
have one as well."  Turning a sly grin on her student, she
commented, "Still seem like a useless talent."

        Kim blushed, looking aside.  Her teacher grabbed her bag and
hustled off towards the residential wing.  "But come, I will
show you your room.  We will get aquainted, then I will give you
some reading matter that you might find interesting.  Tomorrow
we will begin your understanding."



        Kim shifted uncomfortably on the mat off to one side of the
studio.  Clad as she was in a plain blue unitard made out of
some stretchy material, she was a bit cold.  Mrs. Vleck had
tossed it at her the night before, along with a datapad whos
memory banks contained numerous descriptions of various
balloons, their uses and functions as well as what they looked
like.  Kim had found it somewhat boring, but persevered in the
reading, finishing it up just before Ms. Vleck had returned to
put out the lights.  Apparently Kim was to be on some sort of
schedule.  The brightening of the lights had woken her, and
after normal morning activities she had proceeded to her present
location.

        Ms. Vleck walked in, humming a merry tune and still clad in the
same toga like affair from last night.  With a cheery "Morning
Dear," she rummaged around for a few moments, then came over to
where Kim was sitting.

        "First off, what's this?"  She tossed something into Kim's lap.
 Kim picked up the small piece of plastic, remembering it from
her studies the night before.

        "A similflex fiber balloon, color chantry blue."  Kim noted
absently that it matched her unitard nearly perfectly.

        "Very good.  Now, blow it up."  Ms. Vleck looked at her
intently.  "Come on, I wish to see your style."

        Kim blushed lightly, then proceeded to take a deep breath.  She
puffed into the balloon furiously, but it resisted.  Her cheeks
swelled out from the effort and she acquired a distinctly red
sheen, but the balloon slumped back to lifelessness as soon as
she paused to take a gasping breath.

        "I take it you've never tried this before," Ms. Vleck cocked an
eyebrow at her.  "Dear girl, didn't it ever occur to you to do
any of this sort of thing before you came to me?"

        Kim squirmed in embarrassment.  "Well, I didn't expect to be
blowing up things with my mouth, if you know what I mean.  I
thought it would be, you know..."  She waved her fingers in the
air.

        Ms. Vleck sighed, then took the balloon from Kim's fingers. 
"This might give you an idea of how to go about it."  She set
the balloon to her lips.  With a single continuous breath, it
bulged outward, growing larger and larger until it had attained
the size of her head.  With a single deft move, she tied off the
nozzle and softly bumped it over to Kim, who caught it with a
reflex motion.

        "Care to try again?"

        "How'd you do that so smoothly?"  Kim enquired.  "I mean, it
just filled up like you blew into it continuously."

        "I did."

        "No way!  I mean, that's too big a breath."

        Ms.  Vleck turned and pulled a what looked to be a large bag
off of one table.  Kim recognized it as a bubblebox toy, an
inflatable sphere made out of a clear membrane that was
comprised of one giant molecule.  It was incredibly tough for
its size.

        Ms. Vleck smiled at her and took a slow and deep breath, her
ample ribcage swelling up as she inhaled.  Then she placed the
bag to her face and exhaled.

        The bubblebox lifted and stirred in the first few moments of
her exhalation.  Within seconds it had become perfectly round,
glistening in the light.  Ms. Vleck did not stop there however. 
She still continued her output, the sphere growing in size.  Kim
watched with growing awe as the bubblebox continued to increase
in size, soon becoming large enough to cover Ms. Vleck's head
from view.  Kim could only see her face through the slightly
distorted view of the balloon.  The balloon became even bigger,
Ms. Vleck continuing to blow.  Only when it had started to warp
the view of her down to her waist did she stop.

        "There."  Ms. Vleck did not even sound out of breath after that
monumental release.  "Do you still think that's too big a
breath?"

        Kim shook her head mutely.  She had heard of this, but had
forgotten it in the mundanity of her arrival.  Ms. Vleck could
probably fill the entire room with a single balloon off of one
breath without really trying.  She watched as Ms. Vleck released
the bubble, which drifted slowly off to the side.

        "Now, enough with the demonstrations.  It's time for your first
test, one that you will come to know rather well in the weeks to
come."  Ms. Vleck went over to a cabinet and yanked some
apparatus out of it.  A long tube, almost an inch wide, was
connected to a gag.

        "Now put this on."  Ms. Vleck handed the gag to Kim.  "Don't be
shy, just bite down on the mouthpiece and clip the buckle
together on the back.

        "What's this for?" Kim eyed the gag suspiciously.

        Ms. Vleck suddenly was all business.  "One of my prime
requisites is that all of my students follow the rules.  The
first rule is that when I ask you to do something, you do it. 
Now, please put the gag in your mouth."

        Kim complied, chewing on the mouthpiece for a bit before she
became used to the rubbery taste.  The gag wrapped about her
head, two buckles clicking together behind her neck.  Up front
it was quite wide, going from just below her nose down to wrap a
molded piece around her chin.  Once in place, she realized that
about all she could do was mumble

        "Now, the object if this exercise is to improve your lung
ability.  It's a simple contest."  Ms. Vleck picked up the other
end of the tub.  Kim thought that perhaps she was intending to
connect it to some bellows or something that she'd have to pump
on for a few hours.  Taking a deep breath through her nose, she
took in the heady smell of the gag.

        "You are going to try and blow as hard as you can down your
end.  I will try to blow down this end.  The winner is the one
who pushes the most air into the other."

        Kim blinked.  That was no contest!  Ms. Vleck would easily win.
 Her widening eyes apparently alerted Ms. Vleck to something.

        "Oh, you're quite right.  It's unlikely you'll win at this
stage.  However, this is an incentive exercise to get you to
work harder at your skills and abilities, once they are taught
to you.  I'll tell you what, let's put some stakes on this.  The
winner gets to have the loser do something for her.  Housework,
clean up a mess, work on inventory or orders for the rest of the
day.  It'll give you something to work for.  The strap on part
there is to teach you the correct method of inhaling through
your nose and exhaling through your mouth."

        Kim sighed inwardly.  She could see a lot of days cleaning up
in the future.  Oh well, she had rather expected to do it as an
apprentice anyway, and this ways sometimes when Ms. Vleck was at
a low point perhaps she might win.  Looking up, she realized
that Ms. Vleck was waiting for some sort of agreement from her. 
Nodding, she took a deep breath through her nose.

        "Alright then.  On the count of three we start."  Ms. Vleck
took the other end of the tube and raised her other hand.  "One,
two, three!"  She chopped her arm downward.

        Kim puffed furiously, snorting air in through her nose.  She
realized it was a losing battle, but hoped to make a good
showing.  Funnily enough, it seemed as though Ms. Vleck was
taking everything that Kim was sending her way, not returning at
all.

        Suddenly, Ms. Vleck exhaled.

        Kim's cheeks squished against the gag as Ms. Vleck's breath
rushed into her.  She tried to push it back out, but the flow
continued as Ms. Vleck, with a cheerful twinkle in her eye,
simply overwhelmed her with more pressure.  Kim had lost.

        Shrugging, Kim reached up to undo the gag and find out what her
chore for the day would be.  This was probably a standard ritual
that all newcomers had to go through during their beginning
years.  She tugged for a few seconds before she realized that
the gag seemed to be stuck tight.

        Meanwhile, Ms. Vleck had continued to breath.  Kim realized
that it was becoming difficult to breath the excess air through
her nose.  It probably was not good that she was taking in all
that already used air as well.  The carbon monoxide content had
to be somewhat high.

        Ms. Vleck exhaled harder.

        Kim urfed into the gag as she felt the increase.  Grasping the
hose, she tugged on it, but the fastenings were too tight to
come loose.  She felt as though she were taking an incredibly
deep breath, the air forcing its way into her.  Waving her
hands, she motioned at Ms. Vleck.  It felt as though she could
not take any more.

        Ms. Vleck exhaled harder.

        Incredibly, impossibly, Kim felt the air, smooth and tangy
sweet, swirl down into her stomach.  No gag reflex was
triggered, only a sensation of fullness.

        Kim glanced down, then stared in shock.  Her stomach was
swelling outward slowly, somewhat like a balloon.  In fact it
looked just like the small blue balloon had earlier.  Putting
her hands on it, she marveled at how tight and firm it felt. 
Pushing inward, her hand sank down a bit, then was met with
resistance as the pressure built up higher.

        Kim's figure was already looking like that of a very pregnant
woman when Ms. Vleck stopped.  Pinching the tube with her hand,
she examined Kim closely.  "Very good.  You're not panicking. 
Most people would in your situation, you know."

        Kim held back a shudder, trying hard to look casual.  Her
groping hands gave away the strain she was under however as they
moved up and down her new paunch.  No wonder she had been made
to wear the unitard this morning.

        "Now you begin to understand the power we wield," Ms. Vleck
said with deep seriousness.  "What I do to you as a point, I can
do to anyone, anytime.  Strange as it is, odd as it feels, this
I can do."

        Kim realized that, even though Ms. Vleck was not letting her
breath, she had no need to.  Surmising that it had something to
do with all the extra air in her stomach, she attempted to get
ride of some through her nose.  With a sudden whoosh, she let
loose a gust of air from her nose.  At the same time the gag
popped loose, falling from her face.  Kim's stomach rapidly
subsided as she let out a great heaving wheeze, finishing with
her lungs.

        "How do you feel?" Ms. Vleck looked worriedly at her.  "That
didn't bother you, did it?"

        Kim explorationially poked at herself.  She thought she should
be upset, but truthfully the experience had not been that nerve
racking.  For some reason she just did not feel that angry about
it.

        Ms. Vleck nodded when Kim commented on that to her.  "You sense
a basic ability to do that yourself, otherwise you would have
reacted more forcefully.  Normally that can cause great
paranoia, or even temporary insanity to have the body start to
act so peculiar.  Now, on to your chore for losing!"

        Kim grimaced slightly, but nodded assent.  She had spent far
too long getting here to antagonize her teacher now, and
besides, that last had shown her that her abilities might not be
as limited as she had first thought.  Besides, it was not wise
to upset someone who could manipulate her very body in such
strange ways.

        Ms. Vleck thought for a bit, idly tapping on finger against her
nose.  "We'll skip cleaning detail for now.  You'll have plenty
of time for that later.  Oh, I know!  I'm now going to
demonstrate to you that there are many other variables involved."

        "What do you mean?" Kim asked curiously.

        "I mean not only can the air intake be moderated, so also can
the shape of the device holding the air, as well as its weight
and density.  But here."  Ms. Vleck removed the gag from the end
of the tube, leaving only the mouthpiece, and handed it to Kim. 
"Now that I know you're not going to go screaming in terror down
the hall, you won't need that anymore.  Bite down and I'll
explain what I'm doing."

        Kim slowly put the end of the tube in her mouth as the other
woman went over to one of the many tanks against the far wall. 
"What I'm going to do now will involve many aspects of what I
just told you.  I will manipulate your weight, size and shape
all at once.  Do you feel comfortable with that?"

        "No, but I'll do it."

        "Good!"  Ms. Vleck smiled.  "Not that you really have a choice.
 This is the next exercise and it is necessary that you undergo
it.  It will start to train your power on how to manipulate your
body as well.  I will have to do it for you at first, but later
you will be able to do it on your own.  Now, are you ready?"

        Kim nodded slowly.  She realized that the first time had not
hurt.  In fact it had been somewhat interesting to feel and see.
 She munched on the mouthpiece, waiting to see what was next.

        She did not have long to wait.  Ms. Vleck put her mouth to the
outlet of one of the larger tanks, then twisted the valve on the
top.  She sucked on the hissing device for what seemed to be an
inordinately long time before she turned back to Kim.  All that
Kim could notice that was different was that she seemed to be
holding a deep breath, her broad chest tensed up.

        Wordlessly, Ms. Vleck retrieved the hose.  As she once again
put it to her mouth, she winked at Kim, who stood trembling
while biting the mouthpiece.

        Ms. Vleck exhaled.

        The lungs were bypassed this time as well as Kim's cheeks, but
she could feel the gas flowing deep within and swirling about
coldly as Ms. Vleck blew her up.  From here she could barely
make out the label on the side of the tank.  It's logo was a
simple double dot setup.  After a few seconds, she realized that
this was the atomic number of helium.  Ms. Vleck was pumping her
up with helium!

        When Kim looked down, the first thing she noticed was that she
could no longer see her feet.  This time it was not her stomach,
but her bustline.  It was slowly moving outward as the gas
rushed in.  She realized she had already increased a cup size or
two.  As she watched in fascinated amazement, she became even
more topheavy.  For the first time in her life, she was sporting
a full figure.

        Kim cupped her breasts with her hands, smiling as best she
could around the mouthpiece.  Still she swelled bigger, her legs
puffing up a bit in nice curves leading to well rounded calves.

        Ms. Vleck exhaled harder.

        Kim became more and more pumped with gas, a feeling of pressure
spreading through her body.  It was not painful and was in fact
a rather snug feeling, what with the unitard wrapping around her
expanding form.

        Ms. Vleck exhaled harder.

        Kim watched bemusedly as her beanbag sized breasts swelled
outward.  Odd how so much of the gas seemed to be going there,
she mused.  Laughing inwardly, she wondered what the boys back
at her school would say if they could see her once waif like
figure now.  A light blush crossed her face as she thought of
this.  She could feel her legs still swelling, the comfortable
pressure increasing and holding her in a gentle embrace.

        Ms. Vleck exhaled harder.

        Kim's swollen shoulders rode up somewhat.  Twisting her head
over, she glanced curiously at her arm, examining its sausage
like muscle structure.  She realized that she was more and more
resembling a huge female shaped balloon, inflating, swelling,
balling up, expanding larger and larger.  With a sudden jerk of
surprise, she realized that her feet were no longer touching the
mat!  With a slow and ponderous motion, she rose upwards several
feet, there to hover like a tethered blimp at the end of the air
hose.

        Ms. Vleck finished with a sigh.

        Kim spit the mouthpiece out and watched it fall away.  Slowly
she rolled in the air to the right, spinning upside down.  "This
is so weird."

        Ms. Vleck watched her for a moment.  "Do you feel anything
unusual?"

        Kim thought about it for a bit.  Somewhat to her surprise, she
felt calm and relaxed, almost dreamy in a way.  This was a far
cry from what she felt a person who had been turned into a
zeppelin should feel like.  "I feel... very mellow.  I..., I
think I'd like to just drift around here all day."  Kim noted
that she spoke normally for being a bag of helium.  Her
breathing was in no way interfered with either.

        Ms. Vleck nodded.  "You just might be a worthwhile student
after all."  Suddenly she clapped her hands together.  "I'm
going to go do some work up front.  I'll be back in a few hours.
 If you can get down yourself, it will be something of an
accomplishment.  If not, well then, enjoy your afternoon rest. 
We will continue at five o'clock."

        With that Ms. Vleck bustled off, leaving Kim to her own
devices.  There was not much to be done however.  She was well
over ten feet from the floor, spinning lazily along her axis. 
Blowing hard produced only a slight motion change that did not
really get her anywhere.  Besides, truthfully she was just too
comfortable to really care.

        So began her first day.