Vanessa walked through the steel door onto a metal catwalk overlooking the processing floor, a jarring juxtaposition of metal and flesh. Chrome pipes attached to towering tanks of liquid carbon fed three carbon-freezing chambers, each serving a line of gorgeous nude women. They stepped onto metal platforms, which lowered them into the chambers. Moments later, frigid clouds of vapor exploded from each chamber as steel claws descended to retrieve the contents, rising a few seconds later carrying blocks of carbonite containing the frozen beauties.
“Exquisitely efficient, isn’t it?” Gregor asked, closing the door behind him and joining Vanessa on the catwalk.
Vanessa nodded. “It’s extraordinary, Gregor. You’ve certainly outdone yourself yet again.” She pointed to the carbonite blocks dangling from the steel claws as they glided across the floor and through large openings in the opposite wall. “Where do they go next?”
“Once the new tokens are minted, we digitally catalog them and add each WomaNFT to the Carbonite Blockchain. As soon as that happens, the tokens are available for purchase.”
“How quickly do you sell them?”
“Almost instantaneously,” Gregor replied. “We have deep-pocketed buyers waiting around the clock to snap them up, often in lots of twelve, to build their collections quickly. We recently switched from ten-hour days to a twenty-four-seven operation to keep up with increasing demand.”
“Interesting. And how many tokens are you minting per day?”
“Each chamber can mint three per minute, so our total daily output is just shy of 13,000 tokens, assuming we can source enough women, though that has yet to pose a problem.”
Vanessa turned toward him. “Oh? That’s quite impressive. What is the total supply at this point?”
Gregor thought for a moment. “We’re minting about 90,000 tokens per week. I believe the total will eclipse a million later today.”
“Congratulations. And have you set a supply target?”
“We have,” Gregor replied. “Our predictive modeling estimates the Carbonite Blockchain will reach price equilibrium at seventy-four million tokens, so that’s our current target.” He smiled. “And again, we have the utmost confidence in our ability to source enough women.”
“You must pay quite well,” Vanessa remarked.
“Oh, yes! We do a fifty-fifty revenue share. Each woman’s designated agent receives half of the token’s transaction value. The market constantly shifts, but the typical transaction is currently in the two-million range. So far, we’ve paid out two trillion dollars while netting an equal amount for CryoToken Enterprises.”
Vanessa nodded. “An outstanding return on my employer’s investment. And what of the women’s identities?”
Gregor waved his hand with a flourish. “Their identities vanish like clouds of vapor. Each woman becomes a serial number, which links them to their beneficiaries until the transaction is completed and the funds are transferred. Even that tenuous link is severed at that point, and the tokens are completely anonymous. We have verified they are untraceable.”
“Untraceable works of art,” Vanessa added.
Gregor smiled. “Precisely. And such gifts they are to the art world. Any other questions I can answer?”
“Yes, is anyone ever unfrozen?”
“Well,” Gregor began, “the way the blockchain works is once a WomaNFT is written, it will remain on the chain forever.” He shrugged. “So it wouldn’t make sense to unfreeze a token. Don’t you agree?”
“Completely.”
“Wonderful. Anything else?”
“Yes, my employer requests a token as a memento of my visit.”
“Certainly,” Gregor replied. “I’d be happy to select a subject for you.”
“No need.”
Gregor raised an eyebrow. “Oh? They already have a subject in mind?”
“Yes,” Vanessa replied calmly. “Me.”
Gregor smiled. “Splendid! We can begin at once. If you’ll follow me, I’ll escort you to the intake line. I’ll ask my assistant, Katie, to meet us.”
“Excellent. Lead the way.”
Gregor and Vanessa strode into the lobby. Katie was waiting.
“Hello! You must be Vanessa. It’s wonderful to meet you!”
“Likewise.”
Katie nodded and turned to Gregor. “How can I help, boss?”
“Vanessa is becoming a token. I want you to accompany her and walk her through the process.”
Katie grinned. “Sure, no problem! Let’s go, Vanessa. Right this way.”
Vanessa turned and shook Gregor’s hand. “Thank you for the tour. I look forward to seeing the process first-hand.”
“I’m confident you’ll be most impressed, Vanessa. Best of luck to you.”
Vanessa nodded and turned to Katie. “Lead the way.”
“Of course!”
Katie turned and led Vanessa through a door marked ‘Intake’ and into a small room. Katie immediately disrobed and tossed her clothing into a metal chute.
“We won’t need it where we’re going,” she explained.
Vanessa quickly stripped and dropped her garments down the chute. Katie nodded and walked to a door with a thumbprint scanner. After pressing her right thumb to the sensor, a light flashed green, and the door opened. As she walked through, Katie turned back.
“Just do the same and meet me on the other side.”
The door closed behind her. Vanessa pressed her right thumb to the scanner, eliciting a green flash and an open door. She was soon reunited with Katie on the processing floor itself. They stood at the end of a line of fifty naked women moving toward one of the carbon-freezing chambers.
“Well,” Katie said with a grin, “what do you think? Any questions for me?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“All right then,” Katie replied. “If you think of anything, just ask.”
Vanessa nodded and glanced up at the catwalk. Gregor stood watching them. He smiled and waved.
After fifteen minutes, Katie stood at the head of the line. She turned back to Vanessa and grinned.
“Well, this is it! So exciting! See you on the other side, Vanessa!”
Katie stepped onto the metal platform, which lowered her into the chamber. A cloud of vapor exploded upward, and claws descended. They retrieved the newly created carbonite block containing Katie and carried her into the next room.
Without hesitating, Vanessa stepped forward onto the platform. As it lowered her into the cylindrical chamber, Vanessa took a deep breath and waited for eternity. Freezing liquid erupted all around her, and she knew no more.
Gregor watched the claws lift Vanessa’s carbonite block from the chamber and carry it away. He had already authorized the transaction, transferring ownership of Vanessa’s token to her employer. She and Katie belonged to the blockchain now, two of millions of women to be preserved forever as works of art.
Gregor would need to hire a new assistant, but that was a common occurrence at CryoToken Enterprises. His assistants had a tendency to become art after a few weeks. Katie would join the others on Gregor’s office wall, another souvenir for his collection. Soon, he’d need a larger office.
Copyright 2023 Olivia Quinn
Photo by Crystal Kwok on Unsplash
Story notes
Women frozen in carbonite blocks would be the ultimate in home decor. And what better way to track them than minting NFTs and recording transactions on a blockchain? The scenario in this story may not be as far away as we assume. It’s time to start saving up some money.
Article Tags: Carbon Freezing · Female · Frozen · Immobilized · Nudity · Sci-Fi · Volunteer
