Body Auction - Part One

Sitting backstage, my ass pressing into the partial padding of the aging chair beneath me, I try to keep my nerves down. My leg bounces with anxious energy, the movements jostling the skin-tight paper undergarments I had been told to wear for the event.

Surrounding me are various other people in various states of undress, the women covering just ever so slightly more than the men as what amounts to a loop of tissue paper loosely covers their nipples to little effect.

Some of the cheap seats sit empty, those few that had been sitting there having already left the backstage area to go to the main event. Despite the empty chairs, numerous people dressed in black waltz up and down the paths between us, talking softly into small headsets as they try their best to coordinate the whole event.

The low hum of the crowd barely reaches us backstage, the droning noise being punctuated with various bouts of cheering and jeering as each barely clothed person enters the limelight and other as the deed is done.

I watch as one of the stagehands taps a nearby redhead on the shoulder, the fit and athletic girl's muscles oiled up and on full display.

"Ma'am, you're up next" the stagehand whispers softly, moving away once the redhead nods up at her in acknowledgment.

The redhead's lips quiver in fear, though despite her obvious discomfort she begins to walk out towards the curtains beside the stage. She rolls her shoulders a bit, flexing her muscles in a practiced manner before walking out with her head held high to the roar of the crowd.

"Isn't she a beauty" cries a sultry feminine voice from the stage, each word oozing with desire. "I just want to eat her all up, and maybe I will depending on which of you lovely people are behind those... Mmmmm..."

The crowd only grows more riled up, the fever pitch of the horny audience being noticeable even from back where I'm sitting.

"Alright alright, calm down... for now" the host states, admonishing the crowd playfully. "You know the deal by now, it wouldn't be much of a Body Auction without a bit of a show before the bidding right?"

Body swapping had not been in the mainstream consciousness when it had first been developed, the Swap Clinics and their like being largely seen as a fad and a toy of the ultra-rich. The thought of giving up a body for money, trying to return to one's normal existence looking and feeling entirely different being enough to put most people off of the idea.

However, the pandemic had been an unseen boon to the industry. Suddenly, with borders closing and people being restricted to moving only within a certain distance of their home, the chance to swap into someone else's body began to be seen as a pleasant escape.

Swap-Cations were soon started, allowing people to rent out their bodies and homes like an AirBNB for a short duration enabling people to still travel and see the world despite the terrifying nature of the environment around them. The low costs involved with the shorter-term swaps, coupled with the intense boredom the world was experiencing, created a sudden surge in interest as people of all stripes were trying out all manner of bodies around the world like they were hotels.

As things began to ease around the world, with borders opening and the lockdowns ending, the interest in swapping was expected to similarly die down. However, rather then people simply returning to normal, those with enough capital turned their sights to taking a bigger and bolder step. Those with the money, and that had enjoyed their time traveling in someone else's skin while reveling in newfound 'experiences' inherited with their new body, were soon begging for a more permanent arrangement.

Before long, the Swap Clinics around the world started to run out of supply as their usual recruitment agents simply couldn't keep up with all the usual vetting and planning procedures. Still desperate for a share in all that cash, earning a commission on each sale, they moved to a more open format in the hopes of not only finding new clients but also driving up the price.

The Body Auction

Focusing largely on the physical, these events would have potential body sellers put themselves up for sale on stage and before a crowd of body-hungry buyers. Fueled by what some were calling the 'Body Goldrush' anyone and everyone in need of cash and with a somewhat sellable body were considering taking the plunge.

After putting on their display on stage, the bidding would start. It was always hard to tell how much someone would go for, with unique features or rarer body-types either failing to sell or going for small fortunes.

With the stage set up with the same equipment from the Swap Clinic the end results of the auction were near instantaneous, with the buyer quickly paying the price along with a ten-percent commission before taking possession of their new form.

However, once all was said and done these people would simply return home to their former lives. While over the pandemic and the various Swap-Cations people had taken would leave them living at an unfamiliar house, these permanent swaps left everyone with their old assets and personas as though they were simply the same person they had been mere moments ago.

Some adapted quickly, taking the change in stride, others struggled intensely to make the change work for them and to deal with the looks friends and family gave them in their new forms. Others merely joined the audience, hoping to quickly turn a profit by buying another cheaper body than what they had sold their own for.

Regardless, the buyer more often than not left as a happy customer with the body of their dreams... if only until the next auction.

As I feel someone tap my shoulder I glance up, becoming face-to-face with one of the stagehands. She smiles down at me in my seat, her pale gray eyes looking me up and down in a brief moment of appraisal.

She's relatively short, standing at only around five foot two inches tall, her dark caramel skin hidden beneath a long-sleeved black shirt and jeans. Her dark hair is pulled tightly beneath a bulging beret, a few straw curls hanging out as she tries to readjust them back inside the hat

"Mr. Hughes?" she chirps softly, leaning in closer as I'm met with the subtle scent of lilacs. "You're up soon"

Swallowing hard I shift in my seat, trying to think of how to best present my slender frame. I wasn't as young as some of the people here, nor as fit or as attractive. I had my height and my sex, both being a combination I had seen go for quite a bit from my small amount of research.

A catch the stagehand looking down at the skintight paper briefs I was wearing, the plain clothes being all we had been allowed to wear so as to show off the product before sale. A little smirk spreads across the short woman's lips as she fishes around in a little black fanny pack, fishing out a tiny bottle of pills.

"Here..." she whispers, her voice giving away a slight shortness in her breath. With a little tap she produces two small blue pills from the bottle, and passing them to me. "In-house blend, fast acting. They'll help you put on a show... trust me."

I look between her and the pills, flashing her a weak smile.

"Thanks..." I mutter nervously, rolling the tiny unmarked blue pills in my hand.

"No worries" she whispers back, giving me a little wink. "You've got about five minutes to get ready."

As the stagehand races off, glancing down at a clipboard to work out who would be called after me, I glance down at the pills. I had no idea what they were, though could they be all that bad if the Body Auction staff were handing them out?

Swallowing hard I stand up from my seat, placing the pills...