It had been three days since the latest prisoner had arrived.

James had gone to Eve with information on a rumor that had been going around. A cache hidden away on an old server, something that had been left behind during the upgrade twenty years back. It was the kind of treasure people dreamed of finding. It could contain anything really. People like Eve always preferred credits, but company secrets could get them a lot of money as well. As long as you were willing to risk selling them at least.

Like the others she’d followed the instructions. There was a path that needed to be followed that only a competent runner could accomplish. That was the point of course, catch the big fish while turning the minnows away.

Now Eve was watching a cartoon with the other ten. Each someone who’d fallen into the pitcher plant and couldn’t scramble back up. All of them had a long rehabilitation in front of them. The cartoon spewed propaganda on how to act and behave properly. Answering wrong had consequences and all of them were paying close attention.

Each wore an identical uniform made to take away what dignity they might have had. Each had a pair of mitts on, a small shirt, a pacifier, and a diaper. Their captor believed that they lost the right to dress as adults. It was best to stripe them down and start them from the beginning.

After an hour of television it was nap time. They were shepherded back into the bedroom by the AI nanny that watched over them. Each walked to their assigned crib and waited to be put back inside. One by one each was lifted and placed inside. A moment later restraints would extend from each corner of the crib and pull them spread eagle, making sure they were on fully display.

The nanny remarked whether each of the prisoners were wet or dry as she placed them in their cribs. None of them received a change of course. A change came after naptime. You learned to sleep like that if you went before your nap. Not napping during naptime came with consequences.

Once everyone was in their cribs the lights faded. There was a few minutes of silence as many of the prisoners fell asleep. Until a guest arrived that the Doctor was expecting. A friend unintentionally invited by Eve

“An in.” The woman said as she appeared in the room. “Dark in here, let's see if we can get some lights going…”

The woman muttered to herself as she attempted to accept her comp. Despite her attempts she couldn’t get the display to come up. It was one thing if she could access her tools to hack, it was another that her gear seemed to have stopped functioning.

“What the hell is going on… I need lights.”

Her prayers were answered as the lights turned on. She should have been concerned about that, but she was more confused about what she was seeing. Twelve cribs big enough for adults in a pastel room. This was supposed to be a lost cache belonging to a major corporation, what was this?

“Welcome, Maria.”

The Doctor appeared behind Maria. None of the prisoners knew if the avatar was actually modeled after the real doctor or not. For all they knew it was run by several different people and there was no real doctor. She wasn’t here, that form was being controlled fully remotely rather than something she was synchronized with. All that mattered was that the Doctor was the one in charge.

The intruder turned and attempted to take a step back, but her body froze. Like every victim, Maria was likely doing her best to fight back. Most of the prisoners here considered the Net as a place freer than the real world, but we were programs here. The doctor had implanted each of them with some program the moment we entered the prison. It gave her control of the prisoners if she wanted it. It wasn’t like struggling against restraints, something she allowed them to do while bound in their cribs. It was the complete inability to resist.

“Anyone trying to find this place is quite naughty. This cache is the property of Blackwell corp after all. Welcome to the Troublemaker’s Prison. Only those good enough to get in here are qualified to be our prisoners. As we talk I’ll be getting you dressed in something more appropriate.”

Maria’s clothing began to slowly dissolve into pixels. Little by little revealing her body to the rest of the inmates. Something they’d all be humiliated by.

“This prison is augmented with the latest in virtual reality technology.” The doctor boasted. Something she never ceased being proud of no matter how many times she said it. “You’re not simply an avatar like you were out there. Something with a tentative connection to your body. In this space you may as well be real.”

She proved her point in the crassest way possible. She reached up and groped Maria’s now exposed breast. Maria couldn’t move or speak, but she blushed. It was all she could do.

“This prison exists for two reasons. First, it was chosen as the test grounds for Blackwell’s newest fully immersive virtual experience. A first step towards true immortality as your participation here will allow us to create spaces people will be able to permanently upload themselves into.” A truly noble goal in the Doctor’s eyes. Something that only cost the unwilling participation of the now twelve prisoners. “Second is a punishment. You… runners or whatever you call yourselves. You’re annoying pests. Breaking into places you shouldn’t be and generally making the Net a worse place. Judges don’t put enough of you away and even when they do it seems like three more take your place. Well, who could blame us for creating a few traps? We could have made this place a simple virtual prison, but we decided that wasn’t enough. You needed to be humiliated and reeducated.”

“Listen you fucking freak!” On cue, Maria was released. The same as Eve had been. The same as everyone else. The doctor was following the same script as always. Even if the pacifiers weren’t filling their mouths none of them were willing to pointlessly take a punishment to warn Maria about her mistake. “You can’t do this!”

“Oops. I forgot to engage the settings. Silly me.”

The Doctor loved to play forgetful. A moment later Maria fell to the floor, no longer able to stand. None of them could. The Doctor believed that crawling was more appropriate for them.

“I will fudging-” Maria paused as she felt the system censor her. Forcibly changing the words coming out of her mouth as she said them. “Fudging!”

“No need to use those big girl words anymore, Maria.” The doctor laughed. “It’s inappropriate for someone like you.”

What bravado Maria had was finally shot. She tried to stand up but her legs didn’t support her. Holding onto the bars of one of the cribs she was barely able to stand, her attention left the Doctor and changed to the prisoner in the crib. A man bound to the crib, his fists crammed into seamless mitts, and a pacifier filling his mouth. It was the bulk between his legs that got her attention though. A thick diaper hugged his nether regions. She’d seen some rather interesting avatars on the net before, it was far from the weirdest.

What made her freeze was seeing it was wet.

“Like I said.” The Doctor easily picked Maria up despite their size being close to the same. Like Maria weighed nothing to her. Something that was probably true given the control she had over the prisoners. “The new virtual reality system is certainly something. We can enable so many things. I doubt we’d enable this on the servers we’ll sell, but there’s no reason that we can’t emulate what’s required for our little prisoners to need to use the bathroom.”

Maria’s struggles escalated as that sunk in. Not that she had anywhere to go. There was no “out.” There were no doors that exited the prison. Their gear had all been disabled. If there was a way to leave it could only come from being let out by someone on the outside.

“Let go of m-” Her cries were cut short as a pacifier appeared in the Doctor’s hand. The moment it was pushed between Maria’s lips it was stuck. She tried to force it out with her tongue and tug at it with her hands but it may as well be part of her body when it was forced into their mouths by someone in here.

“Naughty again.” The doctor tutted.

Maria’s attention changed to her hands. Her fingers began to curl, something she desperately, but pointlessly, fought against. A light enveloped her hands and once it faded a pair of mitts encased her hands. Like everyone else’s they went about halfway up the forearm. There was no zipper or lock, but like the pacifier they were not made to be removed by the user or another prisoner.

It was then that Maria made her biggest mistake.

She took a swing at the Doctor.

The Doctor was unamused as it made contact. Or, at least seemed to make contact. It landed squarely on the Doctor’s cheek, yet there was no sign that she had felt anything. Why would she? There was no reason to create a space like this where the prisoner’s could overpower her.

“Violence is not acceptable here.” She scolded Maria like a child as she carried her over to the changing table.

Rather than setting her down on her, she stood her next to it and bent her over it. A moment later restraints appeared, grabbing her wrists and ankled, forcing her against the changing table.

“I usually tell the new inmates this at the end of the introductions, but I think it's good for you to know now.” A paddle materialized in the Doctor’s hand. Even Maria knew what was coming. “The prison is loaded with cameras. We want to entertain those giving us funds. In this case we now have… thirty people watching your first punishment.”

The people watching would want to hear what was coming. The Doctor stuck a finger through the ring of the pacifier and easily pulled it out of Maria’s mouth. Something she wouldn’t have been able to do with all of her strength.

“You can’t fudging do this to me!” Maria yelled as she pulled fruitlessly against the restraints.

“If you keep talking like that I will change the censor to being a punishment instead.” The Doctor set the paddle against Maria’s ass, letting the weight drive home her point. “I think you need to be taught a lesson. Swearing and attacking others isn’t acceptable in polite society. You possess ill-gotten dignity that you don’t deserve to hold onto. So, instead of a set amount of strikes, this won’t end until you apologize with tears in your eyes.”

“Stop!” She screamed as the Doctor pulled back the paddle. “You can’t-”

Her words were cut off as the paddle made impact. The sound echoed around the room. A reminder to the other inmates about what happened when you misbehaved.

At first, Maria screamed in rage. The Doctor didn’t match her energy though. Calmly and methodically the strikes came in rhythm. Each counted by the doctor. It was on ten that Maria’s voice first wavered. At thirteen there was the hitch in her voice. The dams began to crumble just two strikes later.

“Stop!” She sobbed as the sixteenth strike landed.

The Doctor didn’t respond. There was no point in encouraging incorrect behavior. Maria had already been told what was expected of her.

The seventeenth strike came and went. Then the eighteenth. Then the nineteenth. Finally, on the twentieth, she broke. She was sobbing heavily, all the confidence she’d entered with the prison already shattered. Punished and humiliated not only in front of the other prisoners, but the faceless investors paying to see her crumble.

“I-I’m s-sorry!” Her words were interspaced with hiccups. “I s-s-shouldn’t have h-h-hit you.”

The Doctor stopped, but she seemed disappointed. It wouldn’t have surprised any of the prisoners if she wanted to keep going. The Doctor never broke her word. If she said there would be a punishment there would be, but she never broke the terms. If there was a way out she’d honor it. Several of the prisoners were currently enjoying the terms of such a deal, many made without really thinking it through.

“It’s so easy to be a good girl.” The Doctor’s voice went soft as the paddle vanished from her hand.

Maria flinched as the Doctor stroked her hair. Despite the state she was in, it wasn’t likely the last time the inmate would lash out. Some gave into the hopeless situation quickly, while others still fought back. The Doctor had all the time in the world though. Whether it be a week, a month, a year, a decade, or even more the inmates would give in. The longer it took the more fun she got to have with the group.

Still, the newest one did little to fight back now as the Doctor went back to dressing Maria in her new uniform. She picked her up and set her on the changing table, the restraints once again grabbed her arms.

“I bet its been sometime since you wore something like this.” The Doctor teased as a diaper materialized in her hand. “Extra thick to handle all kinds of accidents. Coded so you can’t remove it yourself. So if you want a change you’ll learn to be good.”

Everyone there had learned how serious that threat was. Eve was still in her diaper from last night. She hadn’t been given a change that morning because the AI nanny deemed her “naughty” for being fussy. It was hardly the longest someone in here had gone without a change.

Maria was still sniffling as the Doctor laid out the diaper. It was a simply matter to lift the prisoner’s legs and slide it under her butt. For a moment it seemed Maria was going to say something stupid again, but she managed to keep her mouth shut as the Doctor taped her up.

“So adorable!” The Doctor gushed. “We’ll use this moment as your profile picture. It’ll make a wonderful after to your ‘cool’ before pictures. It’ll help show what our rehabilitation program can do for the undesirables like yourself.”

Maria laid there defeated as the Doctor summoned another pacifier and slid it in between her lips. She was a bit disappointed at the docility but it was unsurprising after the punishment.

“I think you should meet a friend before we lay you down.”

Eve’s heartbeat escalated as the Doctor carried Maria over. At first the new prisoner was shocked, then it turned into a look of pure hate. She had done the same thing to James when she’d first showed up. The pacifier stymied any attempt at explaining the truth. The Doctor was, however, more than happy to gloat.

“Don’t be too mad at Eve. She wasn’t really the one who convinced you to come down here.” She chuckled at the tense reunion. “Eve has been here for days. Like you, she had tried to find the treasure chest only to be cause inside. Like I said, this place is for rehabilitation. We ran into an issue of what to do with your bodies though. If a bunch of runners suddenly never logged back out we’d draw too much attention. So began Project Replacement. In virtual spaces you’re little more than a mind which allowed us to get a good scan of you. In a few minutes the tether connecting you to your body will be disconnected and reconnected to this reprogrammed duplicate.”

Maria looked at the Doctor in shock. She tried to say it wasn’t possible; that you couldn’t connect someone else back to a body. All she managed was muffled babbling from behind the pacifier.

“I can guess what you’re trying to say. It’s not normally possible. Just like a virtual space like this isn’t possible. But that clone we’re sending back is you which is why it can re-sync with your body. It just has a few…adjustments.” An unsettling smirk painted the Doctor’s face. “Like Eve, you’ll try to pass off information to a cache like this to trap more criminals. When we’ve determined you’ve done enough that you will turn into a useful member of Society. While you’re in here, learning the error of your ways, the new you will come and work for us. A model example of what someone can become with the right motivation. Of course, it's because the new you is programmed to be useful and obedient. But hopefully knowing there’s a you out there doing good will bring you solace. As well as knowing that no one will think you’re missing since you’ll be going about like normal.”

Another round of tears welled up in Maria’s eyes. It was a crushing amount of knowledge, but there was no chance but to deal with it with everyone watching. There was no privacy here. Someone was always watching.

The Doctor decided to finally introduce the newest inmate to her “cell.” The last of the twelve cribs that made up the bedroom of the prison. The moment Maria was placed inside restraints extended, wrapping around her wrists and ankles. Maria didn’t give much of a fight as she was pulled spread eagle. No longer could she attempt to keep her modesty, she was on full display for anyone looking at her.

“Your arrival disrupted nap time. You’ll get your first bottle in half an hour. However you won’t be allowed to leave your crib like the others at the end of nap-time until you use this for the first time.” The nearest prisoners could hear the dull thud of the Doctor patting the front of Maria’s diaper. “Plenty of people enjoy betting on how long you hold it. Your friend Eve managed ten hours which is a bit sad. Hopefully you’ll do a bit better.”

Maria tested the restraints as the lights in the room dimmed. She had enough slack to move a bit, but not enough to matter. Not enough to cover herself or turn. Just enough to wiggle for the camera.

“Once again, welcome to the Troublemaker’s Prison. Feel free to try to hold out as long as you can. You have all the time in the world.”

Like everyone else had, she was just dropped into this new world. The Doctor had vanished and left her to deal with these feelings herself. Most tried to fall back asleep, not wanting to lose a change after nap time because they hadn’t slept. Eve couldn’t though. She laid there in her crib, listening to Maria’s soft sobbing muffled by her pacifier. There was no second chance for them, punished by a corporation exploiting them as research guinea pigs while doing their best to humiliate them as much as possible.

All they could do was follow the rules, do their best to avoid punishments, and accept that one day this would just be their new normal.