Invisible Woman
Kayla wasn’t thrilled to learn that she’d be starting her summer job the museum working in the gift shop. With two semesters’ worth of course work majoring in Engineering at Mountain View Community College, Kayla had expected her resume would have earned her a position staffing one of the exhibition halls, maybe demonstrating scientific properties, leading interactive experiments, or answering visitor questions. Instead, here she was, on her first day at the River City Museum of Science and Technology, standing on a stepladder trying to reach a toy doll on a high self.
“No, not the blue one! The pink one!”
Kayla steadied herself and glanced down to follow the child’s pointing finger. Standing on her tiptoes and stretching, she managed to get her hand on the doll the girl wanted.
It wasn’t enough that Kayla was being ordered around by a spoiled little girl, she was also dressed as a butterfly fairy—purple wings, short skirt, antenna headband—as a tie-in to the museum’s butterfly garden exhibit. Kayla wished they had explained the costume part better during her orientation. Other gift shop workers were dressed as kittens to promote the big cat display. Kayla felt exposed standing up on the ladder. She made a mental note to remember to wear tights tomorrow.
“Wait a minute, sweetie, let me check something first.”
The girl’s mother took the doll and frowned at the price tag.
“Sweetie, let’s have the girl show you another doll, a smaller one, one that’ll fit better in your room. How about the one with sparkles!”
The girl pouted. “I want the pink one!”
Kayla cringed at being called a girl. She stretched out again onto her toes and reached up for another doll.
“There,” the mother called out, “the sparkly one in the back.”
As Kayla extended herself atop the stepladder she could hear the mother and daughter whispering below.
“Mommy, I can see that girl’s underwear.”
“Sh, sweetie, I know. Everyone can.”
Kayla blushed as she struggled to get a finger on the small, sparkly doll. She never expected her job in the museum to be so humiliating, and so sexist. She was a nineteen-year-old engineering student with a 3.83 GPA. If she kept up her grades, in another year, she might be able to transfer into the highly competitive engineering program at the River City Institute of Technology. And here she was, stuffed into a childish, fairy butterfly costume, putting her butt cheeks on display by standing on her tiptoes to satisfy the whims of a fickle eight-year-old girl.
Kayla climbed down the ladder and handed the girl the doll.
“I told you, I want the pick one!” the girl scowled and tossed the doll to the floor.
“There, there, sweetie, maybe the girl can find a nice kitty cat for you. Miss, can you bend down and get that pink stuffed kitten, the one in the middle of the bin?”
Bending over to reach deep into a wide bin filled with small stuffed animals, Kayla had to wonder why the museum would think the costume they put her in would be appropriate for a woman her age and size. Some of the younger women who staffed the gift shop were small, probably in High School. They looked like pixies. Kayla had a fuller figure. She could feel how tight the fairy dress was stretched across her hips and chest. And the hem of the skirt was much too short for her height. She could feel it riding up her backside as she bent over to reach into the bin.
As she grabbed the pink kitty, she heard the girl exclaim, “No, Mommy, no, I want the one with the blue bow!”
It was going to be a long day.
Kayla understood that everyone had to start somewhere. While she struggled to keep the hem of her fairy skirt down far enough to cover her bum, Kayla reminded herself that it would surely only be a matter of time before she was promoted to a more challenging job in the museum. She was smart and ambitious. It may take a week or so, but soon, she predicted, someone would notice her. She wasn’t a young woman who wanted to stay invisible, passively avoiding customers and waiting for her break. She’d be active, and show initiative. She was sure to stand out among the rest of the shallow, lazy teens who worked in the store, languidly staring at their phones whenever they got the chance. She could endure starting at the bottom, with the small humiliations of demeaning, mindless labor. She could be a butterfly for a few days.
Having been given the task of restocking the top of the cuddly monkey tower, Kayla climbed up the stepladder again with a box of stuffed animals and began arranging them on the highest branch-like display.
Picking a monkey up out of the box, Kayla thought about the difficult child and her tantrum over the pink doll. Kayla told herself that, if she showed determination and proved herself, she could be a role model for little girls like that. Kayla imagined that, after she had advanced to working in the museum proper, when girls that age would come into the exhibition halls and see her explaining evolutionary biology or the laws of thermodynamics, they would look up to her as an example of how a young women could successfully pursue a career in the sciences. Maybe in the future that little girl wouldn’t choose a pink doll or a stuffed kitten. Maybe she’d pick a chemistry set or a book on geology. Balancing herself as best she could, Kayla leaned out to fill the top rack of the display with assorted plush monkeys.
“Pity these baboons are not anatomically correct.”
A man’s voice sounded behind her.
Kayla glanced down, over her shoulder. A well-dressed man was examining a stuffed baboon.
“It’s the females that are the most interesting,” the man began again, apparently talking to himself yet clearly knowing Kayla could hear. “In estrus, the female baboon’s backside swells conspicuously and flushes a bright pink. She presents her rump to a male baboon, sticking it right up in the male’s face, as an indication that she is ready to mate.”
Kayla realized that, positioned as she was on the ladder, her bottom was exactly at eye level, barely a foot away from the man’s head.
Kayla was mortified. The panties she wore that day happened to be bright pink. She wanted to disappear.
“As I was saying, it’s a pity the museum store stocks toys that have so little educational value. I’ll have to speak to the manager. Miss,” the man directed his gaze past Kayla’s rear end and looked her in the eye, “could you please find Ms. Reynolds and inform her that Dr. Peters wishes to have a word with her.”
Kayla nearly fell off the ladder. She recognized the name. Dr. Peters was an important man, one of the museum directors, with PhD’s in anatomy and neurobiology and a research position at RCIT. With her knees shaking and her purple butterfly wings trembling she hurried to the store manager’s office.
Ms. Reynolds was shocked to hear that Dr. Carlton Peters, the RCMST’s Director of Master Planning, had visited the shop unannounced. Flustered, she rushed to greet the Director, waving Kayla away. Before they passed out of earshot, Kayla heard the well-dressed man ask her boss, “What is the name of that new girl? She certainly has a statuesque physique . . .”
The next day, Kayla made sure to wear tights, and she hoped to be given a more suitably fitting costume. She wondered if it would be better to be a butterfly or a kitten. But when she opened her locker in the staff dressing room she was in for a surprise. There was no costume. The hanger on which she had left her butterfly wings and her fairy skirt was empty, expect for a cryptic note telling her to see Ms. Reynolds, the store manager, as soon as she punched in for work.
“You won’t be wearing anything,” Ms. Reynolds explained to Kayla in her office.
In answer to Kayla confused response Ms. Reynolds notified the young worker that her she was being temporarily reassigned to a position in the museum’s new Human Biology and Anatomy exhibit.
“There was a last minute issue with one of the models and the museum needs an emergency replacement to be brought on board as soon as possible. As I’m sure you know, the exhibit’s Grand Opening is tonight, with a Gala Reception for Museum donors and River City VIP’s. The details of the exhibit have been a closely guarded secret, and with anticipation now at a peak, the Museum’s Board of Directors is anxious for tonight’s demonstration to go off without a hitch. I’m afraid that the transfer doesn’t include a change in your pay-scale, but at least you won’t be wearing a kitten costume.”
Kayla could barely contain her excitement. It seems someone in the museum recognized her true assets.
Ms. Reynolds explained that Kayla was to report immediately to the River City Institute of Technology’s Anatomical Imaging Lab for measurement and training.
“I cannot give you any more details concerning your new position’s duties. As I said, the new Human Biology and Anatomy exhibit has been cloaked in secrecy. I will tell you, though, that everyone at the museum is overjoyed to be rid at long last of that hideous and creaky, old “Invisible Woman” display, which had, frankly, become an embarrassment.”
Kayla smiled, remembering the old exhibit, a see-thru plastic manikin used to demonstrate things like the skeletal system and the workings of a body’s internal organs. The technology probably dated from the sixties and desperately needed an upgrade. Like Ms. Reynolds, Kayla had heard whispers that the renovated exhibit would be a technological wonder. She was proud to be chosen to be involved in the project.
The Anatomical Imaging Lab was housed in a rather nondescript building on the campus of the River City Institute of Technology. After passing through several security checkpoints Kayla found herself in a room that resembled a cross between a photography studio and a hospital radiology department, but with enough computers to program a remote spacecraft landing on Mars. The young women felt dizzy. After a day dressed as a butterfly handling teddy bears and dolls, the experience of real science was overwhelming.
“Ah, there she is, Kayla, our new “Invisible Woman.”
It was Dr. Peters, the well-dressed man she had seen yesterday.
“My apologies, my dear,” he said, taking her hand, “but in the interest of scientific expediency we’ll all have to save our formal introductions until a later date. We only have a short window in which to get you scanned into the computer and ready for tonight’s display. Dr. Tines, could you, um, assist the girl in preparing her body for the cameras.”
Kayla was confused. Dr. Peters lead Kayla over to a short, heavyset woman who took her into a small private space, like a changing room, with a shower and towels and a robe.
Dr. Tines explained to Kayla that in order to be scanned and programmed into the exhibit, her body needed to be completely hairless below the neck. She handed Kayla a razor and some depilatory cream and pointed to the shower.
Kayla hesitated. She hated to admit that she felt shy about undressing in front of another person, even if that person was a doctor of some kind.
“Please be prompt and please be thorough. If you need help with hard to reach areas, I may assist.”
Kayla quickly removed all the body hair she could in the shower. Dr. Tines examined her skin closely.
“Good. Towel off and follow me. You may wear the robe if you want.”
In the Anatomical Imaging Lab Kayla felt conspicuously naked beneath her robe. Several people stood waiting, scientists and technicians. All eyes turned to Kayla when Dr. Peters spoke.
“Very good. Now then, will our invisible woman please step onto the scanning platform.”
Kayla walked over to the raised disc that Dr. Peters had indicated. The spot was partly surrounded by a tube-shaped, cage-like structure, representing a complex system of rounded bars and movable panels, out of which ran multiple cables and wires connected to a host of computers and other electronic devices.
“Our ‘Invisible Woman’ can’t hide under her robe. Please, Dr. Tines. . . .”
Everything had happened so quickly today that Kayla hadn’t yet completely processed the idea that she was being asked to strip and pose nude for some kind of full-body, computerized scanner. Taking a deep breath and, after trying to calm her anxiety with the thought that she was in a laboratory, participating in scientific research, Kayla, with extreme reluctance, slipped out of the robe and handed it to Dr. Tines. She was now as naked as a newborn babe. Automatically, Kayla kept her hands across her chest and over her private parts as she placed herself in the center of the elaborate scanning apparatus. The structure of the machine provided some screening from the eyes of everyone in the room.
Kayla waited, tense, feeling like everyone was scrutinizing her bare bottom.
“For the first scan, please keep your arms at your sides. Stand still. Hold your breath. And, begin.”
A whirring sound started, and Kayla became aware that hundreds of precise lasers were projecting a red grid pattern over her skin. The lasers and lens revolved around her, as the cage-like apparatus turned, measuring and taking in data. In less than half a minute it was done.”
“Okay, relax.”
Kayla took a breath. At least that was over quick, she thought.
“For the next scan, please spread your legs and raise your arms. Wider please, your legs need to be wider apart. Okay. Hold your breath. And, begin.”
It was going to be long day. The scanning continued for several hours, with breaks for adjustments and recalibrations. Kayla was ordered to stand nude in a wide range of poses, many of which made her feel exposed and vulnerable, all while the machine gauged and recorded her body in exact detail.
Throughout the process, Dr. Peters took the time to familiarize Kayla with what she should expect as her upcoming performance in the new Human Biology and Anatomy Exhibit.
Whereas the old, outmoded “Invisible Woman” was a crude automaton, hardly more technologically advanced than a shop window dummy, the redesigned and improved “Invisible Women” was to be nothing less than a computer-generated wonder, an amazingly life-like display of the human body and its functions.
“What will bring the museum’s new ‘Invisible Woman’ to life will be you, Kayla. Your body will be both the model and the canvas for the most realistic and intimate examination of female anatomy the world has seen, the crowning achievement of our collaboration between the RCIT’s Anatomical Imaging Lab and the Museum of Science and Technology.”
Kayla was still confused about what her role in the exhibit would be.
“I see the uncertainty in your face. Every millimeter of your body has been mapped. This information will serve as the pattern for the ‘Invisible Woman’ display. The display itself—the screen, if you will—is modeled on the contours of your own body. Come over here.”
Looking around for Dr. Tines and her robe, Kayla hesitantly began to step out of the relative shelter of the machine.
“Come, come. It’s not as if we haven’t already observed your nakedness from head to toe. Here, touch this material.”
Blushing and grabbing the robe from Dr. Tines, Kayla tiptoed quickly over to where Dr. Peters stood and put her hand on what appeared to be a piece of heavyweight vinyl, black and shiny.
“This material, dear girl, is the world’s foremost advancement in flexible electrophoretic screen technology.”
Kayla was amazed.
“In the next few hours, out of this miraculous material, our lab will fashion a form-fitting bodysuit, matching your precise physical specifications. You will wear this suit tonight when you go on display in the museum’s revamped Human Biology and Anatomy exhibit, and it will fit like a second skin.”
“You see, Kayla, unlike here in the lab when you were being scanned, tonight you will not be physically naked during your time as an exhibit. You will, in fact, be virtually invisible. Your body, incased in this electrophoretic suit, will be the screen on which, in three dimensions and in life-like correctness, the wonders of a women’s anatomy can be accessed and publically shared. It’s like you’ll be wearing a computer screen or covered in a thin smart phone. By means of the material’s screen-like surface, the Lab’s program will generate images of your internal anatomy (not your own actual organs, of course, but graphic simulations), which will be seen by spectators as if your body were transparent, as if I could look into you right now through your skin and see your heart beating or your nerves tingling. It will be magical (and, of course, anatomically correct—virtually, that is). ”
Kayla was beginning to feel relieved. She would be covered up by this magical technology. She was still curious about how the actual dynamics of the exhibit would work in practice.
Shyly, Kayla stammered a few questions about her duties in the exhibit.
“Oh, my dear girl, that’s the beauty of the program. It’s entirely computerized. Wearing the flexible electrophoretic bodysuit, you’ll be computerized as well. You don’t have to do a thing. The suit does everything.”
Kayla was confused.
“Interwoven into the suit are millions of tiny electrodes. With this material on your back you surrender all voluntary control of your body. The computer program moves your muscles. Everything will be programed and choreographed. In fact, unless we program it, you won’t even be able to talk. The suit’s neck contains electrodes that control cranial nerves at the base of the skull, allowing the program to manipulate your jaw and facial muscles. All that we can’t remotely operate are your eyes and sinus nerves.”
Kayla stood dumbfounded.
“Since it will take the technicians some time to fabricate and fit you into the suit, I am afraid there will be no time for a “dress rehearsal” before this evening’s Grand Opening. As I said, the computer program will do everything. After you climb onto the podium, just relax and the let the suit take control of your body. I think the rest of the Board and the Museum donors will agree with me when I say that you represent a stunning addition to our Human Biology and Anatomy exhibit.”
Kayla blushed, still somewhat nervous about her role in the exhibit. Serving as the model for the “Invisible Woman” display, acting like a living diorama, a human robot, wasn’t what she had envisioned when she decided to work in the museum. Still, she was to be participating in the realization of cutting-edge technology. She would the figurehead for a modern marvel of engineering. And the cause was noble. From her position on the exhibit podium, allowing her body to be the lens though which museumgoers could explore the secrets of human anatomy and biology, Kayla could see herself as an icon for her sex—a hero, like an astronaut, standing at the frontier of scientific research, not just a model but a role model for young girls to see themselves pursuing their dreams of being the explorers who will discover what scientific inquiry has yet to reveal.
It took the technicians a little longer than anticipated to complete the electrophoretic bodysuit and fit it precisely to Kayla’s figure. Kayla realized she was literally being sewn into the thing. It was skintight; it almost could be mistaken for body-paint. The suit was shiny black and, if examined closely enough, left little to the imagination. Kayla noticed how her nipples where clearly visible, and the material somehow clung to her body’s every curve and flowed into every crack. Kayla was certain, if anyone chose to look, the outline of her sex was apparent. Oddly, the effect was almost more erotic than being entirely naked.
Apart from openings at the neck, wrists and ankles (the outfit would be completed with socks and gloves made from the same computerized material), the only other holes in the suit were two tiny, discrete slits, one in the front and one in the rear, to provide for the insertion of tubes in case of necessary and urgent bodily functions.
As the bodysuit was cinched tight, Kayla couldn’t help but feel trapped. The material was restrictive yet surprisingly supple, not nearly as stiff as Kayla had thought it would be. Still, Kayla had the impression of being bound tight. And she had the odd experience of being artificially exposed, like the uncanny, plastic nakedness of a Barbie Doll.
To her sudden shock Kayla felt a sharp swat across her butt. It was like she had been spanked on her bare bottom.
“Just testing your reflexes.”
It was Dr. Peters.
“Amazing, isn’t it? How the suit’s material permits unimpaired sensation directly to the skin.”
Kayla’s ass stung.
“Well, as we’re already behind scheduled, I think it’s time to get our model over to the museum. Prepare the crate.”
Before Kayla had a chance to say a word she froze.
The Lab had activated the program and Kayla found that her body was immobilized. She couldn’t move a muscle. An eerie sense of panic ran through her.
Able to move nothing her eyes, Kayla saw that a large packing crate had been wheeled up to where she stood.
“Sorry about the box. Remember, the new ‘Invisible Women’ display has been kept entirely secret. It would be no good having people see you just walk into the museum.”
If Kayla could scream she would have.
“Okay. Put the model in transportation mode, and let’s get her packed in bubble-wrap.”
If Kayla could have jumped she would have. Instead, an electric tingle ran over her skin and she found that her limbs were being repositioned. She was made to stand straight, face forward, legs together, arms at her sides. Uncannily, Kayla realized an unintended effect of the suit’s commands to her muscles. Kayla was distinctly aware of a brief shiver of pleasure occurring in her loins. Oh my God! Kayla thought. The electronic impulses of bodysuit were pleasuring her clitoris!
Every time the suit manipulated a muscle it was as if a teasing caress were being applied to her vagina.
If Kayla could moan she would have.
The exhibit hall was empty and dim when Kayla was placed upon a raised stand in the middle of the room. A white sheet was thrown over her, shielding her completely from view.
While she waited, still immobilized by the computerized bodysuit and hidden from sight, Kayla could hear the sound of bustling. She was aware that lights had been turned on and that people were entering and milling about. She could hear snatches of conversation and the sounds of guests dinking from glasses and selecting hors d’oeuvres from passing trays. She heard the sound of curiosity in people’s whispers below her when they approached.
How long was she going to be made to stand here, frozen?
Suddenly, she heard Dr. Peter’s voice welcoming everyone to the reception. Kayla’s anxiety redoubled. There were a few short speeches and some enthusiastic applause. Dr. Peters then announced that, before the evening’s featured demonstration was set to begin, the museum donors and local River City dignitaries (including the Mayor and the President of RCIT) were welcome to finish their drinks while admiring the Museum’s new “Invisible Woman.”
A burst of applause and an even louder gasp filled the air as Kayla felt the sheet being removed and she was revealed to the room.
Kayla realized that her body had assumed the position of a contrapposto pose, like a classical statue, like a marble Venus. Unable to move a muscle on her own, Kayla’s eyes darted around the hall, taking in a crowd of patrons and VIP’s all dressed in eveningwear and all staring directly at her.
And Kayla saw that she was nude. Not physically naked, but virtually undressed. Large screens were arranged along the walls, projecting for the audience enlarged, high-definition views of her naked, statuesque body. With a terrifying realization that put butterflies in her stomach, it dawned on Kayla that the electrophoretic bodysuit was displaying the image of her own bare skin taken earlier in the day. Naked as a kewpie doll Kayla’s body was entirely on display, exhibited to the admiring crowd. Never had she felt so humiliated, so objectified.
If Kayla had the power to disappear she would have.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Dr. Peter’s voice began to explain, “what you see is not a naked woman. Her bare skin is an illusion, generated by a computer. She is not a naked woman; she is an ‘Invisible Woman.’ Behold!”
Kayla felt an irresistible sensation of pleasure pulse through her clitoris as her body shifted its position.
The audience gasped again.
Kayla’s skin became transparent. It was as if you could see inside her. Gradually, the audience became aware that they were looking at the bones of a fleshless skeleton.
Another tingle throbbed tantalizingly between Kayla’s legs. The bodysuit moved. The articulated bones on display shifted their position. Another burst of pleasure. Another pose. The excitement building up in her loins was nearly unbearable.
Kayla was dying, cloaked within the computerized suit. There was nothing she could do. The computer program controlled her. She had become an exhibition.
And with every movement that the program compelled her body to perform, the electrodes within the suit teased her vagina, touching her intimate places temptingly, as if masturbating her, inching her ever closer to the threshold of an orgasm.
All the while, Dr. Peters was explaining the wonders of the exhibit’s technology, indicating the various educational purposes the display could be used for.
Realistic depictions of the “Invisible Woman’s” internal organs appeared inside Kayla’s transparent figure, exposed for all to see, fully functioning and in 3-D: her heart pumping blood, her lungs filling with air. Her digestive system became visible.
“Would somebody please give the ‘Invisible Woman’ a bite to eat.”
The suit forced Kayla to bend down and take an hors d’oeuvre from a guest. She put it in her mouth and chewed and swallowed. The audience could see the food travel down to her stomach and pass through her intestines (not Kayla’s real intestines, but the computer generated imagery was very life-like). The effect was astonishing.
“If we want, we can examine her reproductive system.”
The model’s vagina and womb appeared.
“This capability of the exhibit will be very useful for Middle School Sex Education classes.”
Kayla was shocked. As the electrodes in the electrophoretic material sent a wave of pleasure through her body, she saw that the magnified images on the screens were presenting an illustration of conception, little sperm swimming toward the egg.
Kayla felt queasy when she saw that the program was miraculously making her appear to be pregnant, with a fetus developing and growing inside her. Finally, the “Invisible Woman’s” skin returned, and the bodysuit again showed Kayla’s naked body, although this time with a huge, pregnant belly. Kayla looked like she was about to give birth.
“As you can see, the programmable electrophoretic suit also has holographic capabilities. This will be especially useful when demonstrating diet and nutrition.”
Kayla experienced a brief rush of pleasure, followed by the horrified realization that, although she no longer looked pregnant, she was rapidly gaining weight. Below the neck, the bodysuit was projecting the three-dimensional illusion that she was becoming obese. Belly fat ballooned her midsection. Her hips and buttocks expanded. Kayla had always been self-conscious about her figure. The illusion the computer had created was mortifying. And she endured it all fully exposed, in obscene, virtual nudity.
“Of course, for younger audiences, the display would be age appropriate.”
The museum gusts burst out laughing when it appeared that the model’s body had been transformed into that of a big, diapered baby.
“In fact, the program’s imaging resources are nearly limitless.”
On humiliating display, Kayla found that her body had become furry. She had a tail! She moved her new shape, swinging her hips provocatively, clawing the air, like an anthropomorphic kitten-girl.
Next, the suit forced her to crouch on all fours. She felt herself stick her bottom up in the air. Below the neck, she had become a baboon, presenting her pink, swollen rump to everyone in the hall. Kayla wanted to cry.
A tingle between her legs pushed Kayla close to orgasm. She saw that her naked skin now sparkled. And it was turning pink. On her back she sprouted purple wings. She had been transformed into a fairy butterfly doll!
“We’ve even found a way to tie-in the ‘Invisible Woman’ display with merchandise from the Museum gift store. What little girl wouldn’t fall in love with this life-size butterfly doll? And she can buy one just like it for $19.95 in our store.”
Kayla could do nothing but stand on her tiptoes and pirouette. Her purple wings fluttered, and her pink backside sparkled in the light.
The Grand Opening event was a stunning success. The hall had emptied out. The custodial staff was in the room, sweeping up discarded toothpicks and napkins from the floor after the Gala Reception. Kayla still stood on the platform, statue-like in her electrophoretic bodysuit, now in black, idle sleep mode.
“You’re in luck tonight, me dear girl. You’ll be making overtime.” Dr. Peters was speaking.
“There are a great number of tweaks to the program that our technicians need to perform before we begin to run the exhibit fully automated tomorrow morning. You’ll be in that suit for some time. Luckily, the material’s embedded electrodes can sense most of your body’s needs, and since now is as good a time as any to train the cleaning staff in their expected maintenance duties, I’ll just call Raul over and let him get some practice learning how to clean you out.”
One of the cleaners came over holding a large hose connected to some sort of pumping device.
As the man yanked the end of the hose around to her rear end, Kayla, if she could have made a sound, would have screamed, and, if she could have moved a muscle, she would have run away. Instead, Kayla’s mouth kept holding a frozen smile, although her eyes might have widened a bit when the custodian, on his third try, found the hole that he was looking for.