Flo’s Children

When it came to women’s soccer, no one was better at caretaking than Flo, a soccer ace who had no problems taking care of her womanly duties. She would play in the summer, celebrate every victory with her husband, and take full advantage of the offseason being close to 9 months. She had three daughters and a son before Britney was even a thought in Dorman’s mind, and in a way she was the mother of 19 of her teammates on the national soccer team. She won the country’s heart as a thirty-two-year-old midfielder who would never give up despite her body breaking down on the field. Of course, she ended up the heroine in 1999, giving every last bit of her strength to make sure that America would not fall to the dastardly Chinese. Come 2008, she was one of the leading faces to bring America toward Britney. The soccer team had always been seen as a symbol of purity, a role that seemed tailor-made for her, and when her dear friend and protégé Cory Harper was named to the coaching committee, Flo knew the job was hers. After the year of censorship where her national team was called on to secretly inoculate the public with enough of Britney to put Richardson in power by preempting popular shows stopped by the writers’ strike, she yielded to her motherly duty in a new and special way…

December, 2019. Flo sits in the waiting room of the studio with her son Tony. She stands out like a sore thumb. As if being a woman wasn’t bad enough, her demure, cream-colored skirt suit and curly hair make her look like an old lady showing off her kids instead of a seasoned writer looking for a job. She looks around at the men in coal black suits with their neat portfolios, projectors, and laptop presentations, and she smiles dreamily, staring off into the distance and tapping the old brown leather photo album in her hands.

“I thought only crazy city had female producers,” one of the men sneers at Flo as he walks out the door.

Tony takes exception to this, but before he can answer the man, Flo taps him on the shoulder with a mother’s cutting politeness.

“What did I tell you about taking turns?” she admonishes her son, still not breaking the smile that’s been plastered on her face for the entire day. Her words carry an exaggerated Carolinian drawl that doesn’t match her Californian upbringing.

The studio head finally lets Flo into his office. While Tony moves behind her chair protectively, she sits down, toning down the smile to something more demure, and looks at her future employer. “So you want to adopt my family?” she asks plainly.

“I guess you can say that. I’ve got a few projects for them, as well as the creation of a few other actresses,” the director replies, looking genuinely confused at this strangely dressed woman calling the shots. He had thought he would be seeing Tony, and Flo was an actress he was bringing around as a walking resume. But a glance down at Flo’s resume corrects his impression. “So *you’re* Florence Burke-McIntyre? The contessa of commercials? Channel 7’s resident editor in chief? So nice to finally meet you in person! What brings you here to Warner? I always thought you were a woman from the Mountain.”

“Oh, heavens, please, call me Flo- the rest of that is all too long. And I don’t like mountains anymore, all that skiing makes for broken bones for my poor little children and they catch cold. Here, I’m sure they will be safe. I do have 150 charming daughters to keep out of trouble, after all. Do you want to see them? They really are quite lovely, and so well behaved. I’ve been in the tabloids more times than they have!” Flo says, punctuating her last remark with a chuckle.

“I’d be delighted,” the director said with a smile.

“Oh, you’re a polite boy. Your mother did well with you. Now here are my first four daughters. Born right at the beginning- they aren’t much younger than that angry little hussy Natalie, but they’re much better behaved. Look at their lovely little eyes, yes, they really are just delightful...” Flo says showing off her first four daughters laid out on the first page: a brightly smiling Filipina woman laying in a pile of high heels trying to find just the right one in an ad for East 54th shoes; a still picture of a dazzling blonde in a black teddy whose face shows an undying need for her to satisfy her man; a built but feminine woman being carried by her hulking action hero co-star from a poster for 2009’s big action blockbuster “Freedom from Terror”; and finally the all too happy to sell anything smiling mother who is just pleased that her life was made easier by a good breakfast from Kensington cereals.

“Ahh, yes, Melda from Channel 6… ohhh, I didn’t know you had Clara the midnight porno vamp… Danielle the Channel 8 action heroine… and ah-ha, you’re the one behind Sarah the spinster. I always thought she had your touch. She certainly has sold a lot of cereal in her career!”

“Yes, they are exemplary big sisters, aren’t they?” Flo says with a smile, and then proceeds to tell their story.

2009: the N stage had just been discovered and the 10 Commanding Comics first took the Channel 1 stage. The call came throughout Hollywood for people to operate the deep commanding that created these puppet wonders. Little was still known about what brought about this obedience to the system, but Dorman created the first hyperprogramming machine after careful study of the creation of the 10 commanders.

Flo broke into the business with Mountain Studios. They had, after all, made her team into pure examples of proper womanhood in 2008. The idea of her athletic yet undoubtedly female women being made into the class of Hollywood was one Flo was most intrigued by, with one caveat.

“Can they still play soccer? I have a team to run,” Flo asked seriously.

“Yes, you can have them run around like that. But you’d have to be operating the equipment to tell them what to do.”

“That’s one way to keep them from screwing up! Besides coaching isn’t my thing. I’d rather be taking care of my girls.” With that assurance, she signed up to be a producer.

Her first four creations were selected one day after practice. A “special promotional opportunity”, it was called. She had her list from her higher-ups, but she made it clear to the studio that she would only take volunteers this time around.

Cory, in a position of authority and possessing major star power, was at the top of the studio list. She went to Flo to try to plead for herself.

“You know I’m really shy. I’m not big on public lifestyles. I’d just rather be quiet,” Cory begged, not knowing how much she really was pleading for her life.

“Are you sure, dear? Well, all right. I need you anyway to find more girls who are suitable. You know the soccer team better than I do,” Flo replied.

“Yes, I guess that’s true. Thanks, I’ve seen those 10 girls, they creep me out.” Cory shuddered theatrically.

The next day the four entered Flo’s office. Amanda was a Filipina who thought she could make it good as a model with her exotic looks. The early programming made her even more proud of her heritage, a rebellious answer to the racism being burned into her mind, and she was determined that Asian could be beautiful. Clara was the team ham, always trash talking and showing off her figure after goals. It was a no-brainer that she was the first one in Flo’s office, ready to take her offer. Danielle was the team’s best defender and was trying desperately to be noticed. She knew she should be the captain, not Cory, and if doing a few ads would move her up in the ranks, so be it. Sarah was the good girl; whatever the team wanted, she did. She showed up because everyone said it would be a great idea,

As they entered the studio Flo smiled. All four were in their uniform as instructed, and sat next to each other as Flo and Cory stared from the other side of the glass. Flo started fast, unlike most producers, unleashing the full subliminal fury of the system onto her charges. She then personalized every message. Melda, as she would train Amanda to become, was proud to be an Asian, any Asian, and her nationality was blurred into an Oriental stereotype. Clara’s exhibitionism was intensified and brought to the fore, and her awareness of her toned, fit body was increased. Danielle’s mind was filled with thoughts of being wanted and loved by all, while Sarah was rewarded for her sacrifices. When Flo saw all four glassy-eyed and unconscious, able only to moan and coo with the pleasure that held their minds in thrall, she put on the new headphones she bought and headed for the door.

“Are you nuts? Do you want to end up like that?!” Cory shrieked.

“They are my children now, so I have to take care of them. Don’t worry, I’m being careful. Now let me tend to them before they wet themselves,” Flo said with a smile as she walked in and undressed everyone in the room to better leave them to their pleasures. “Now for shopping! Cory, be a dear and baby-sit the girls while I’m out.”

Two hours passed and Flo returned with new clothes for each of her new children. She put her headphones back on and began to do up everyone anew. By now they were perfectly still and blank, numb even to the pleasure that had taken them down, nothing but dolls to be posed and scripted.

She smiled as she dressed Melda up as a China doll, cutting her jet black hair to a more Asian style and highlighting the slant of her eyes. Clara was made into a dignified but sexually charged treat of eye candy, wearing only lingerie on top and only covering up her panties with extra tight jeans when she had to go out; her already blonde hair was dyed and highlighted further into a blinding and irresistible shade of gold. Danielle was made into a blonde everyone would want, but Flo kept her tough, hard-edged personality apparent through a skin-tight T-shirt and jean shorts. Sarah was made the commercial follower and was put in a full housewife’s dress. By the end she looked almost like Flo, as if she was her personification.

Three more hours passed as Flo dolled everyone up to her liking, getting every detail just right and setting up the hardware connection necessary to direct them. By the time Flo was finished their eyes were vacant, almost dead, and their breathing and heart rate was just enough to sustain them. This was what Flo envisioned, so she turned off the machine and called them to rise.

Cory got out of her chair as if jet-propelled as soon as Flo came back into the room with her charges in her wake. “Since you don’t need me anymore, I’ll just be…” She trailed off, unable to come up with a reason to leave.

“Are you sure? Well, all right. I’ll just settle the girls in myself.” Flo waved farewell to Cory, then took the new actresses to their mansion. There she had the beds lined up, 2 by 2. There they had their jerseys back, pure white with blue socks. They put them on in perfect unison, then laid back on their beds, almost lying in state, mostly dead as Flo put on a video to distract them and handed each one a cookie and glass of milk. As the video played she slowly turned down the signals until they were completely out, unresponsive, barely breathing, just enough to be a completely dreamless and thoughtless slumber. She closed their eyes and kissed each one good night, then went up to her own room to sleep.

“Right, so I’ve heard that you’ve never had a large scale incident with your… children,” the director says.

“My daughters are happy little girls, they wouldn’t hurt their mother. In fact, they defend me wherever they go. They are such nice girls. Never hurt a fly, never went beyond their work, just live with me and are happy about it. No sin, no running around with boys, they just stay together. Sure, some of the older ones have boyfriends, and I’ll let them see each other one midnight once in a while. Matt and Cameron have 2 adorable sons, after all, and the only greater gift to a mother than children is grandchildren. But I keep the boys away most of the time, you never know what trouble they can get into,” Flo says with a wink as she turns the page.

“I must say that you take care of your girls. I don’t know anyone who’d risk their own life to make sure they get their charges properly placed into their roles. And you do drag them deeper down than anyone else. I must say, flipping through these resumes, only 3 are out of the limelight.”

“ONE!” Flo yells with tears in her eyes, and she flips to the black page of Jennie. “Only Caitlin is inactive and she left to go to college, where she has freed hundreds of dykes from the devil’s spell. Besides, she was adopted.”

“Yes, but what about the two who died?” the director asks.

“May was 60 years old, had her own show on Channel 3, and passed away peacefully. Why do you think all my girls help host the Breast Cancer Telethon? We all miss her dearly! And Jennie… oh, my poor, poor Jennie, not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. That horrible man… oh, I know it’s wrong, but I thank God that he’s dead,” Flo declares with tears in her eyes and goes on with her story.

Cory and Flo stood in the front of the church. All 26 of Flo’s children wore the same black dresses and funeral veils. Flo was dressed the same way while everyone else in attendance was dressed normally, many typing commands into their computers to the actresses and actors dressed in black who sat in front near the open casket that held Jennie.

“So, Flo, who will you use to make up for Jennie? Someone needs to do the Dodgers’ game tonight. Hey, that’s a good headline: “She called the Dodgers and now plays for the Angels.” Gives enough closure so the public can forget Jennie and embrace her replacement. Say, Cory, don’t you have a husband who’s looking into Sportscasting?” one of the studio heads says with a chuckle, as if it was extreme to even have a funeral for someone who was already dead before they were buried.

Cory glared daggers at him, but Flo’s reaction was more extreme. As tears streamed down her face, wrecking her makeup, she screamed, “What do you mean REPLACE? Jennie was one of a kind, a beautiful daughter of mine! Please show SOME respect for the dead, sir!”

“Why are you upset? You know she was just a body, a doll, a puppet. She’d been with God for 3 years before she was shot. Get yourself together, Flo, you know this funeral is just for show, just to make sure no one else shoots at our machines. It’s not like she really was human anymore, not like us. I’ve seen the tape. She was rattling off stats with her last breath. She felt nothing, saw no blood, thought no mortality. It’s okay, there’s nothing to cry about, not now,” Cory admonished.

“You bitch,” Flo snarled, taking Cory by surprise. “You know nothing. SHE WAS MY DAUGHTER! The Lord took her from me for a good reason, to show me that I must protect my family! I am so ashamed, and you call her not human. Go to my daughters and tell them that! You are so mean, especially to your ‘best friend’. Shame on you! May God have mercy on your soul!” She turned on her heel and strode into the church to mourn with her family.

A large curtain separated the filmed area where the actresses and actors cried and prayed for their fallen comrade from the back where the producers and writers worked, business as usual: typing in their commands, yakking on their cell phones and making sure the camera angles were just right. Cory took Flo’s computer and typed in the commands for Flo’s daughters, smirking at Flo’s misguided compassion.

The next day Cory walked into the studio and was shocked at what she saw. “What is Linda Wolfe doing here? She’s your competition! Not to mention she’s nuts! She lives in New York, and I MEAN LIVES in New York!” she demanded.

“Quiet, Cory, she’s got a new program. Besides that, she’s bringing one of her little girls here. You’ll like Caitlin- she’s a Carolina girl like you, and almost as fit.”

“Oh, sure, add one of Linda’s insane dykes here! I’m sure she’ll have a feast for a queen while your girls are passed out. Maybe I should call CPS on you!” Cory replied bitingly.

“Cory! What filthy language! Can’t you see I’m working here? I’m just about to go in there. Hand me my earmuffs, will you?”

“Whoa, is that who I think it is? Why would you want to put that dyke Gail with God? Especially a dyke who would dare claim to violate ME!”

“The soccer playing princess is a dyke? Oh yay, I told them so, I tollllldddd them so!!!” Linda exclaimed gleefully.

“Shut up, you oversized pervert. Flo, are you crazy? What COULD that whackjob dyke teach you?” Cory yelled as she tried to follow Flo into the production chamber, only to be threatened by an old friend with an M-16.

“Nice to see you again, Cory, but that’s Flo’s room! No one passes! NO ONE!” Kelly said, threatening Cory with her bayonet.

“Oh and you hired Kelly? Do you know how much that costs? Natalie can barely afford Kristen and she’s NATALIE!” Cory looked up at the ceiling and asked the entire room, “Am I the last sane woman here?”

“Favor for a teammate, SIR. No one kills one of Flo’s children and gets away with it, SIR,” Kelly snapped.

“Geez, what next, Todd Carter himself?”

“Ooohhhh, Todd, my glorious Todd…” Kelly slipped into reward mode and Cory grabbed her gun lest it accidentally fire as Kelly melted to the floor.

“See why I need better protection for my daughters? Kelly is a nice girl but way too in love with that soldier guy. You’d think he’d come home once in a while for her, the poor thing misses him so,” Flo said, tsking under her breath as she finished placing her charge into a security guard’s uniform, complete with tool belt full of armaments, then turned to go.

Cory raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you forgetting something or um…someone?” she asked, indicating Gail.

“Oh, she’s not done yet,” Flo replied breezily. “I’m a little nervous, but Linda says she knows what she’s doing, and she has kids of her own, so…” She passed Kelly on the floor and gently nudged her out of the doorway, sitting her against the wall. Cory rolled her eyes.

“Ok! Now time to throw the machine into reverse and THEN see what happens!” Linda said childishly, a grin twisting her face.

“Oh my God, you’re torturing her! You psycho! Stop it, she’s having a nervous breakdown!” Cory said. Though she tried to turn away, her gaze, and Flo and Linda’s, remained riveted to Gail’s writhing form.

“Of course, you take away what they love, they get angry, but they’re already a dolly so well…GI JOE!” Linda said smugly as Gail’s screams penetrated the thick glass, modulating into a roar that was almost inhuman.

“I’m gonna be sick.” Cory ran to the bathroom, one hand over her mouth, the other over her eyes.

“Do you need to hurt them so badly? Spare the rod and spoil the child, but this...” Flo said.

Linda nodded. “It makes mean dollies, dollies who like to kill and steal and eat the children of any threat. Like big mean guard dogs. I think I’ll call them BALTO dollies!”

“I’ll take 5 of them, but please, shi…er, fly them here from your place. I’d rather not have my girls see this. It’s too violent, not good for them.” Flo said with a motherly smile.

Cory reentered, still wiping the back of her mouth and slightly green around the gills. She joined Linda and Flo watching at the glass as Gail engaged in target practice. “Oh my God! She’s a killing machine. I must admit I could use her at Holy Trinity. But next time, use the Durham side of the trinity!” Cory said, still filled with mixed emotions.

“Okay, buh bye now!” Linda said as she walked away.

“Balto guards! That’s high budget, but I know they are well protected, even if they are just ad girls, most of them. Hmmm, a Medal of Freedom? HOW on earth did you get that?” the director asks.

“Oh, silly little Sky. Such a precocious girl. Yes, she’s our little troublemaker.” Flo chuckles as she flips the page to Sky’s picture in her trademark short mini dress with ample cleavage and no bra showing.

“And taking care of someone like that earns you our highest civilian honor? Surely it’s from one of her bit parts in films, no?” the director laughs.

Tony and Flo share a conspiratorial look. “Sky is strictly journalism. I assure you, this is the real thing,” Tony says.

“How on earth does a producer end up with that?” the director asks, now beyond curious.

“The same way I earned 3 World Cups, 4 Olympic Gold medals, 10 Emmys and the best makeup Oscar – me and my girls are just that talented,” Flo says, her wide smile glowing almost like an actress as she gloated about her achievements.

“Yes, but that’s different. This is for saving the country from a threat. What woman would be able to do that?” the director asks with a smug look of male dominance on his face.

“You’d be surprised,” Flo answers back sharply.

Cory stomped into the office, upset as ever at Flo.

“What now, you asked me? What now? We have AIS after us now! Why can’t I just have a normal life with my husband like everyone else?” she said, exhausted from her morning routine.

“It’s an afternoon game, so he can come home to you early if you’d like. I am not a fan of Julio, he stares at my girls so lustfully. How can you have such an unfaithful husband?” Flo said with a mocking tone in her voice.

“I dunno, that’s why I gave him to you. I thought you could use a son to keep the family line going,” Cory said back with a wink.

“Now why are those no-talent hacks at AIS coming here?” Flo abruptly asked.

“Because she’s been on your list for 4 years and I got her to come down here,” Cory said with a devious giggle, handing Flo a letter.

“Oh my! Skylar! I thought she ran away from home! I better tell Melda and Clara! They’ll be so happy to see her, and I know just where to put her. Little Millie’s been so tired of waking up at 3am to do the sports reports. Now she can travel the world doing soccer games!”

“AIS, as in trying to bring us down! This isn’t your prodigal daughter! If I remember right, she’s part of that group who threw the Olympics in New York. In fact, wasn’t it because she kinda stumbled in on your soccer playing daughters who were so passed out she tried to give one CPR?” Cory said with a giggle, speaking a little too loudly.

“Oh, I caught her before anything could happen. Poor child came down with dyke fever because some Aussie degenerate kicked her between the legs in the last game. I offered then and there to save her but she ran away screaming. The poor dear, her brain was seeing what her body was becoming and it scared the bejesus out of her. Ran off with those other 3 in New York, but she couldn’t have gotten too far into the transformation, otherwise she wouldn’t find her way here,” Flo said, her actress-like smile shining brightly.

“Umm, don’t forget your headphones, Florence,” Cory sneered as Skylar walked into the room.

“Why, hello, Sky, you look more gorgeous than ever!” Flo cut in front of Cory as she wasted no time shaking her hand.

Skylar ignored this. “Cory, you said you had a story on how an actress becomes that way. You’re the only one I trust. I know what happens. Even the radiation is harmful if your friend here is any indication,” Skylar said very seriously, her knockout figure covered in a pantsuit that fit very loosely just to avoid the catcalls on the flight in.

“Yes, Skylar, Flo here is the main example. She used to be so smart and now look at her. She’s no puppet, but... well-” Cory began her report.

“Yes, yes, yes, so Skylar, what makes you come back home?” Flo said, oblivious to what was happening.

“How does it work? You said you were going to show me how it works before more innocent people are killed,” Skylar said nervously.

“Relax, Skylar, in due time. Let’s kick back with some old game tapes and we’ll talk about it over lunch. We have a lot to catch up on. Tell me, do they talk about Jesus in New York?” Cory said as she led Skylar to the production room.

“Not like they do here. I’m here to interview actresses about the real story here, not be some convert. I’m getting my report then getting out of here. Now do you want to go with me or not?” Skylar said, alarmed.

“Oh, yes, I do need to get out of here… you see, Flo killed my husband for this project, and you can see what’s happening to her. We need someone to show the world exactly what happens, so write down everything. Just trust me. I’ve been in here for a few minutes sometimes when I need to forget about a bad day. You take the next 5 minutes and write down how it feels, then multiply that by days and that’s how you end up like what you saw.”

“I don’t think this is safe. You’ve done it before. Show me.” Something in Skylar’s stance, light on her toes and twitching nervously, made her look ready to run at any moment. If it hadn’t been for the mission, and the set of her jaw, the jig would have been up.

“No God-fearing stuff, I promise, just game film. I’ve left my church, too, they are so demanding. I can explain that on the way home.”

“Okay, but get that freak out of there. She’s not human,” Skylar said.

“Take five, Flo!” Cory said and Flo walked out of the room. “Now just write everything you feel down. Write an in-depth report, they will hear about it on AIS for ages. If you get tired, just tell me how you feel and I’ll write it down for you.” Skylar couldn’t see Cory’s hand on the production equipment, turning the subliminals near their maximum levels.

“Okay, thanks,” Skylar said in a tone that was already becoming breathy. Cory’s smile grew.

Half an hour later Skylar moaned out that it was five minutes.

“Keep writing, this will be the story of the century. Just keep noting how it feels, what’s happening. This is the top-secret part. I’m gonna fetch Amanda- oh, she answers to Melda now- so you can interview her when I get back,” Cory said as she walked away.

“Wait, I’m not seeing what’s on the screen! My God, I’m ready to melt, don’t leave me, I need you…Cory, I need you, don’t leave! I feel it happening, where am I? Can’t write, I’m hallucinating… so beautiful, so hot, can’t leave, Cory, I need you, please, I…” Skylar moaned out, unsure if she was calling for the man she was envisioning or the woman who trapped her in the fantasy world, or both.

Flo came back in and sat next to Cory who never left. “Gee. She fell for that easy. And here I thought I was gonna have to fight with her all afternoon. Guess they all want to come home in the end,” she said with a smile.

“Keep taking notes, Sky, keep those hands writing,” Cory called into the mic.

“Pen on paper, not in mouth, dear,” Flo added as Skylar tried to suck on her pen to keep her in reality, her brain fighting a losing battle that her body kept trying harder not to win.

“She trusted me way too much. I’ve been setting this up for weeks. She fell for everything, even me setting foot in that death chamber. I must say it scared me even with the screens turned off,” Cory said.

“Oh, stop, Cory. It’s not that bad, look at Sky. She’s sleeping so comfortably. They look so cute when they’re like that,” Flo chirped as Skylar’s face twisted into a mindless smile, her eyes completely glazed over.

Finally after a short while longer, Skylar’s notebook fell to the floor. Cory clasped her hands in prayer while Flo grabbed her headphones and headed inside.

“Dear Lord, grant this soul admittance into the highest circle of heaven for her sacrifice and may her body convey Your word purely without corruption, amen,” Cory recited.

Flo turned just before opening the door and gave her a strange look. “I’ll say it again, my daughters are not dead, they’re as alive as ever.” As she began to undress Skylar, a few cards on the floor caught her attention, and she began to rifle through Skylar’s purse.

“Hey, Cory, I think we better take this to the FBI. Looks like Sky here was more than just reporting for the European freaks. Such a bad girl. I found an UNSCOM ID in here and a few folders of secret documents. Gee, Sky, you were one busy little hoochie, weren’t you! You know the UN and their helping the gooks. I’m sure she doesn’t mind us giving this over to the FBI so those gooks will stay away from us and keep us safe now. Sky’s a nice girl now, a nice pretty little girl. Yes, no more kissing confessions out of boys for you, little lady. Now you’re home and momma Flo can keep you nice and safe so your looks will never get you in trouble again,” Flo whispered into Sky’s ear as she reclined her chair into a more comfortable position, then walked out to get her wardrobe.

“She really was spying? Then again, they SAY that’s how Natalie got her start. Maybe she should be on Channel 1,” Cory said with a laugh.

“With her looks? Natalie’s husband would ditch that bleached hoochie in two shakes for Sky, and Sky seems loose enough to do it. Nope, have to keep our precocious girl on a good short leash and out of trouble until we can teach her properly. I’ve never been in the tabloids yet and I intend to keep it that way. It’ll be sports for you, young lady. Just give the reports and don’t give the boys too much to stare at,” Flo decided quickly.

“She’ll say whatever God needs her to say. May His embrace shield her from whatever she encounters,” Cory said disappointedly.

“You, never in the tabloids? HA! That was a good one, thanks. Man, you really are out of it. Let’s see…” The director is interrupted as he belly laughs so hard he almost falls out of his seat.

“Oh, that rumor was started by… oh, actually it was this studio I believe. Someone got jealous of my daughters and decided that since I only had girls and I made sure they were all nice and ready beforehand and I lived with them that I must be a dyke. Such rubbish! I fault you only for being so unoriginal. Didn’t you know my husband went to jail for such accusations?” Flo flips to the tabloid press clippings next to the picture of former teen pop princess of Channel 2 and current Channel 9 sorority queen Florence Georgia- Flo-Go for short- assumed daughter of Keith the country king. “Now she graduates college next week. That’s one reason I’m going after your company. Joey is the perfect husband for her. I would so give her to him. She’s got good roots, she’d be an unbelievable mother!”

“I take it she’s your daughter,” the director says.

“Well, they’re all my daughters, but she’s only one of 3 who’s his sister.” Flo smiles and points at Tony.

“Now, anyway, the trial, what happened?” the director asks.

Flo’s studio was draped in all streamers as she walked in with her daughter, Georgia, and the lights flicked on.

“Surprise!” everyone yelled, and Georgia saw all of her 10 favorite actresses sitting to celebrate her 18th birthday.

“Oh, man, mom! How’d you get everyone here? I mean, I know you work in Hollywood, but man, Sky? Cameron? Mom, did you have to remind me I listened to Freida Florida when I was in middle school? She’s so out of date,” Georgia said.

“It’s ok, she knows it too, that’s why she’s taking a break and going to college. You talk to your new friends- that’s just the first of your presents. After all, I don’t see you enough with all this Hollywood work,” Flo said proudly.

After cake each one of the actresses gave a different box to Georgia. Cameron gave her a poster autographed by all of Flo’s actress children, Sky gave her a sparkling top with a deep plunging neckline that was built for showing off cleavage, Melda gave her three pairs of high heeled shoes, Clara gave her a push up bra that made Georgia blush somewhat, Danielle gave her an electric guitar, and then even more wardrobe pieces until Freida gave her a pair of sparkling blue jeans that went with everything else. Finally, Sarah pulled out one more box and gave it to Georgia.

“Wow, a soccer uniform with my name on it. No shoes, but well…thanks,” Georgia said, somewhat confused.

“Dear, it all goes together. I’m giving you acting lessons for your birthday. Work hard enough and you’ll be famous. I have the pull inside Hollywood.”

“Wow, mom, you mean it? When do they start? Oh, wow, that’s the coolest thing ever!”

“Well, you start by observing everyone else, that’s what the theatre room behind me is for. The soccer uniform is something nice and comfy for the long hours,” Flo explained.

“Can I change now and get started just a little today?” Georgia pleaded.

“That was the plan all along, dear. Happy birthday!” Flo said with a devious smile.

Cory walked in that night, expecting to go over the soccer roster to pick out the 4 “star players” for that year’s World Cup when she saw Georgia sprawled out in the production room.

“Flo, what’s going on?” Cory asked sternly.

“Freida Florida’s out of taste so the record company needs a new pop star. How does Flo-Go sound as a name?” Flo said proudly as her daughter took to the system like a fish to water.

“I can’t believe you! Your own daughter? Your own flesh and blood you would make into one of these things!” Cory said angrily.

“She wanted fame. I could give it to her. What’s a mother to deprive her daughter? That wouldn’t be right of me. Now excuse me, I picked this outfit for her myself, and she’s ready now,” Flo said as she delightfully picked up her headphones and headed inside.

Cory blocked the door. “Oh, no, let me do that part. Please! Yeah, I’ll go in there… hope I come out alive… ughhhhh, just don’t touch her.”

“Why not? Do you want her naked the rest of her life?” Flo said with a giggle in her voice. “We’re out of the Garden of Eden, you know.”

“Oh, that is disgusting, you’re gonna dress your own daughter,” Cory said, trying not to vomit.

“Well, of course. Doesn’t every mother? You have to make sure they wear proper things after all.” Flo said with her smile.

“I mean your OWN DAUGHTER! That’s just… I thought we agreed that we’d only do the team to make the team stronger and protect them from this wicked world. Maybe some friends of mine like Cameron and Jennie, but now I see you with basketball players, Patricia the female speed demon, and next thing I know you’re feeling up your own daughter!”

“HOW DARE YOU? I am not a dyke! I care for my children. *All* of them! That’s more than half this town! Half the time they let them loose while they’re in their little tizzy before they calm down, or they let them try to undress themselves. I care for them, I do their own hair, I buy their clothes with my own money, I hire cooks instead of having them go to those bars where everyone is wanting to grab them or take advantage of their simplicity. When their star fades I put them in commercials or modeling. I find them work, I don’t just sell them to some rich guy who wants something to keep him warm at night. You know how crazy it is here, and you call me sick? Well maybe I am, but I’m going to be sick protecting all I can,” Flo said, half-crying, half contemplating taking her headphones off and making a mother-daughter act.

Cory reached out, pulling her hand back only when it hit glass. “I know it’s hard, that’s why I can’t work full time at it. You put too much of yourself into your family. Just… just be careful, this is going to light up the tabloids.”

The next week Flo-Go and Flo returned home and sat down at dinner.

“So, Georgia, how was your trip to Hollywood?” her father asked.

“It was like, AWESOME! It was like, SO COOL! I learned like, SO MUCH and the guys there are like, SOOO HOT!” Georgia replied in her preprogrammed manner and he got up and stomped his way over to the kitchen where Flo was just about to bring out the breadbasket.

“You couldn’t resist, could you? You had to do it. You had to kill her! You make me sick! How much did you touch her? I know you were infected but it was accidental! Part of your job meant pulling up pants and strapping on bras of beautiful women, I knew that! After time all the touching was bound to give you the fever, so I ignored it as a work hazard and that the woman I loved still lived in the way you take care of our family. After all, you gave me so much beautiful womanhood when you were Florence that I felt that if you really had been transformed into a dyke I could live with it in my old age as long as you raised our children well, which until today you have. But no, the poison finally got to you, didn’t it? You had to rape and kill our own daughter. Not even the bald amazon dyke monsters commit incest! What’s her name now? FloMo as in homo?”

“What on earth are you talking about? She’s always wanted to perform, even before I took the job in Hollywood. And now she will, her first album session is next week. She would be crushed if you missed it,” Flo said, trying to choke back tears while her children chatted with their star sister, oblivious to what was going on.

“You don’t even see it? You can’t stop smiling, can you? You get high off of that machine, don’t you? You get high and dyke out to… what is it now, 50 different women… all who you render helpless for your amusement. My God, how did you become such a monster? Where did I go wrong? You need help, a HOPE camp, prison, anything, but damnit, I will not put up with this anymore! I’m getting a divorce and putting you on trial for dyke rape. Please confess to it, I’ll recommend a HOPE camp and you can be fixed.” Flo packed her things, heartbroken and in tears, unable to stand against her husband’s rage.

That night in the mansion, her children had to settle for store-bought cookies and a rerun of the Quaker Show instead of a bedtime story. She brought Matt down from the boyfriend’s room to kiss everyone goodnight and then walked up to the production area. She fired up her equipment and went inside with her headphones. She thought about taking them off, leaving Cory the torch to carry. She left a message with Cory to pick her up in the morning and slid off her headphones. Half an hour later she awoke suddenly. Her voice was perkier and her smile would never again stop going from ear to ear, but Cory stood over her as her vision returned.

“Don’t you have 51 mouths to feed? Working mother’s work is never done!” Cory said sternly.

“What, huh, right, Cory? Ummm, sure,” Flo said, still waking up.

“You’ll be fine. I left the second I heard the phone ring. You’re lucky I thought you’d do something like this and stayed in LA just to be safe.”

Flo stretched and yawned. “It must be 3am, time to get Sky up for the sports recap. How long did I oversleep?”

“Oversleep? You tried to sleep forever! Suicide is not how God likes his challenges met! You stooped low, but I won’t let you stoop lower. While you were… out… the charges were filed and I got you a lawyer. Your trial will be in San Diego, or, in other words, you got him beat. Thank the Lord for that, and thank ME for not wanting to do anything with being a producer. Anyone else you worked with would just add you to their stable in whatever role they could find. Just ask Veronica,” Cory said.

“How do you fancy that I have them beat? It's impossible for a woman to defeat a man in a dyke case,” Flo asked.

“You have 50 witnesses who will swear to their grave that they were never touched... sorry, no, 51. Hollywood knows their secret, but anywhere outside of here, they won't know a thing except big stars are saying that you're nothing but a good and dedicated woman. Besides, juries are all male now, they’ll be too busy staring at Sky’s breasts,” Cory said coyly.

“Right. Right! Why are you helping me?” Flo finally asked.

“Because we stick together,” Cory replied. “But you got to promise me to stick to the team. They deserve to be with God. This system, it hurts us women- we aren’t meant to be free and independent like we used to, but you keep them safe and in heaven instead of just being trapped in suburbia.”

“All right…” Flo said. She turned to go, but a thought crossed her mind, and she looked back over her shoulder. “Cory, do they think me and you, you know…”

“They won’t after I testify against you,” Cory said with a smirk.

The trial came, and all the actresses testified for Flo, to the point where the judge was even asking for autographs.

When the verdict came it was a huge victory for Flo. Her husband was sent to prison for false charges and the tabloids never asked again.

“Okay, then, then with a service record like that, why were you fired from the Mountain? For lack of control, no less! That’s what I don’t understand. You never stop smiling, you have a great stable, and yet they fire you?” the director asks.

“Overblown, one incident that they used to rid the world of the woman,” Tony interjects.

“Now, now, we mustn’t judge. It comes back to dear Cory, just last year,” Flo says happily.

“So do I even want to know what happened?”

“I think you do,” Flo replies. “Why else would you hire someone who was fired?"

“Revenge. But you seem to want to tell me, so talk,” the director snaps.

Rachel knew she was a dead woman walking. She feared the actresses more than Cory did. She knew enough from rumors and her own daily manipulation of people at Holy Trinity to imagine what would become of her. She thought that you really were killed, murdered, and replaced with a robot of some sort. But she was the new captain of the team, the first that wasn’t controlled by Flo sitting in the press box with a joystick for years. When Caitlin limped home to her Holy Trinity camp to serve as a patron, she knew those days were numbered. She had seen her teammates visit "Mama Flo" and return as shells of themselves who just did as they were told, with scripted personalities and canned moves that fit Flo’s old game film more than anything they had done before. She knew they became famous, but she knew something was happening, not enough to disrupt her calling but enough to fear the matriarch of the soccer federation.

“Leg don’t go that high anymore, can't stretch anymore, I’ll end up old and fat like everyone else,” Caitlin pouted in a preprogrammed explanation as she stepped off the plane with Flo close behind her. Rachel was clearly fighting off the urge to run the other way.

“Rachel, my dear, why so afraid? Caitlin will be a wonderful dean for your HOPE program. Not only will she be creating pure women, she’ll create pure women who are in absolutely killer shape,” Flo said with her endless smile.

“Just stay away from me! I’ve come too far on my own to end up like… like her! What happened, anyway? Short circuit? Computer didn’t boot the right way? Her plastic shell get dented? Need me to bring an oil can?” Rachel asked.

“What on earth? Ohhh, have you been watching the BBC again? Why Channel 9 imports that foreign language stuff, I’ll never understand. No, Caitlin is not a robot mannequin like they do in Europe because they don’t have the technology we have. She’s fully human, complete with an arthritic knee that made her retire young. That’s why I came along with her. You’re a better athlete than her, and so well known, and you’d look so cute in tight shorts and a sports bra. Victory already has pledged forty million in product, your own line of clothing for all the little Rachels out there! Imagine that!” Flo explained, eying Rachel for her next project.

“But I don't want to go to Hollywood! I have my camp! I save souls! It’s a fulfilling little task that God has given me. I have a wonderful husband and only have had time to give him one boy so far. To sell my soul to you would be an unspeakable sin. Everyone else, they hadn’t found their calling or they completed their womanly duties. I’m sure you understand!” Rachel pleaded, her voice raw and strained.

“You’ll have plenty of time, you’re only twenty-three, after all. I’ll make sure you’ll have the finest children. Your reluctance is a good thing- it's so hard these days to find someone so young, so beautiful, and yet so dedicated, that will sell so well. That’s why you were voted captain despite not being a daughter of mine.” The last few words came out in a sweet, syrupy tone that made Rachel wince.

“I just don’t know. It would be so hard for me to leave Holy Trinity- they're my imperfect family, just like your…daughters are yours. Besides, don’t you have better-looking women to replace Caitlin with? I mean, there's the softball team, lots of wholesome young women there. How about that tall colored supermodel lady, Leslie dressed to the Nines? You could adopt her just like you did Caitlin, less work! Or, here, I can give you a full compliment of blonde exercise dykes to kill for me!” Rachel finally blurted out in desperation.

“Dearie, you don't understand. I just can't. I made a promise to Cory that I wouldn’t take anyone into my family unless they came to me first or were a member of the team. It’s a family thing, Rachel. Let the Lord take care of you after you spent so long taking care of the Lord.” Flo said these lines almost the way an actress would read her lines, with plastic emotion and a shining smile. The deal with Cory was burned into her brain during her suicide attempt, after all, but this made Rachel see her chance.

“Well, that’s silly, why limit yourself? It’s a business. Besides, I would be so much better off as the new face of the soccer team, someone alive and visible in public like Cory was for so many years. You know, for thirty-four, she doesn’t look a day over sixteen. She might be the most famous non-actress out there, maybe the only famous non-actress out there. Say, wouldn’t she make a nice replacement? She would sell so much more than some young’un like me and she’s done her duty to the Lord. I haven’t even had enough kids to replace yet! Everyone knows Cory, she’d be a spandex Natalie. I know she helps you. I can do the same thing, if not more. We do get SO many good-looking femmes, after all, and they are the hardest to save because they can hide themselves with a token husband because they look so good. So you can save the world from dykes and have more famous people at the same time!” Rachel said with a smile.

“Hmmm, never thought of it that way,” Flo mused. “She is one of the few big name public figures who isn’t on the walk of fame.”

“Yep! I’ll tell you what, you do that and I’ll give you free rein of my reformed girls. A university grant would sure help get Cory’s career launched, and I’m sure Victory would double their investment to have someone like Cory! You don’t even have to change the name of the show! ‘Robics with Rachel just doesn’t have the same ring to it as Cardio with Cory,” Rachel said, quickly writing out a check.

“No, I guess it doesn’t,” Flo said, confused, but with Rachel’s words making more sense by the second.

The next day in Hollywood, Cory walked in to see that Flo had returned alone from Carolina.

“Couldn’t get Rachel down here, Flo? You’re slipping in your old age,” Cory teased.

“No, the studio and I thought of someone more suitable, with more star power, to replace Caitlin,” Flo said calmly.

“You’re gonna import someone over, then? Sky's certainly got the body for it, and that rookie midfielder would replace her on the sports report very well,” Cory said nervously as she could see Flo’s eyes measuring her in a way she had seen way too many times before.

“You saved my life, Cory. I’ll never forget that. You helped me and my daughters through our toughest times. You’ve been there for me, and I can never repay you enough. But I have to try. You've worked harder than any woman ever should. Let good old mama Flo tuck you into bed, it’s time for you to rest,” Flo said, trying to coax Cory into the production room without a scene.

“What? No! You know how I feel! I want to be alive, not some *thing*,” Cory said, her face paling and her eyes wide.

“Think about it. You have incredible star power. Channel 1 has already promised us a better time slot- instead of just 7:00am on Channel 7 we have you slated for 7:30 on the wake up show on Channel 1 itself! Isn’t that exciting? You’d be slotted in with Natalie and all the commanders. Only someone with your existing star power could do that. We Americans *are* getting a little weighed down, maybe you were right about Wendy O’Reilly being just a little deceptive after all. You’re more famous than half my daughters already, and you always have been. If we did this right, you’d be the level of Natalie. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I wouldn’t put my best friend to sleep just for any old ad gig, after all. I know you’d always be the big sister. I’d give you your own room with your husband, you’d be my #1 star, higher than Flo-Go even, and you KNOW how much I love my little Flo-Go!”

“Flo, please, no! I…I…don’t want to die! I have a family to raise alone, already against God’s wishes because I was greedy when I was younger and made my husband one of your few sons. Don’t let them suffer in some Hollywood day care!” Cory pleaded.

“I wouldn't do that. I'd take care of them like my own grandchildren." Flo paused and put a hand out to soothe Cory. "I know you’re afraid, dear. I promise you I will let you be freer than my other daughters. You’ll always be Cory. You’ll have to be. It limits their performance ability not to be able to ad-lib once in a while. This IS Channel 1, after all, I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important,” Flo said with a giggle.

“All right, but let me do this right, because I know what happens, unlike almost anyone else. I’ve been there. I’ve helped you in your creations. I know how dead your… daughters are. You want me because it’s your big break? Fine. What are friends for, after all? Let me say goodbye to my kids and ship them off back to Carolina to be raised by people I trust. Before we used this system, someone at that level made about a million dollars a year. Let me will the money I make to my kids so they can go to college instead of the studio making up fake paychecks and keeping it for themselves. Give me today to prepare and I’ll die for you," Cory said sadly.

“Oh, don't be like that. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I’ll work out the money part with the agents,” Flo cheerfully replied.

The next day Cory showed up in a red gym suit and jacket with her hair up in her trademark ponytail and her face all made up.

“I see you are comfortable,” Flo said happily.

“I'm going to be sitting a long time. You bring the agent?” Cory replied. Flo indicated the strange man sitting at the table. Cory sat in the chair opposite and signed herself over for the agreed-to salary then made her extra demands. “The kids are safe in North Carolina. They know enough about what I've done, don’t let them see me like this. Except on television of course, I do want them to be proud of me.” She said the last with a laugh that held a cynical edge.

“Right, they will be well taken care of. And, yes, they are on the Chapel Hill side of the Trinity, of course,” Flo reassured Cory. "Would I trust my grandchildren with crazies?"

“Good, now I get to be reunited with my husband and will have my own home,” Cory reminded Flo.

“You're old enough to move out of the house. I know just the place, too."

“Now let my medals and trophies be separate from what I become. Mention them, but let them stay in Carolina. I want my accomplishments to be separate from my acting accolades,” Cory noted.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get enough Emmys to replace your medals,” Flo said reassuringly.

“Damn right I will. Lastly, I get to choose my own wardrobe. Let me keep my hair the same color. I do have a reputation to uphold, and I can't do that as a blonde. I am Cory, not Caitlin after all. As for the outfit… Victory designed, I assure you.” Cory took off her jacket and wind pants to show her custom made soccer uniform, an extra tight dark blue shirt with no sleeves, shorter than regulation shorts that show off more than enough of her freshly shaven legs, and a pair of somewhat sloped Victory sneakers.

“That’ll work, Channel 1 is a little more conservative than Channel 7, after all.” Flo looked on with the studio personnel, all of whom looked ready to object, but one glare from Flo quieted them all.

“Now, pray with me. Dear Lord, accept my sacrifice to you as a messenger of your word. May I be kept safe and my body pure while my soul is raised to the highest. May I serve Your word with honesty, purity and glory until body and soul are reunited for eternity, Amen,” Cory said to the prayer circle as she headed into the production room.

“Ready, Cory?” Flo said from behind the glass.

“As I'll ever be,” Cory replied and Flo let the machine rip full blast as was her trademark.

“I dunno, she’s coming with too many strings attached,” the studio head remarked.

“Oh, don't worry. I brought scissors. You know the standard rate: hundred thousand a year for upkeep, another fifty a year for services, plus bonuses, expenses and ratings incentives, all made out to me, of course,” Flo said happily as Rachel walked in.

“So, I miss the long teary speech?” Rachel asked.

“Just a long list of demands. Such an ungrateful child. Did you bring her medals?” Flo asked.

“Yep, and her World Cup rings. And for fun, the ring from the failed, non government supported league title she won before our team took its rightful place,” Rachel said with a laugh.

“Very attractive shade of gold on these. I’ll keep this one, I'll need it when I visit the barber shop,” Flo said, her grin widening.

An hour passed and Flo finally decided it was time to head inside. She put on her headphones and pulled up a chair right next to Cory, who was as vacant as anyone else she had programmed.

“Normally, I take a half hour before I come in, but I know you were worried, so I gave you a little longer to get comfy. See, Cory, there was nothing to fear, nothing at all, but you know that now,” Flo said as she took Cory’s hand-picked outfit off and reclined the chair until Cory was almost laying flat, ready to surrender to the sensations overwhelming her body. “Sweet dreams. I’ll be back later to take care of you.”

“Man, I didn’t know how hairy-palmed actresses become,” Rachel said, shocked as she observed Cory moaning and twisting in ecstasy.

“They get worked up quite a bit before they calm down. That’s why I leave them naked. Makes it easier for them to get all the sin of their past out of their system safely rather than just running around with the boys,” Flo explained almost condescendingly.

“Yeah, and I thought the girls I reformed would do odd stuff in secret,” Rachel said, trying to look away.

“Let her have her privacy. The studio hired a sitter, and they always send over the most attentive boys. We need to get shopping anyway,” Flo laughed and they headed out.

When they returned, Flo put her headphones back on and headed inside. Cory was now motionless and glassy-eyed as Flo came in and started her work, putting Cory in a sparkling and revealing pair of short exercise shorts, matching sports bra that showed off her cleavage, and platform sneakers. Flo then pulled out her hair dye kit and got started. Hours later Cory’s hair all but matched her medals.

“Olympic Gold, I'm sure all the Orange Grove salons will be stocking it in no time,” Flo noted as she finally headed out after hours dolling up Cory just right. Rachel laughed.

Flo turned off the equipment, pulled out Cory’s program disk from the mainframe, and uploaded it to her computer. She commanded Cory to rise and she flashed her newly formed actress’s smile.

“Wow, and I thought just making robots was bad. But man, it works.” Rachel said as Flo took Cory out to the limo to take her home.

Inside Flo’s mansion, Cory got out of the car, a dazed look on her face as she was led into the large locker room. There her uniform was laid out, and she put it on slowly as one of Flo’s many writers walked in and took Cory’s computer and laid out Cory’s schedule.

“I thought she was going to get her own place,” the writer said with a grin.

“Oh no, she’s one of my daughters, she lives with the family. Isn’t that right, Cory?” Flo replied and all Cory could do was smile and nod eagerly.

Cory did up her hair in a ponytail just like all of Flo’s children did while home and then walked inside to the vast swarm of ponytails and empty smiles.

“She seems not to have any second thoughts about having to live with everyone else,” the writer noticed.

“Of course not, all my daughters know mama Flo knows best,” Flo replied.

“You get them good, don’t you?” the writer said as they passed into the main hall and were greeted by Jay Street Jamie, the New York Judeo-Catholic mother who did her best “I’ve been waiting for you”, New York know-it-all grin.

“If I can get a medal for making a UN inspector not realize she’s exposing herself for the enemy, calming down a frightened little girl is nothing. That’s what mamas are for after all. No divas in this house. Flo-Go just plays one on TV.” Flo smiled more broadly, admiring her work as they lined up for dinner. “They ALWAYS eat their veggies, you know. Not even Natalie is that good,” she said, not noticing the chuckles coming from the other actress children of hers as Cory made her way down the line. Flo-Go’s eyes grew soft and warm as she showed her mother a grin of thanks like the school bully had been tamed as Cory passed her. Wendy O’Reilly nabbed a fry off of Cory’s plate when Cory, staring blankly ahead, came past her.

Flo kept an eye on Cory as she always did on her new daughters, making sure nothing needed to be smoothed out or rewritten. Cory walked in and took her seat and ate her dinner quietly like everyone else, settling in next to Sky and former late night talk show queen turned morning shock jock foil Screamin’ Sadie, who both glanced up briefly at Cory and scooted over in unison to give Cory a seat.

“Hmmm… that’s interesting…well, Sadie is your age and Sky… I'm sure you remember a little, don’t you? You don't have to. Just play nice.” Flo chuckled and then stared at her computer to make sure that nothing was returning to Cory’s freshly emptied mind, not seeing Sadie doing the hand wave test at Cory and her grin becoming wider than after her dirtiest jokes at the results.

After dinner everyone got up, went to shower, and brush their teeth. The ones behind Cory scanned her uniform as if to confirm that yes it really was Cory who was their new sister bold enough to don the 9 shirt.

They lined up neatly four by four as they grabbed their toothbrushes and got ready for their showers. Clara strolled through, ready for her night shift in her lace top and tight, sparkling miniskirt, and checked out Cory’s body with a wolf whistle.

“How many times must I tell you not to do that!” Flo screamed at Clara’s writer who insisted he didn’t as he ran out the door lest he get more of Flo’s wrath.

As Cory and Sky finished and showed off their perfectly clean teeth Sky stuck her tongue out at Cory before returning to her perfect, actress smile.

“Hey! I didn't script that! How did that happen?” Sky’s writer said to Flo.

“What? You know Sky’s a troublemaker sometimes. Silly girl, show your clean teeth not your clean tongue.” Flo laughed at Sky and winked at her writer as the actresses walked to bed. As Cory passed each bed everyone’s head turned; the smiles turned brighter and some light chuckling could be heard, making the writers turn pale.

“Hmmm, should I let Sky introduce Cory first to keep it in the family or let Channel 1 handle it?” Flo asked her writers as she put up her hair while the writers packed up to go home and the actresses gnawed on their milk and cookies as their bedtime story played on the large screens in front of them.

“Are you crazy?" both Sky and Cory's writers chorused after seeing what was happening but not wanting to tell Flo lest she blame them.

"Cory's above Sky!" Cory's writer protested.

Sky's writer glared at his colleague. "Sky doesn't need to deal with some rookie on camera! Leave her out of this!"

“Eh, I don’t want Cory to be scared, she was so nervous joining us. Sky will take nice care of her. Then Channel 1 can have their way with her,” Flo said definitively. As the last laptop was uploaded into the main computer, and as everyone finished their milk and cookies, Flo turned down the power gradually. Everyone grew drowsy, so she got up and kissed them each goodnight before shutting them off completely, waiting as their eyes rolled into their heads and slid shut, everyone seemingly glancing in Cory’s direction.

“Welcome home, Cory, sweet dreams,” Flo whispered into Cory’s ear and she dropped like a brick into her bed, out cold until Flo would choose to awaken her. She then went to Sky and kissed her goodnight and Sky’s fading eyes seemed to drift over toward Cory.

“Yep, you’ll do her introduction interview tomorrow at 6am. Sleep tight and take good care of your sister,” Flo whispered and Sky fell off into her cold, dead sleep.

That morning Flo woke up with a big smile as Cory’s writer walked in.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yep!” Flo said excitedly as she fired the jolt to awaken Cory with a playful yawn and a quick leap up out of bed.

As Cory got dressed and into her limo to head to the Channel 7 studios, Flo went with her. “Gotta have it right this time,” Flo said happily; this was her biggest opportunity and she was looking forward to having a prime Channel 1 spot.

At the studios they got out of the limo where Sky’s writer waited. “Oh, hey, Flo, come to watch the big debut?” he asked.

“Of course! My little girl's making her big debut! Remember, questions and answers only. Let the real show start on Channel 1,” Flo said as she put a jacket on over Cory’s revealing outfit.

“Good idea, although the notion of Sky getting into some exercise clothes and picking up some pointers…” Sky’s writer said, half-drooling.

“Would upstage poor little Cory! Besides, I’m sure this won’t be Cory’s only visit. Now put her medals and rings on her. I want to show how much it matches her hair!” Flo giggled.

“Right,” Cory’s writer said with a grin as Sky walked in during commercial and grabbed Cory by the hand to lead her on stage, eyes locked on Cory.

“HEY! Which one of you is being lazy and using Sky’s normal introduction? One, Cory is her sister! she doesn’t need to be led by the hand! Two, Cory is a WOMAN! I know you haven’t had a female guest in this studio, but that’s no reason to make them dykes, save that for Linda Wolfe! Low rated Channel 7 hacks!” Flo yelled in disgust.

“Hey, at least she isn’t knocking her out with a backrub like she does to the male athletes. Give us SOME credit,” yelled back one of the stagehands.

“30 seconds!” the director called.

“Whoever's working with Sky, get your act together! She looks like she’s going to kill poor Cory! Type in the facial expressions, get her off of double zero! You can’t do this interview half-heartedly! These are both my girls you're working with here!” Flo exclaimed, once again attributing Sky’s expression to her writers.

“And action!” the director yelled and all fell quiet.

“Welcome back to the Sports Sky First Report. Joining me in the studio is someone who you must know very well. She won our glorious country medals over the Gooks, the Dykes Down Under, and the Commie Soviet Reds, and now she’s retired from soccer to have a new goal, helping YOU stay fit in the morning. Please welcome Cory Harper to the Channel 7 Lineup, replacing Caitlin in the newly titled “Cardio with Cory”," Sky said with a warm smile and an attention-grabbing cross of her long legs.

Offstage Flo grew angrier by the second.

“Who dropped her last name? That breaks the first law of writing! I don’t care HOW famous she is by her full name!” Flo chastised Sky’s writer.

“Please, just call me Cory. We're all friends here. I’m here to make sure all of America stays fit and in beautiful shape so they can be as good looking as me!” Cory said on screen and Cory’s writer winked at Flo to tell her the problem was fixed.

“So, Cory, how does it feel to be on television after years on the soccer field?” Sky asked.

“Well, it’s quite awesome, to think a little girl like me would be so popular that they would want me to replace Caitlin. It’s quite an honor,” Cory chirped.

“I’d bet! So how does it FEEL moving to Hollywood and meeting everyone? I heard you already gave a private lesson to half the men of Channel 1,” Sky asked with a leering intonation on the last sentence but a cold glare at the beginning.

“Oh, you couldn’t resist having Sky make a double entendre! MEN!” Flo said backstage, rolling her eyes. The writers looked askance at each other, but ignored her.

After Cory’s response Sky asked another question.

“So, how DOES it FEEL to be so highly thought of that you will be doing a daily feature on the Wake Up Show on Channel 1 in addition to your show here on Channel 7?” Sky asked, again coldly droning out the first 4 words before moving on to the real question.

“Are we stuck? What’s with these openings? Are the computers jammed? Fix it!” Flo demanded, suspecting a technical glitch.

“If I didn’t know better I’d say Sky is ad-libbing,” one of the stagehands whispered as yet another question was prefaced with the same phrase, which had almost taken on a taunting tone.

“My daughters NEVER ad-lib, sir. They are well behaved young ladies!” Flo growled. "Maybe the loose women you see in here would, but not my daughters!"

“How does it feel which routines will you do on Channel 7?” Sky asked, her opening phrase now not mixing with the question and being obviously forced in angrily.

“Call a commercial! Use my computer!” Flo snapped in disgust and walked over with her laptop to give to Sky’s writer.

“What are you running, CARTER?! No wonder things are jammed up. Doesn’t Channel 7 have ANY budget for proper equipment?” Flo said, defending Sky to the grave.

“The equipment is not the problem! She’s going on her own, maybe, just maybe, because it’s impossible to erase the face of your cold-blooded murderer from your memory!” Sky’s writer snapped back at Flo.

“What in heaven do you mean?” Flo said, almost falling into actress mode herself. "I brought Sky home, that's all."

After commercial the interview resumed.

“So, Cory, all that stretching you showed me during commercial, that must FEEL very good. How DOES it FEEL now?” Sky said, somewhat more relaxed but still glaring.

“Yep, I thought so. Sky’s gone all Natalie on us. Try to bring it home and we’ll cover up the mess on Channel 1. Not like anyone is watching. Don’t worry, Flo, it happens to the best. Every girl has her diva moments. A nice long afternoon sleep and Sky will be just fine. You put too much pressure on her. Even your girls are bound to crack at that,” Sky’s writer said condescendingly to Flo, at which Flo was none too pleased.

“I have the money! You want Cory, then I’m getting all new computers and upgrading everyone’s software. On me! She deserves better than this horrid production equipment!” Flo screamed as Sky walked out of the studio and looked Flo in the eye.

“It’s okay, sweetie, you just heard a bad line, that’s all. You did good saying exactly what you thought you heard. Don’t feel bad, mama’s gonna buy you new speakers so you can hear things loud and clear now,” Flo said to Sky, who flashed her smile, although most of the writers chuckled as it more resembled a wicked grin than anything else.

“So they blamed you for the meltdown,” the director says to Flo.

“That's what they said, but it was just a plot for a coup, those PIGS on the Mountain. They wanted my daughters to themselves like they were some two-dollar pony ride at the Rabbit Farm. My girls respect their bodies, that’s how they stay so beautiful!” Flo replies with pride.

“Do explain. I thought you were fired because you were too blind to see that Sky had memories of Cory and didn’t like her,” the director elaborated.

“Oh, you were in the room with those writers. Did he mention to you that the first place he wanted to go after I was gone was between Sky’s legs, then up Flo-Go’s ass and end up with a two-hour layover on top of Mount Clara- please, pardon my language, but I have to quote him to show his depravity. Worse, they thought they’d want it, said something about them having their period for 10 years instead of 10 days! Uncalled for! Animals over there, filthy animals! I fired them all on the spot and had Big Al wash out that fiend’s mouth with soap!” Flo says in her daughter’s defense.

“Studio boy talk, I assure you. I’ve heard the Aunt Flo joke enough times. I helped spread it, when I was your competitor, of course. You know how it is here. It’s Hollywood! This is the only place where nothing is sacred. I’m sure you’ve had wiener lunch or two yourself… or is that one part of the rumor true and you just wanted the girls to yourself?” the director says with a laugh.

“Such language! In front of my own son! I should wash your mouth out with soap, young man!” Flo says in an almost prerecorded fashion.

“See, that’s the real reason you were fired. You are one step from joining your daughters.” The director smiles back knowingly.

“Maybe that’s why I hired an agent,” Flo replies.

“Yes. Maybe that’s why. She’s no actress, I assure you. And she is right, the incident with Sky was overblown; that’s why she wasn’t fired until 6 months after it happened. But she’s gone indie during that time, used Channel writers and basically ran her operation herself without missing a beat, never sold even one of her daughters back to the studio. She has ALL their rights, always had, always will. She did the job of a staff of thirty herself for a month and she isn’t the least bit tired. Maybe she is a little poisoned by the radiation from the programming, but by this point it’s a strength, not a weakness. With Cory gone she acquired fifty more talents before she got fired. Forty born, ten adopted- no studio would sign off on that kind of production without a reason. The Sky incident was an excuse because the writers were mad about having a woman boss them around,” Tony explains.

“And her being so rough to her staff after that! I’m sure she’s great, but I don't know if she's still cut out for this business. I mean she’s a woman, and she is quite out of it. Can she take much more?” the director asks.

“Let’s look at her more recent productions, since Rachel let her think like a producer and not a savior. See for yourself if she still has it,” Tony replies.

He motions to Flo and she continues the tour through the scrapbook. The next page shows a spread of teen rock girl group the Virgin Vixens, who Flo proudly indicates includes her two other biological daughters and their best friends.

“*You* represent the Virgin Vixens? You have a top 10 pop act and no one knows it,” the director says as if he’s hit a jackpot.

“Yeah, aren’t they adorable? So cute in those skirts!” Flo says admiringly.

“And I thought you just did ad girls,” the director says, impressed.

“As I said, I never let my girls be out of work. If one fades away, I give them ad work to do. I am a good mother, so most of my daughters do have to end up ad girls or models or in radio, but they never stop working,” Flo says, beaming with pride.

“Very well, we’ll get back to you!” the director says, offering a plastic smile and a hearty handshake.

A week later a giant "For Sale" sign looms in front of Flo’s mansion in Carson. Already there have been rumors of it being sold to one of the Ten Commanders. Flo smiles as her children each take their box of gear and stash it in several moving vans before boarding one of the caravan of busses which carry them away to a vast plot of land in Beverly Hills.

“Rumor has it that this is a renovated plot that used to belong to someone who loved children more than I do,” Flo says gleefully.

“I can't even remember his name. He was colored, right? Pretended to be Anglo to try to make money, that’s a bad twist of fate,” Rachel says slowly.

The new caretakers and writers stand at the door and greet Flo and her children.

“All done with Warner money. I'll always miss Carson and the fond memories of the team, but this will do. I guess we did need a bigger place. The whole plot is enough for more than I could ever want. I mean, this is one of the few times that the whole family will be together at the same time,” Flo says.

“Yeah, but it’s a business, Flo,” Rachel reminds her.

“No, it’s children, blissful, lovely children,” Flo says, tears forming in her eyes as she sees the new locker room, each locker decorated with the awards and items that make each daughter unique.

“Complete with soundstages so you can do some shows and shoot ads from right here, saves on the commute,” the director adds.

Flo's smile widens as her daughters all change into new, golden soccer uniforms to symbolize their new studio affiliation.

“Not bad for a new place. Very large, plenty of room for my girls to roam,” Flo says with approval.

“And to have new daughters be born,” Rachel reminds Flo.

“Oh, definitely,” Flo replies.

That night, with everyone safely in bed, Flo looks out over her work of the long years. “Not bad for my womanly duties," she says before heading to bed.

The question has always been how much is it a role that Flo had assumed and how much she really cares about her actresses. Everyone asks it whenever she dolls up another new actress, with her roles growing in importance. Flo’s smile never stops; some even say that she shares silent communication with her actresses in the way she handles them. Always like ladies, always with respect but also some of the sexiest in television. Some wonder if she's one herself, but she then makes another actress that just couldn’t be done if she were controlled. Really, there could only be one choice for the biggest project any studio had ever commissioned: the entire women’s soccer team. And of course, Flo gladly accepts. As she dolls up twenty-three new daughters at once, ventitriplets of her very own, she smiles even brighter than ever.

“Does she even know what happens?” the director asks Tony.

“Why else would Rachel be pregnant right before the Olympics?” Tony answers with a smile.

“I thought it was more takes one to know one myself,” the director sneers.

“Maybe, but only in spirit. And that’s why you hired her. Or it was just Sky’s outfits?” Tony counters.

“Maybe so, but mother is the hardest role we cast, and she plays it better than anyone without knowing it.” Both men watch through the glass as Flo dolls up the last of the team with a smile larger than any actress, her full role fulfilled once and for all.