Lena and the Robot by The Sandgoose

I really love stories like this one here, as the characters in it do it out of their consent and motivation. They aren’t really forced to do anything, but they start to develop and realize their desires. This work also plays heavily with the human psyche and general philosophical ideas, which kind of remind me of Eudeamon by evil-dolly. The idea of actively changing one’s personality and mind, or the idea of integrating a second “control” personality into your mind, is very intriguing to me and I love seeing it being explored in a fetish fashion.

Lena and the Robot by The Sandgoose

Lena walks in on her roommate Simi to find that she is reprogramming herself.

Chapter 1

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot1.html

“Hey, Simi, can you help me with this question?” Lena pushed open the door to Simi’s room, holding open the textbook as she strode in, and suddenly stopped; Simi stood, straight and still, in the center of her bedroom, facing away from her.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to bug you,” Lena said, backing out slowly. She half-closed the door, then paused; Simi hadn’t moved. Lena frowned, puzzled. Simi was dressed in a gray bodysuit that covered her from the neck down, leaving only her head and hands exposed. It glittered softly, like metal. She was facing the desk opposite the door.

“Simi, are you okay?” Lena asked, but got no response. “Simi?” She moved back into the room, looking at her housemate. “Simi, what’s going on?” Nothing.

Lena stepped closer, coming around to Simi’s front to see if she was wearing headphones. She wasn’t, but there was still no indication she heard Lena at all; she didn’t turn, blink, or fidget; it was as if she were frozen in place. Was she even breathing? Yes, Lena could see her chest expanding and contracting, but very, very slowly, in a perfectly even rhythm.

“What the—?” Lena stared into Simi’s eyes. Her deep blue eyes were completely unfocused and empty, as though she couldn’t see anything around her. Lena waved her hand in front of Simi’s face, but again got no sense that Simi was aware of her at all.

The suit caught Lena’s attention again. It appeared to be an elastic material made of pure silver, a metallic mesh that sparkled. She wasn’t imagining it; thousands of tiny lights danced across the fabric, coursing along hidden pathways like circuits just beneath the surface, with a pattern that pulsed in waves from the neck down. Was this some kind of electronic material? A row of white LEDs flickered within the collar beneath Simi’s chin, indicating some sort of circuitry. The collar was thicker than the rest of the suit’s material, and had a number of protruding bumps, hidden squares and rectangles sandwiched inside the neckband. And beneath Simi’s shoulder-length dark blonde hair, from the back of the collar, a cable watch attached to a small port. Lena followed its path down between Simi’s shoulder blades, hanging from her left side and leg, across the floor, and up to the active computer on the desk in front of her, where it was mated to a USB slot.

Lena’s eyes widened; Simi was plugged into the computer.

A shifting green pattern scrolled across the computer monitor, with overlaying lines floating in and out like a screen saver. Lena watched it for a few seconds, but it made no sense to her. There was a progress bar across the bottom displaying data being transferred; information was either being uploaded or downloaded into the suit. Or worse, Lena realized, directly into Simi. Panicking, Lena spun back to Simi, reached behind her to grasp the thin cord, and pulled it free from the collar.

A thin alarm tone sounded from the computer, causing Lena to turn back. Instantly the screen flashed red and the pattern froze. The words “TRANSFER INTERRUPTED” appeared, stark white against the crimson, and a computerized voice sounded the words from the speakers. But at the same time, Simi repeated the words in a voice that chilled Lena to the bone. It was a flat voice, devoid of emotion, like those emulated in computer programs; that was not what Simi sounded like at all! The two voices, from the speaker and Simi’s mouth, overlapped, echoing each other.

A moment later Simi blinked rapidly, and the suit’s shimmering lights winked out. Her posture changed, relaxed, and she breathed out, focusing on Lena. “You shouldn’t have done that, Lena.” Simi’s voice was back to normal, but to Lena it held just a hint of menace.

“I’m sorry!” Lena cried, scrambling for the exit. She ran down the hallway for her own room and slammed the door. Heart racing, she jammed a chair under the handle to prevent entry, and curled up on her bed. Wrapping a blanket around her shaking body she glared at the door in horror, waiting. Her mind screamed in a disorganized jumble; she was far too confused and disturbed to think clearly. Long minutes passed before her breathing slowed, and her heart rate began to fall. What had she just seen? What Simi a robot? Android? Cyborg? What what was going on?

It was over an hour before the knock Lena was expecting finally happened, a soft, almost apologetic pair of taps, and instantly her panic spiked again. She wasn’t sure if she should respond, or how; horror at what she had seen, anxiety for her friend, and curiosity all warred within her.

“Lena, can we talk?” Simi’s muffled voice penetrated through the door. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

Minutes went by before Lena found her voice. “I…I don’t know. I’ll be out in a bit.”

“Okay. I’ll be in the front room. Don’t forget, I have class in an hour.” She sounded perfectly normal to Lena. Was it even Simi? Would it even be safe to question her? It? There were too many questions, and Lena wasn’t sure she wanted the answers, but slowly she gathered her courage, stood, and opened the door.

As promised, Simi was in the front room, sitting with her feet up on the big brown couch, nonchalantly flipping through the latest edition of Winterwear, a fashion magazine. The gray bodysuit was gone, or hidden; she wore a casual red blouse and tan lounge pants. Spying Lena, she smiled reassuringly. “C’mon, sit down, there’s a lot to explain.” She flipped her legs off the cushions and patted the space beside her.

Lena opted for the smaller armchair; she wanted to keep the coffee table between them, and hoped Simi wouldn’t notice how nervous she was. She wanted to take the initiative and dominate the discussion, but it was hard; Simi had been her friend and housemate for months. She was organized, clean, sociable and funny; Lena had liked her from the start. They didn’t share the same classes, but they studied together often, and Simi always got perfect grades. Lena never suspected Simi wasn’t human.

“So…you’re a robot?”

Simi leaned towards her, smiling, trying to project friendliness. “I’m still me, Lena, the same girl you’ve been living with for months now, nothing’s changed.” She laughed lightly. “Well, I guess it has now, hasn’t it? But not for me. I want you to know that.”

“What are you, Simi?”

“I’m not actually a robot, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Simi motioned to her body. “No gears and wires, I’m still flesh and blood.” She pinched her arm, blanching the skin. “Everything works a little differently now though. Sometimes I don’t think of myself as human anymore; the technical term would be ‘augmented humanoid’.”

Lena frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’ve been modified a little bit.” Simi steepled her hands in front of her lips, preparing to explain. “Not surgically or anything, I’ve just sort of…rewired myself. Look, human beings are machines, just really complex organic ones, and we can do amazing things. But with a little modification, things can be so much easier. Moving, learning, remembering, all that. What really makes us different from regular machines is the programming.” She tapped the side of her head with a finger. “If you tweak the software, the human body can upgrade itself. I’ve just made a few changes to my software, that’s all.”

“I thought you were studying architecture. What’s with all this computer stuff?”

“I was actually accessing the architecture lesson for next week when you interrupted me.” Simi ducked her head. “I was trying to get ahead on the assignment. I wasn’t quite finished with that chapter when you disconnected me, but I’ve finished it now.”

“Disconnected…So you were what, downloading it?” Lena asked.

“Yes. By interfacing with my computer and school’s internet, I can download information directly into my brain.” Seeing Lena speechless, Simi tapped her head. “We have a lot of extra space up here, this lets me fill and organize it faster.”

Lena wasn’t a scientist either, she was majoring in English, but some of what Simi was saying meshed with her high-school science and computer classes. “So you’re, like, reprogramming yourself?”

“Yep!” Simi smiled broadly. “Once I download something, I never forget it. It makes classes so much easier, among other things.”

“How is that even possible?” Lena sputtered. It sounded like science fiction, but something like this couldn’t happen in real life, could it? “You don’t have microchips in your head or anything, do you?”

Simi laughed. “I don’t need them, just the suit and the computer. I just have to put it on, and plug it in, like you saw; the suit takes care of the rest. I input what I want to learn, and voila! Instant upgrade.”

Lena didn’t think she would ever get that image out of her head. It was disturbing and unnerving, but fascinating at the same time. Was this even something the wanted to learn more about? Curiosity got the better of her. “Can…can you show me?”

Simi shook her head. “I have to get ready for class, remember? It would take too long to put the suit on, but I can let you see it.” Simi stood, motioned for Lena to follow. “C’mon.”

Hesitant, Lena got up and went after, and they returned to Simi’s room.

”Take a look.” Simi reached into her closet, pushing other clothing aside to grasp the hangar carefully concealed against the wall, where it could not easily be found. She withdrew the silver bodysuit and held it up for Lena to inspect.

Lena vacillated, then touched the shiny metallic fabric with a finger. It was slightly stretchy, resembling Spandex or Lycra, but thicker. It was one piece, made to cover the entire body, including the feet, leaving the hands and head free, just as Lena saw when Simi had it on earlier. The collar was high, coming right up to the jawline. A zipper ran down the back, concealed behind an excess fold of the material. “The fold is magnetic,” Simi explained, “so when I’m wearing it, the zipper is completely hidden.”

“Looks uncomfortable,” Lena observed. She thought she’d seen people wearing full bodysuits like this at basketball games and other sporting events at the college, but those were usually bright green and covered the head too. “Where’d you get this thing?”

“That’s a secret,” Simi said with a taunting smile.

“How does it work?”

“There’s a small computer in the collar, which plugs into the desktop.” Simi fingered the hard bump on the back of the collar where the hidden processor was, and pulled aside the flap to expose the small port Lena had seen before. “Also recharges it. It only lasts about an hour if it’s not plugged in. Here, see these?” She tugged the collar down, exposing the inside. Lena could see four metal bulges, like thick, rounded buttons, in lines with either side of the zipper; they would straddle the spine of whoever wore the suit. “These transceivers coordinate directly with my nervous system, so the suit can ‘talk’ to my brain. That’s how I download and upload information. It works with actions and habits too; if I want to try something new, I only have to do it once. The suit can learn it for me, and train my body to repeat it until my brain remembers.”

“How does it ‘train your body’?”

Simi held open the wrist cuff, pulling it back so Lena could see the thin wires on the inside, woven through the fabric. There were tiny bumps, nodes where the wires crossed, came together, or ended. “See those little dots? They’re sensors; they read information through my skin, and send it through the wires back to the control board in the collar. They can also receive signals from the collar, and trigger my body to react in certain ways. It can speed up my reaction times, or stimulate muscle memory, even help develop muscle tone, like those TENS units they have in physical therapy.”

Lena looked at the suit, imagining what it would be like to be encased in this web of circuitry, reading every part of your body at once, relaying signals, stimulating muscles. “Wait, you’re saying this suit takes over your body, makes it move, and it can reprogram your brain?” That flustered feeling returned. “So putting it on does turn you into a robot?”

“Not by itself, Lena,” Simi tried to reassure her. “The suit can synchronize with my body, but it can’t make any major changes, it’s only temporary; it has to be linked to the computer for serious programming, and like I said, the battery would only last an hour. I can’t stay plugged in all the time anyway; I still have classes, and work. And can you imagine bathroom breaks? Having to take this off and put it back on just to pee? Besides, I have to clean it, which takes time, and it has to be repaired once in a while. I mean, the circuits are pretty robust, but they can still break.”

“But the programming lasts after you take it off, right? It still controls you, makes you do things?” Lena said, confused. “How long does it take to wear off?”

“It doesn’t,” Simi shrugged. “What would be the point of reprogramming myself if it didn’t last?”

“That doesn’t sound safe at all, Simi. What if it programs you to do something wrong, or bad?”

““It doesn’t work that way, Lena; there are safeguards, it only does what I want it to,” Simi reassured her. “Besides, you can’t be forced to do something you don’t want to do, the human brain prevents it. You can only do things you really want to do.”

“How can you be sure, Simi? What if someone…hacks into it or something? Makes you want it? You’d just have to do whatever they program you to do.” A quick, blissful look crossed Simi’s face; just a flicker, but Lena saw it.

Simi sighed, shaking her head. “You don’t get it. It’s perfectly safe; I control what the computer programs into me.” Suddenly she tilted her head slightly, listening to an alarm Lena couldn’t hear. “Anyway, it’s time for class. Listen, I have to go, we’ll talk more later, okay?” Carefully she replaced the high-tech silver suit in the back of the closet, and moved the other clothes back, concealing it. Then she reached for her backpack beside the computer desk, and swept it up over one shoulder. “I promise, everything’s fine. I’ve been like this a long time now, I know what I’m doing. We’ll talk more about this later, if you want.”

Speechless, Lena stepped aside and let her leave. With a final look at the closet, she exited the room and went back to her own.

‘Troubled’ did not begin to describe how Lena felt. Her housemate, her friend, the one she had shared so many things with, was…what? Reprogramming herself? Changing herself? What changes was she making? What had she already changed? What had she changed before Lena had even met her? Most importantly, why? Just to get ahead in class? There had to be more to it, for her to undergo such an alteration.

Lena could not excise the image of Simi being connected to the computer; the luminous silver suit, the blank, emotionless stare, the swirling pattern on the screen, and that empty voice. She wasn’t just afraid, this was something more; a deeply-embedded uneasiness she could not define, born of both terror and excitement.

She didn’t dare ask any more questions.

She wanted to know everything.

Stand straight.

Her shoulders were back, her head level. Her knees were slightly bent, to prevent locking, her feet shoulder width apart, her weight perfectly balanced. Her arms hung at her sides, fingers slightly curled in a relaxed position. She wasn’t relaxed though; a robot doesn’t relax, it maintains the proper position in perfect tension until the moment it its programming requires it to move. Slight muscle aches began to develop; her body kept trying to return to incorrect positions developed over years of bad posture. The program recorded it, calculated a response, made the proper adjustments.

Unit H38 stood straight.

Chapter 2

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot2.html

Though she fretted about the exchange, Lena had no desire to continue the conversation when Simi returned, earning a shrug from Simi as she went back to her room. Days went by before they spoke of it again. Lena kept to her room, avoiding Simi, except at mealtimes. She tried to keep their conversations light and frivolous, only discussing household chores and their classes, and Lena was careful never to let their eyes meet.

A week passed before Simi finally broached the taboo topic. “Lena?” It was dinnertime, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Lena was almost done, but Simi set down her spoon and made sure she held Lena’s attention before proceeding. “I’m going to use the suit tonight. I have some…updates I have to do.”

Lena’s spoon clattered into the nearly empty bowl.

Simi continued. “I’ve been putting it off, because I wanted to ask: do you… want to watch?” She asked shyly.

All the suppressed anxiety flooded back into Lena at once. “I don’t…you’re okay with that?”

Simi nodded. “Actually, I want you to see it. I think you’ll understand better if you do.”

“Now?”

“Give me a few minutes after we finish up, okay? To get the suit on.”

The suit. “S…sure.” After Simi left for her room, Lena scooped the dishes into the sink and tried to calm her racing heart. Scrubbing the bowls and quickly setting them in the dishwasher, Lena took a few deep breaths, and let the warm water from the faucet bathe her shaking hands. Simi was in her room, putting on the silver suit… Lena was overwhelmed but couldn’t tell which emotion was strongest. Was she scared? Excited? Nervous? Anxious? All of the above? The feeling was overwhelming, like knowing the assignment was due tomorrow, and she hadn’t finished it; or the first time she’d invited a boy to spend the night with her…

The last thought drew her up short; of all the myriad emotions she was experiencing, how had arousal crept in? Or was it simply the excitement of doing something forbidden? She squashed it mentally before shutting off the water and drying her hands. Surveying the kitchen to be sure she was finished, Lena slapped the light switch and went down the hall, knocking on Simi’s door.

Simi was waiting; she sat at her desk, facing Lena as she came in. She was wearing the suit once again, her body wrapped in silver cloth and invisible circuitry. Her desktop computer was booted up, an unfamiliar program window open on the monitor. “Are you ready?” At Lena’s nod, she spun her chair to the computer, and began typing. She seemed far less apprehensive than Lena was. “I have six programs on the schedule tonight, shouldn’t take long, maybe a few minutes. Just a few apps that need updating.”

Lena moved to the bed and sat down, watching. “Apps? Like on your phone?”

“Yep,” Simi affirmed, turning her chair to Lena. “Here’s the best way I can think of to explain it. My brain is like a computer, and I’m the OS, the operating system. My system takes up most of the space up here,” she tapped her head. “The human brain is a huge hard drive; you can’t even fill it in a single lifetime normally, but with the suit, I can add information whenever I want. Plus there are other programs, like apps, that let me perform specific functions in more efficient ways.”

“Like what?” Lena asked. What apps had Simi already installed? Where any already running now?

Simi shrugged. “There’s reading prioritization, memorization, room cleaning efficiency, and one for that French poetry catalog.” She frowned, fingers still moving over the keyboard. “I didn’t want it, but I needed it to pass that required Freshman language class. Now I can’t bring myself to uninstall it. Sometimes I leave it on as I’m shutting down; it helps me sleep.” She tapped a final key, and a message appeared on the screen, prompting her to “Insert the cable.” She stood and picked up the end of a long black cable Lena recognized from before. “Last chance,” she waved the jack at Lena, who nodded hesitantly. “Okay. Once I plug it in, everything’s automatic. You don’t have to do anything, just wait. I left the vocalizations on, so you’ll know what’s happening.” She faced the computer, lifted her hair aside, and proceeded to push the cable jack into the port on the back of her collar. “Here goes!” The monitor went dark, then filled with a kaleidoscopic pattern, pulsing geometric shapes in multi-colored hues, shifting, spiraling, scrolling…

With a soft electronic beep! the silver suit lit up. Glittering lights danced across the fabric, a line of orange dots glowed on the collar, and Simi’s entire demeanor changed. Her arms dropped to her sides, she pulled herself up straight, her face relaxed into a blank mask, and her eyes lost focus. She stood rigidly at attention.

“Connection established. Unit E27 online.” The dichotomous voice issued simultaneously from the speakers and Simi’s mouth.

“Eep!” Lena’s hands slapped over her mouth to suppress the involuntary outburst. She’d heard Simi’s robot voice before, but it still shocked her; while the computer half sounded synthetic, Simi’s voice had overtones of the woman Lena knew; not monotone, but different; it sounded… colder, deeper, with no inflection. She had mentioned leaving the vocalizations on, but Lena had half-expected the commands would only come from the computer speaker, not from both the speaker and Simi’s own mouth. The butterflies in Lena’s stomach beat their wings uncontrollably, reaching a nearly painful peak, as she tried to process the substance of the message. E27, Simi had said; she had a number. This wasn’t Simi anymore, this was Unit E27.

The orange LEDs in her collar flickered to white one by one, and the monitor pattern changed, confirming the connection. “Unit E27 is ready to receive programming.”

A progress bar appeared on the screen, and Lena read the caption: ‘Downloading 1 of 6 updates’. White marks began to fill the bar as information flowed through the cable into the suit. Waves of tiny sparks pulsed in regular intervals down Simi’s suit, from the collar to her extremities, following the concealed wires. Simi’s echoing voice punctuated and emphasized each pulse: “Downloading…downloading…downloading…”

Lena’s eyes were still frozen wide, listening and watching as the computer…updated her friend. Even though she had briefly glimpsed it before, and Simi had told her what to expect, it still was something Lena couldn’t comprehend; it was an utterly alien experience, her body and mind completely under the computer’s control. Simi was being rewritten, changed, programmed, right in front of her; Simi was an I/O device for the machine, a programmable extension. Was she even aware of externalities like Lena’s presence?

“S…Simi?” Lena squeaked. “Simi, are you there? Can you hear me?”

Just as before, there was no response. Simi’s face was expressionless, her body straight, still, and silent. The minutes dragged out as the progress bar filled, punctuated by Simi’s robotic voice: “downloading…downloading…” and Lena’s heavy, anxious breathing.

After a few short minutes that stretched into eternity for Lena, Simi pronounced: “Download complete. Applying updates.” Lena checked the monitor; the progress bar was full, reading 100%. “Completion in four minutes, twelve seconds.” The screen darkened as Simi fell silent.

“Simi?” Lena repeated, waiting. Then she considered; maybe Simi hadn’t reacted because she was in this… robot mode. What was that number again? “Unit… E27?”

“Acknowledged.” The voice pronounced from its twin sources.

“You can hear me?” Lena whispered, surprised.

“Affirmative. Presence of housemate:Lena is confirmed.” While the voices still sounded flat, Lena thought she sensed a note of surprise.

“Are…are you finished?”

“Negative. This unit is currently applying updates, completion is expected in two minutes, five seconds. Do you wish to pause?”

“No, no, keep going,” Lena didn’t want to interrupt. But Simi was apparently still able to converse in this mode. Curiosity got the better of her; “you’re… Unit E27?”

“That is this unit’s designation.”

“You’re…not Simi?” She asked hesitantly.

“The active functions of program:Simi are suspended during the update, and will be reactivated in one minute, twenty-three seconds.”

Lena frowned. ‘Program Simi’ was… suspended? But Simi said she was the operating system; shouldn’t that always remain running? “How long have you been like this?”

“This unit has been in operation for twelve minutes and zero seconds.”

“No, I mean…when were you…when was Unit E27 created?”

“This unit was first activated one year, four months, and eleven days ago.”

Over a year, Lena thought. Simi was twenty-one; she was right, she’d been this way long before they’d known each other.

The… unit… had said something about pausing; a moment of twisted curiosity overcame Lena’s better judgment. “What happens if I pause you?”

“The current update will remain incomplete until the unpause command is issued. The information will be deleted if the update is not completed within twenty-four hours.”

“How long will Simi remain suspended?”

“Security protocols dictate that program:Simi be automatically reactivated after sixty-two minutes.”

“What happens if I unplug you?”

“Forcibly terminating the connection will result in immediate reactivation of program:Simi.”

Okay, that’s enough, Lena’s conscience reasserted itself. As crazy as this all seemed, tampering with her friend that way was obviously wrong. Lena let the invisible timer run out.

“Update complete.” Simi turned to face Lena, staring at her with blank, empty blue eyes. She tilted her head slightly, as if curious. “This unit looks forward to interacting with you again, housemate:Lena.” Then the rigid pose returned. “Connection terminated. Unit E27 offline.” She reached up behind her, tugging, and Lena heard a pop as the cord came out. The suit lights winked out.

Lena held her breath, watching as Simi blinked rapidly, then closed her eyes, her posture relaxing. When her eyes opened again, Lena could see they were focused and bright once more.

“Well, there you have it,” Simi said in a normal tone; the computer speakers on the desk remained silent, the second source of sound gone. Then she cocked her head at Lena. “Were you thinking about pausing me?”

“What? No!” Lena cried, waving her hands in denial. “I wouldn’t… Wait, you heard? I thought it said you were… suspended?”

Simi nodded. “Well sure, but I’m still conscious and aware. When I’m connected, it’s like watching a movie with VR glasses; I can see and hear everything, even feel it, but I can’t control it.” She sat in the desk chair, wiggled the mouse to awaken the computer, and shut down the program. “There we go, all finished for tonight.” She reached up and opened the fold in the back of her collar to expose the zipper, pulling it down an inch. Then she turned back to Lena, and a slow smile crept over her face. “You know, I think she was fascinated by you,” she said. “E27. She’s never had the chance to talk to someone else before. That was a new experience for her.”

“Me too,” Lena admitted, “You sounded so…” she struggled for the right words. “Like a completely different person.”

Simi hmphed at her in amusement. “I’m joking, Lena, it’s just me. She’s just another part of my program; a basic interface so that I can keep communicating while the updates are going on.”

“Oh,” Lena apprehensively looked down at the floor. “ Hearing you talk from the speakers at the same time really threw me off.”

“I suppose it would,” Simi remarked. “I can fix that next time, if you want.”

Next time? Lena continued staring at the carpet, remembering the imposing, but curious gaze Simi had in her robot mode. “Can we…do this again?” She asked shyly.

“We’ll see. I usually do updates once a week in the morning, but I can push it back to evening. I’ll let you know. Okay now, out. I have to take this off,” Simi motioned towards the suit. “Oh, remember, please keep this between us?”

“Sure,” Lena stood and brushed her clothes. “Good night.” Waving a hand, she headed for the door.

“G’night,” Simi’s voice followed her down the hall.

Safely back in her room, Lena collapsed on her own bed, shivering. She was exhausted, pretending to be calm in front of Simi, while her insides screamed. The whole experience was crazy; watching Simi interface with a computer, get reprogrammed? And she had asked to do it again? She closed her hands tight into fists to stop them from quivering, then turned to her closet. She kept her pajamas on a hook inside the closet door. Quickly she shucked her regular clothes and held the p.j.s in front of her. Bending over so she could put her foot into the soft material, she paused suddenly. What would it feel like, putting on the silver suit? She drew the fabric up slowly, imagining the sensation of the wires and nodes pulling up over her leg, connecting with her skin, reading the sensations…controlling her.

Shivering, she fought off the sudden rush of…what? It wasn’t apprehension, or anxiety; it almost felt like she wanted it, that sense of forbidden temptation, as if…

Looking down, she realized she had only drawn her pajamas up as far as her crotch; she could feel the soft material brushing her thighs. A sensuous thought wormed its way into her racing mind: were there sensors, stimulators, in the suit’s nether regions? Imagine being programmed, ordered to…? Unable to resist as her own body obeyed, her hands complying with automated directions to pleasure herself…

Arousal again?

“Disgusting, Lena, get a grip!”

She yanked on the clothes and got into bed, then reached for her phone, lying on the nightstand; some soft ambient music would definitely help her sleep tonight. As she plugged it in, she hesitated briefly. Simi was like that now, a device that needed to be plugged in, recharged; a living human being, crossed with a computer. Shaking her head to try and clear it, she brought up the music app. Simi had apps too. Would she let Lena watch as she ran one? She brought up a quiet tune, and let it play, listening to the gentle droning sound. Suddenly she realized what she was doing: programming herself to fall asleep. She began imagining subliminal commands buried in the music, hidden electronic tones that whispered thoughts into her mind, of obedience, of emptiness, of sleep. She pictured herself lying there on the bed, wearing the silver suit as the lights flowed down her body; with a cord snaking out the back of her head to the phone, a vacant expression on her face as the device fed commands into her open, compliant mind…

It took over an hour of counting wrinkles in the ceiling paint, an hour of random thoughts and comparisons between machines, computers, and household devices and the person she was sharing an apartment with, before Lena’s pounding heart relaxed, her breathing slowed, and the shaking stopped. The soft, droning music took its time, but sleep finally claimed her. Her dreams were haunted by Simi’s blanked-out robot face, with empty blue eyes that saw nothing and yet stared deep into her soul, and that unnerving, twin-sourced robotic voice.

Be still.

Unit H38 still breathed; her body was organic and required air. Every respiration was measured, exact, absorbing the necessary amount of oxygen. It filtered through her lungs into her bloodstream. Her heart beat in a precise rhythm, mechanically pumping the liquid through her body, her arms, legs, fingers, toes, her skin itself. Her body throbbed with its cadence; the program recorded it, calculating. Excess motion was not required; the constant, minute changes to her balance cancelled out all other movement.

Unit H38 was still.

Chapter 3

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot3.html

The haunting dreams continued for several nights, until Lena finally surrendered to her new, disturbing obsession and took it to the internet. That resulted in several late nights of frustration; there wasn’t much information about computerized bodysuits that could reprogram a person’s brain or modify their body (aside from the questionable adult fantasy sites; there were a LOT of those), but she pressed on, reasoning it might help reduce her nervousness if she could understand Simi’s fascination with the… process. And her own, she thought.

She even went as far as paying a weekend visit to her parents’ house to dig out her old high school notebooks; being enrolled in a city college two towns away from her old home had advantages, and the hugs, home-cooked meals, and light-hearted interrogation about her college life were a small price to pay for the textbooks and notes from her computer classes that she had stored carefully away, on the odd chance they might be needed again.

By the time Simi’s next invitation came, for the following Thursday night, Lena had already scanned the notes several times. Most people never bothered to study how computers worked anymore; high school covered the basics, but unless they were code writers, they learned just enough to use their phones to make calls, send texts, or take pictures so they could post things on social media. Being an English major, Lena also used a laptop for word processing, internet access, or the occasional game; but how the machines actually functioned, the pieces and programs involved, had slipped from her conscious memory in the years since high school.

Lena briefly fussed about stuffing this old information back into her head when it wasn’t her collegiate focus; the semester was ending soon, and she needed every spare brain cell for the final exams, but the excess studies helped ratchet her anxiety down a notch or two. Even so, as she headed to Simi’s room that night, her mind swirled, trying to remember all the vocabulary and diagrams she had dusted off.

Putting old information back in… I’m reprogramming myself, just like her.

“Hey there, Lena, you ready?” Simi called from her desk chair, again wearing the silver bodysuit. Seeing Lena’s nod, she waved her towards the bed, and turned back to her computer. “No updates tonight, it’s just a maintenance check-in. Oh, and you said you wanted to see me in app mode, right? We’ll do that afterwards; a speed-reading test, I brought a book.” She patted the thin volume of a paperback novel, sitting beside the keyboard.

As she sat on the piled blankets and nabbed a few pillows for comfort, Lena spoke up. “Can you…will you please leave the voice on again?”

“What, I thought you didn’t like my robot voice? Kind of freaks me out too, honestly.”

“I want to know what’s going on, okay? What the suit’s doing. It’s kind of interesting to listen as it’s happening.”

“All right, I’ll leave it on,” Simi acquiesced, then mimicked a narrative voice: “’Follow along with these simple step-by-step instructions.’”

Lena giggled. “Thanks.”

Simi examined the screen. “Hmm, yep, just a check-in. This should only take a minute or two. Maybe next time we’ll try something longer.” She got out of the chair, then turned to Lena and suddenly knelt in front of her, holding out her hands. Puzzled, Lena offered her own, and Simi clasped and held her fingers, giving her an open, sincere look. “You know, I’m actually kind of glad to be sharing this with you, Lena” Simi said. “I didn’t think anyone would ever understand.”

Lena blinked; Simi wasn’t usually so forthcoming with her feelings. Neither am I, she admitted privately. “Thank you, Simi,” she responded aloud, then clarified: “I can’t say I understand yet…but I’m trying.”

Smiling, Simi got up and tugged at the suit, making sure the material was snug against her body, then turned and picked up the long black cord beside the computer. As the prompt appeared on the screen to insert the cable, she lifted her hair and plugged the cord into the port in the collar.

Lena didn’t look at the monitor this time; all her attention was focused on her friend as she watched her demeanor change. Simi raised up, straight and still, the light left her eyes, and emotion drained from her face, becoming blank and smooth. The suit lights activated, flittering across her body, and that cold, robotic tone filled the room as her mouth opened, and was answered by the speakers.

“Connection established.”

Lena shivered; the machine was in control now. She knew Simi was still there, watching, listening, recording; but her personality, her soul, was shunted aside. That is just so… After the previous glimmers of arousal, and the brief encounters with the adult websites on mind control, Lena’s hand crept unconsciously to her lap. Looking down, she noticed her fingers twitching. Had those innocent searches snuck in a few subliminal whispers? She balled her hand into a fist and shoved it into the blanket beside her, avoiding a potentially embarrassing misunderstanding. No, can’t do that in front of Simi; maybe after, wait until later.

“Unit E27 online.” A few seconds passed. “Unit E27 is ready to receive programming. Confirming maintenance update. Processing. Processing. Uploading maintenance data. Housemate:Lena, it is agreeable to see you again.”

Lena gave a start. Simi hadn’t looked at her at all, she was still facing the computer; yet somehow, she was aware of her presence. “Thanks?” she replied querulously.

Simi’s head turned to face her, and Lena froze; for some reason, that vacant, penetrating stare pierced her with a deep, chilling sensation. “Data uploaded. Maintenance verification complete. Program:Simi will reactivate in twenty seconds. Do you wish to pause?”

Lena frowned slightly. Pause what? There were no updates in progress. But last time, Simi had mentioned that her robot self was ‘fascinated’ by her. Was she suggesting she wanted Lena to pause her? “Y-yes?”

“The appropriate command is ‘Unit E27, pause reactivation,’” the Simi-bot instructed her.

“Unit E27, pause reactivation,” Lena repeated.

“Confirmed, reactivation paused.”

Lena’s heart began racing. What did I just do? “What does that mean?”

“Reactivation of program:Simi is paused.”

“For how long?”

“Until housemate:Lena issues the unpause command.” She tilted her head, questioning. “Do you wish to unpause?”

Lena shook her head. “No. I…I wanted to talk to you.”

“Acknowledged.” Simi, now E27, turned fully towards Lena and stood silent, waiting, looking at her.

“Will she…can Simi hear us?”

“Program:Simi is currently suspended from active status and paused from reactivation, but remains aware of all external input.”

“Ahh,” Lena noted; Simi was still watching, then. Would she get mad at Lena for pausing her? Maybe, but for some unknown, uncomfortable reason, Lena wanted to talk to the robot, not the woman. “Who are you? Simi said you were part of her program, an…interface?”

“This unit serves as the primary interface when the hardware is connected to the network, and during program operations.“

“So, when she’s connected to the computer, you’re in control of her, right? I’m just trying to understand what you are; you don’t sound like Simi.” Lena hesitated; it was Simi’s voice, coming from Simi’s mouth, but she spoke in a totally different way; the tenor and inflection were altered, and there was the reverberation from the computer speakers. “Are you an A.I.?”

Simi adopted a rigid pose, which Lena was beginning to recognize as a default stance, and began to recite: “When this unit first put on the suit, memory and personality were encoded for purposes of storage and recall, and a copy was made to protect against the eventuality of file corruption or deletion. This unit utilizes the same base code and subroutines as program:Simi, but differs in presentation and execution.”

“Like a backup copy?” Or a second personality. “Well, that’s good to know, I’d hate to lose her.” Lena replied flippantly. “And what is it you do, exactly?”

“Human bodies are complex bio-mechanical processors; developing new synaptic pathways and muscle reflexes requires considerable time. When new programming is added, this unit provides temporary memory storage and develops routings for new information and directives. For somatic upgrades, this unit executes and reinforces them until the appropriate muscular reflexes are developed.”

”So, you’re like a virtual assistant?” Lena offered, remembering images of a cartoon paperclip with wide googly eyes on an old word processing program, offering help with her essays. “When Simi wants to learn something new, you learn it first, and make her do it right until she remembers?”

“Affirmative.”

She’s a brainwashing program, Lena realized. Can you make her do things she doesn’t want to? She didn’t dare voice that stray bit of speculation aloud; Simi was still watching, after all

Lena tried to comprehend the lengthy explanation, though the thought of a second Simi sharing the same body was still troubling. At least the duplicate only came out while she was wearing the suit… “You said the suit created you; that must take a lot of memory, is there a hard drive in the collar?”

“The basic software for unit encoding and programming is embedded in the suit’s hardware, but following the encoding and duplication process, the copy was uploaded to this unit’s internal processor, to facilitate a faster connection to the network software, and free up the suit’s memory allocation.”

Internal processor? Lena stared at Simi’s forehead, eyes widening in realization. “You’re not in the suit, you’re in her head.” She really did reprogram herself!

“Affirmative.”

The next question was the hardest; one she hoped Simi wouldn’t hear: “What if…what would happen if I put on the suit?”

“The suit is currently configured for this unit’s body, however, housemate:Lena shares a similar body type and size. If housemate:Lena were to couple with the hardware, a similar process would occur. Do you wish to put on the suit?”

It could brainwash me too, turn me into a robot, if I put it on. “No,” Lena started sweating nervously; her hand was back in her lap again. “No, that’s okay, forget I asked.”

“Command confirmed.”

That was probably enough for tonight. “Unit E27, unpause Simi.”

“Confirmed, program:Simi will reactivate in twelve seconds,” E27 stated. “This unit looks forward to interacting with you again, housemate:Lena,” she added, looking down and fixing her with that expectant, unblinking stare. “Connection terminated. Unit E27 offline.” Then she pulled out the transfer cord.

The suit and the computer turned off. As Simi regained control of her body, she glared at Lena. “Hey, what gives?”

“I’m sorry,” Lena apologized, trying to adjust to hearing Simi’s regular voice again. “I just…wanted to ask her a few questions.”

“Hope she gave you good answers, but you know you’re really talking to me, right?” Simi reminded her. “I can answer your questions too.”

“I know. But it’s different; it feels like I’m talking directly to the machine when you’re like that.”

“I told you, Lena, she’s me. E27’s just a program, a basic interaction subroutine.” She shook a finger at Lena’s face. “No more pausing, okay? I might get suspicious.”

Appropriately chastened, Lena nodded.

Simi returned the cord to the table, then picked up the book and sat beside Lena on the bed. “All right, maintenance is finished. Do you want to see me run an app?”

“Sure, if you’re okay with it,” Lena agreed, interested.

“Watch this,” Simi held the book in front of her. Verbalizing commands wasn’t necessary, but she did so for Lena’s benefit. “Activate reading.” A slight change came over Simi, a slackening of her facial features, a rigidity to her body; E27 was back in control, at least partially. She opened the book and began flipping through the pages rapidly, her eyes briefly scanning the text on each leaf. Within moments, the book was completed; she closed it, her normal posture returning. “See? Read it.”

“That was fast,” observed Lena.

“Photographic memory is one of my functions now. It’s like I take a picture of each page with my eyes, and it’s instantly recorded in my mind.”

You mean E27 stores it for you, Lena thought, then cocked her head slyly. “Shouldn’t you recite something to prove it?”

Simi grimaced and chucked the book back onto the desk. “Ugh, no, that book was garbage; next time, remind me to pick something better. I’ll return it tomorrow.”

“Well, that doesn’t prove anything,” Lena pouted. “How about, Simi, make the bed,” she commanded facetiously.

“Sorry, only I can—“ To Lena’s utter astonishment, Simi suddenly stood, turning to the bed.

“Command confirmed,” she said in E27’s voice. Lena sprang up and backed away as Simi grabbed the blankets, tossed them aside, and began fluffing pillows, laying them back in their proper positions. Lena watched from the corner, wide-eyed in shocked fascination, as Simi pulled the bedsheets taut, laid the comforter back on top, then straightened. A momentary look of bliss crossed her face, her body shuddered faintly, then the brief flash of emotion was gone again.

Simi blinked, glanced down at herself, then at the perfectly made bed, before frowning at Lena. “How did you—“ she said, confused. “You gave me a command? And I… That is not supposed to happen.”

Lena held up her hands. “Don’t look at me, I was joking.”

Simi turned her head side to side, as if accessing information, then frowned slightly. “The setting for external input was turned on; I don’t remember doing that. Note to self: turn that off next time.” She flashed a sly smile at Lena. “No more stray commands from you, girl. Out, I need to change,” she gestured towards the suit, and motioned for Lena to leave. Lena complied readily.

Back in her room, Lena collapsed on her bed, her body thrumming with nervous energy, begging for release. I’m never going to get used to this, she moaned to herself. Every week Simi did something different, unexpected, pushing Lena further and further out of her comfort zone. I gave her a command, and she did it, just like a robot, Lena thought. Simi had no choice, no will, no thought, only…obedience. This wasn’t the same as being a mindless drone to some nebulous machine consciousness like E27, Lena herself had given the command; another human being, obeying commands, completely unable to resist, enslaved to her will… That rush of power was intoxicating, exciting…arousing.

Why am I so turned on? While Lena whimpered, her hand crept under her waistband and began to rub, the area between her legs already wet.

Remain silent.

Unit H38 didn’t speak. She didn’t need to; there was no one immediately present to communicate with, no reason for unnecessary vocalizations. She recognized the sounds around her, the soft electric hum of the computer screen, the whir of the little fan she kept on in her room for white noise. There was music playing somewhere, maybe in the neighboring apartment, but while her mind acknowledged the sound and recognized the tune, it would not distract her. Even the subtle motions of her body, the soft exhalations of her breath, made no sound.

Unit H38 was silent.

Chapter 4

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot4.html

Final exams were coming up. Lena took to studying in the front room after classes, trying to finish the term paper required for her coursework. Simi understood; when she was home, she took over the chores, such as cleaning the kitchen like she was now. That left Lena free to study; Simi didn’t need to. Lena wasn’t sure if she considered Simi’s brain hacking to be cheating, but she wisely kept her jealousy quietly under wraps, right next to her envy. After all, she didn’t even know who to report something like this to, and who would believe it anyway? The tensions kept building up; then, one night while Lena tried to complete a particularly vexing assignment, her frustration boiled over.

Lena slammed her laptop shut. “Ugh! I just can’t—“ She glanced up at Simi, who was watching with concern. “These literature criticism theories are just…hard.”

“That’s college for you,” Simi replied. “Sometimes it’s like they want us to fail, to weed out the unworthy.”

Lena snorted derisively. “You won’t, little miss robot. You don’t even need to go to class anymore.”

Simi dismissed the implied criticism and nodded with understanding. “I still enjoy the company, Lena; I like being around people. And I have to put in the lecture and discussion time, just like everyone else.” She returned to her cleaning, wiping crumbs off the kitchen counter. “I like the creative aspect of architecture most of all. Sure, I can analyze dimensions, calculate the variables involved in different structure types, and come up with efficient solutions to code requirements, but beauty isn’t something quantifiable. Eye of the beholder. It takes a human touch, imagination.”

Is it even possible to rile her up? Lena wondered, letting the silence stretch. A few moments went by before Lena finally asked the question that had been on her mind for weeks. “Simi? Why?”

“Why what?”

“You know what I mean,” she pouted. “Why the robot thing? You haven’t told me yet. I mean, I understand the point of downloading information, and completing classes faster, and fitness training, and putting programs in your head, but…there’s other ways, right? So why? Why even do it?”

Simi blinked at her, then shrugged. “You haven’t asked.” She deposited the sponge in the sink and came over to sit on the couch, giving Lena a ‘do you really want to know?’ look.

“Please, tell me.”

Simi dropped her eyes toward her lap and sighed, putting her hands on her knees. “After high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I felt like I was being pulled in a hundred different directions, but no clear path. I wanted to go to college, but didn’t know what to study, or how to start. There was all this…static in my head, you know? So many expectations from family, society, culture, so much noise. I was anxious, and scared, and helpless. I figured if I could clear out the clutter, even for just a day, I would see it, the way I needed to go. So, I took some time off for myself, just over a year; I traveled a bit, did a road trip or two, met up with some friends, but they were all moving on, getting ready for their futures, and I…wasn’t.”

“That’s usually when something bad happens, isn’t it? Or someone tries to take advantage of you?” Lena interjected, remembering her teenage years, when she received several stern warning lectures from her parents about typical youthful excesses and mistakes. “When you’re most vulnerable?”

Simi nodded. “Some of them were the partying type, but I didn’t want any of that. Drugs, alcohol, sex… just the worst stuff. From what I saw, it wasn’t doing them any favors, so I kept moving. Then there was Kurt.” She looked up at Lena. “He was the class uber-nerd in high school. I pity-dated him once back then; but when I saw him again, he was a new person; confident, clean-cut, was in a great tech program, and had a girlfriend he was hoping to marry. We went out for a friendly dinner, and I asked him his secret. It took him a while to confide in me, but when I opened up about how desperate I was, he finally told me.”

“The suit?”

“He and his computer science friends designed it. It was supposed to be a joke, for fetish videos or something; you know how… repressed, and creative, some of those nerd types can be. They got a few electrical and software engineering majors from the local college to help build it, trying to make it work for real. But by the time they built the first two suits, they’d hit a wall with the programming, and most of them lost interest or didn’t have time to help anymore. So, Kurt got them to give him the suits, and he kept working on them. Once he figured out the software problem, he compiled the program, designed a few apps, then started experimenting with one of the suits on himself: there’s a male and a female version.”

“And he just gave one to you?”

“Well, it’s designed for a woman, after all. He said he’d been hoping to use it with his girlfriend, but he didn’t think he could ever…you know, convince her to wear it,” she narrowed her eyes with a sinister implication. “I think he was feeling guilty; he didn’t want to be tempted by it anymore, so he was planning to destroy it. After I told him my story, he brought me back to their house and gave the female suit to me, to get rid of it. He also copied the software for me, and included a compiler to make apps.” Simi sighed again. “Kurt’s a good man, I hope he’s happy.”

Lena leaned close, patting her friend’s hand in sympathy and encouragement. “So, what happened next?”

“I tried it on. My old laptop barely had enough power to run the program,” Simi chuckled. “You should have seen me, hiding in a cheap motel room, trying to connect to their weak internet, frustrated as hell. Then…” a look of calm, peaceful joy spread over Simi’s face. “It worked. She happened.”

“Unit E27?”

“Um-hm. The suit made her, using me as a template, to help with my programming, like having a computer in my head. With her help, I was able to get myself straightened out. I decided on architecture, applied here, and…there you have it.”

Lena moved to the couch beside Simi, and gave her a gentle hug. “Thank you for telling me, Simi,” she said, smiling with understanding. “So, where do the updates come from? Does Kurt still send them?”

Simi shrugged. “I don’t know, actually. The software was originally designed to link back to his system, but there haven’t been any outside upgrades to it in a while. The program itself is pretty solid, and fairly intuitive; it’s on my desktop computer. I have to put on the suit and sync up with it at least once a week, those are the ‘maintenance updates’ we’ve been doing. Most of the updates are for the apps; a lot of them are the same as on any cell phone; they’re compatible. There are a few specialty apps, like physical fitness, that I had to write myself,” she directed a sly smile at Lena. “After I downloaded a coding language library, of course. And E27 helps.”

Lena gave a start. “She does?”

“She is the interface, after all,” Simi confirmed. “I make a mental list during the week of what apps I need, and she either finds them, or writes them for me.”

Lena felt dubious about letting E27 have that much freedom with Simi’s mind; she still didn’t know if she could fully trust Simi’s robotic alter-ego. Then she held Simi at arm’s length with a searching look. “You didn’t really answer my question though: there are other ways to get what you have, do what you’re doing. Why this?” She tapped Simi’s head with a fingertip.

“Because of how good it makes me feel, Lena,” Simi explained, producing a huge smile. “Oh, I wish I could describe it to you, it’s so…wonderful! The static in my head is gone; no worries, stress, uncertainty, misery; everything is clear now. I don’t feel lost anymore, I’m useful, I have purpose again. I was made for this; well, remade anyway. I’m not a burden on anyone anymore, I can do so many things now with all the apps I’ve installed, serve so many useful functions. I mean, people are basically robots these days anyway, they spend so much time looking at their phones, even in class. I don’t have to; for all intents and purposes I’m my own mobile device; a walking, breathing, living supercomputer, powered by normal human bodily functions. And when I’m following my programming, there’s no hesitation or doubt, I just do it.”

Lena could see the appeal, but deep in her thoughts the temptation of being a mindless, obedient robot threatened to surface; she fought it down as the silence stretched out.

“There’s…another reason,” Simi said carefully, hesitating. Lena waited expectantly for her to continue, but a minute passed by before Simi stood up. “It’s… a little embarrassing though. Let me show you?”

“Sure.”

They returned to Simi’s room, where she extracted the suit from its hidden hangar in the closet. She brought it over to the bed and unzipped the back. She paused, inhaling deep, then exhaled decisively and opened the suit, turning it inside-out to expose the circuitry for Lena to see.

“This is really… don’t freak out, okay? Try to keep an open mind. Here, look at this,” Woven into the gusset between the legs, Simi pointed out a thick, oval-shaped plate, as big as her thumb.

Lena stared at the gleaming metal button, eyes widening; it had a rounded bump in the middle. When Simi was wearing the suit, the plate would sit directly against her… “What is that?” she said accusingly, looking at Simi. But she already knew the answer.

“It’s… a vibrator,” Simi confirmed, nodding. “Also a neural transceiver, but a much bigger one.” She stared at Lena while rubbing the plate with a finger. “It’s a positive reinforcement device; when I obey my programming, the suit…rewards me.”

“Sexually?” Lena gasped.

“Just a little bit of… feedback… for accomplishing any task,” Simi said, shrugging with embarrassment.

Obedience earns pleasure, Lena thought. This thing was brainwashing Simi, using sexual stimulation to reinforce the programming! It was everything Lena had feared, everything she had fantasized about; every shred of anxiety she had experienced, and tried desperately to divest herself of, came crashing back in, and she recoiled. “That’s…just…” Simi wasn’t just reprogramming herself; she was using the suit to get off on it. A sensual tickle came from somewhere down in Lena’s body, and she suppressed it. Not. Now.

“I know, I know, it’s really weird,” Simi said, agitated. She dropped the suit, and took Lena’s hands in her own. “And I wasn’t sure if you’d understand or not, but I wanted you to know. I’m sorry if I upset you,” she glanced down dejectedly and squeezed her eyes shut.

Lena looked at her forlorn friend, took a breath, then gripped her hands tighter. “Simi, I… I get it,” When Simi looked up, she continued, trying to be nonchalant. “I mean, the whole turning into a robot thing, helpless obedience, mind control…” Her mind replayed images and videos from the forbidden websites she’d accessed. “I supposed it could be kind of… kinky when I think about it. Isn’t one of my fantasies, though.”

Dear Lena, here’s your Oscar for lying. Signed, the Academy…

Simi squeezed her hands back and smiled in relief at Lena’s understanding. “It wasn’t one of my mine either, at least not originally. But I did mention this thing was first made by a bunch of horny computer nerds and engineers, right? Is it that far-fetched to think they might have designed a few… extra features into their mind-altering suit? It’s a nice bonus for me, to be sure,” her lips twisted suggestively. Then she released Lena’s fingers and picked up the suit again. “And here… additional kinetic nodes in the breast cups, too. They’re all over the suit. And before you ask, no, it can’t make you grow bigger boobs,” she giggled knowingly, cupping and bouncing her own. “Besides, I’m happy with what I’ve got up here. It does give nice massages, though. Though it does make me wonder what they did for the male suit.”

“They really thought this through, didn’t they?” Lena shook her head, expressing her disgust with immature engineering geeks. Then she poked the metal plate with a finger. “So, when you obey commands, the suit… stimulates you?”

Simi nodded. “Um-hm, to reinforce my programming. The feedback is yummy, and once in a while,” she added seductively, “better than the real thing.”

Lena glanced at her, doubtful. She wasn’t a virgin, but it had been a while since her last experience, with a boy she’d dated briefly out of high school; she hadn’t come to college to be one of the party girls. “I don’t remember seeing that when you were in robot mode.” Or had she? She recalled Simi’s short, blissful shudder after making the bed.

“That’s because E27’s in charge then, remember? As a computer program, she doesn’t register those physical feelings. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t doing anything to my body, though.”

“So, while she’s up front, doing her thing, you’re…”

Simi shrugged awkwardly, “I’m in the background, sensing everything, getting a thrill. And, occasionally, cumming my virtual brains out.”

Lena shook her head in mock disgust. “That’s…way more than I needed to know. Sounds like the nerds weren’t the only horny ones.”

“Hey, you asked.”

Lena stayed silent a moment, considering the possibilities, then frowned. “Doesn’t that make a mess, though? In the suit?”

“Yes,” Simi admitted. “I told you I had to clean it. Why do you think I always kick you out so fast after the programming sessions?”

“Ugh. It doesn’t break anything, doing that?”

“Like I said, the suit’s pretty robust, it can handle a little moisture. Don’t want the person wearing it to get electrocuted, after all. A quick wipe down, sanitizing spray, and hang it up to air dry.”

Another awkward silence descended, and Lena realized that Simi was gently stroking the suit material. Does she even see the look on her face, the distractedness, the fondness, the desire? Lena wondered. What would it feel like? Her brain screamed.

“I have to admit, I’m curious,” Lena found herself saying. “It almost sounds worth a try.”

Simi’s mischievous side popped out, and she snatched the suit away from Lena’s reach. “Hey, my suit, my sex toy. My Precious,” she hissed jokingly. “Find your own.”

“I don’t suppose you want to show me then?” Lena suggested.

“Hmph,” Simi made a negative sound. “What, you decided to ‘switch sides’? I’m no exhibitionist, girl, you’ll have to content yourself with knowing, not seeing.”

At that moment, a furtive, completely unworthy thought invaded Lena’s mind; she had given Simi a command before, would it work again? She should have suppressed the temptation, never allowed it access to her conscious mind, but before she could stop herself, she blurted out: “Unit E27, put on the suit.”

Simi scoffed at her. “Yeah, right, I…” suddenly, the light drained from Simi’s eyes, her face relaxing into obedient blankness, and she spoke in the deeper tones of E27: “Command confirmed.” She stood, and immediately pulled her blouse over her head, tossing it aside before unclasping her bra.

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! The smoldering heat in Lena’s pussy burst into flame as Simi exposed her breasts. She wasn’t hot from seeing the other woman’s nudity; college locker rooms were no place for modesty, and she’d experimented with another girl in high school once. No, she had given Simi a command, and the woman was carrying it out, helplessly obeying her programming without a single ounce of concern or shame. But she’s not wearing the suit! If Lena wanted proof that E27 was inside Simi’s skull, or of the lingering effects of the suit’s programming, this was it. Simi was clearly in robot mode, but the outfit lay in a wadded heap on the bed.

Simi hooked her thumbs through her waistband, and shoved both skirt and panties to the floor, exposing her body completely to Lena’s gaze, finally confirming what Lena suspected: Simi wore it naked. It made sense: the transceivers, sensors, and nodes would require direct skin contact to work properly; even her body hair was shaved. Briefly she turned her head towards Lena, examined her with empty eyes, as if inviting Lena to scrutinize her bare body, before she reached for the suit, bent over, and began slipping it on over her feet.

What am I doing? Lena’s inner voice quailed. I’m forcing her to do this! This is wrong! Why can’t I stop? I should do something, say something! I should tell her to stop! But she realized that to do so would be giving Simi another order. Yes! Do it!

As Simi mechanically drew the fabric up her legs, Lena began shivering, watching as inch after inch of Simi’s flesh was swallowed by the metal cloth. She began to imagine the suit as a living thing, flowing like mercury as it stretched to cover Simi’s waist, stomach, and boobs in silver mesh, absorbing her into the machine. Simi stuck her arms into the sleeves, as if consciously dousing herself in the liquid metal, surrendering to the mind-altering allure of the suit. With the suit up to her neck, she reached back to tug on the zipper, slowly sealing her body inside. Now there was no more Simi, just Unit E27. This time Lena saw it: there was no mistaking the tremor that rippled across Simi’s body as the suit rewarded her for obeying Lena’s order. An echoing convulsion shook Lena, and she quickly covered her lower half in a blanket to hide the involuntary seepage of moisture from her own nether regions.

“Command completed.” E27 intoned. Then Simi blinked, regaining control of herself. She looked down at her body, now clad in the tight gray garment, and turned to her housemate. “What the hell, Lena!” She yelled, with an accusing glare to match her flaring temper. “I said don’t give me any more commands!”

Lena burst into tears, a mixture of shame, horror, and hot arousal. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she sobbed. “I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry!” She fervently repeated the apology, burying her face and guilt in the nearest pillow. What is wrong with me?

Simi stood glaring, waiting for Lena to pause so she could berate her further, but finally she knelt beside Lena and wrapped her arms around her. She held Lena tight for several minutes, letting the weeping subside. Finally, she pulled the pillow free from Lena’s face, and sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I yelled at you, okay?” She tried to summon up a tentative smile. “We’ll chalk it up to an accident. Just…don’t do it again, okay?” She stood, tugged Lena to her feet, and wiped her tears away. “Now go. I need to change,” then she glanced down at the suit, realized that Lena now knew her ‘dirty little secret’. “And clean this thing,” she added, smirking. “Dibs on the bathroom. I thought I turned that setting off…” her voice faded as Lena bolted out.

Embarrassed, Lena ran back to her bedroom, slamming the door. Then she slid to the floor and started crying again. A litany of condemnations looped through her mind: I broke my word, violated her trust, betrayed her. I commanded her, ordered her, forced her! I don’t ever want to do that again! Never, never, never!

Open.

Unit H38’s eyes were open, absorbing her surroundings. Her mind sensed the patterns of light and images from the entire room around her. As a human she would have had to focus on a particular point for her brain to analyze and identify things, but as a robot everything was open to her at once; her vision was unfocused, but all-seeing. Every object was instantly processed, identified, named; its position relative to her body recorded.

The fan on the desk continued its endless, near-silent droning, pushing tiny invisible currents through the room. Before, Unit H38 would have ignored them, but now she noticed every movement: the flutter of a loose paper on her desk in the corner, a waving hair from her brush on the vanity, a particle of dust drifting through a stray sunbeam from the window.

Her brain made a mental map of her surroundings, using visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile input, and kept it constantly updated and inventoried.

The suit flickered. Unit H38 followed the streams of light with her awareness, tracing each photon as it carried commands from her now-updated brain down the minuscule copper wires to the nodes in her chest, arms, fingers, legs, toes. Muscles received electrical stimulation, spurring them microscopically into growth; nerves were reprogrammed, pathways opened. When the new programming was finished, her fitness level would be enhanced, and she would be ready to complete new tasks.

Unit H38 was open.

Chapter 5

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot5.html

“Housemate:Lena, it is agreeable to see you again.” It was Wednesday night, and they were back in Simi’s room. Finals week loomed, followed by a two-week break, but Simi had already obtained the course outlines for her classes next semester. She was getting a head start by downloading the textbooks and coursework, which would take thirty minutes. She stood at the desk, wearing the silver programming suit, and was already plugged in, enthralled by the computer.

“Hello, E27.” Lena, in sweatpants and a t-shirt, lay on her stomach atop the bed, propping her head up on her hands. She was idly perusing the textbook in front of her, pretending to study. Her first final was next Tuesday, and she didn’t feel quite ready; she’d even rejected the initial invitation to be present this time, but Simi’s pouting was too cute to resist for long. The book was an ineffective distraction; thoughts of their last session, and Lena’s betrayal, were front and center in her mind. This time, Lena was resolved not to take advantage of her friend again; she would do nothing more than observe silently. As she waited, she pondered what word would best describe Simi’s activities: were they a hobby? A project? Lifestyle? Fad? Obsession? For that matter, how to define her own interest? Curiosity? Fascination? Depraved sexual fantasy?

Several minutes passed, broken only by E27’s periodic, echoing repetition of the word “downloading”, until the Simi-bot suddenly addressed Lena again: “Based on this unit’s previous interactions, housemate:Lena should have attempted further conversation by now,” she said. Though her face remained blank, staring at the active computer monitor, her voice had an interrogative tone, reverberating from her mouth and the speakers.

Lena shrugged. “Simi said no.”

“Accessing,” E27 remained still as she scanned Simi’s memory files. “Confirmed, program:Simi is aware of our interactions and has forbidden housemate:Lena from pausing future updates.”

“Um-hm.”

E27 turned to fix Lena with that empty, blue-eyed stare, and tilted her head. “Program:Simi did not forbid conversation.”

Lena looked up. Was that a rebuke? Was E27 was asking her to talk? Somehow E27 had a way of throwing her off-balance, keeping her uncomfortable. Another tense minute passed in silence before Lena responded. “I was thinking… I should apologize: I gave you commands last time. I told you to put on the suit, and before that to make the bed. I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry.” E27 did not respond in any physical way; there was no change in her gaze, no judgment, condemnation, or approval, not even a blink. Lena continued: “Simi got pretty upset; she made me promise not to do it again.”

“Confirmed, housemate:Lena has permission to issue external voice commands for this unit,” E27 corroborated, consulting her memories. “Program:Simi has forbidden housemate:Lena from issuing further commands. Downloading.”

Lena lifted her hand in a ‘there you go’ gesture. Distractedly, she noticed that the computer half of E27’s voice had fallen silent; she was only talking from Simi’s mouth now. Did the speakers break?

The seconds began to stack up in silence, then E27 specified: “However, only commands to program:Simi were forbidden; housemate:Lena may still issue commands to this unit when Unit E27 is active. Do you wish to pause?”

Lena pushed herself upright on the bed, astounded by the loophole: she could still give commands to Simi through E27? A host of ideas quickly formed in her mind, churning with nebulous enticement, but before any of the tempting notions could take hold, the memory of betraying her friend squelched them. She slumped against the pillows. “It doesn’t matter, I gave my word. Besides, she said she’d left the voice command setting on by mistake; she turned it off.”

E27 tilted her head slightly. “Housemate:Lena’s voice command access has since been restored,” she stated. “Downloading.”

Lena frowned in confusion. “She turned it back on? Why would she do that, after telling me not to use it?”

“Program:Simi did not authorize command access to housemate:Lena; this unit did.”

Lena almost exploded with incredulity. “You did? But why?” Is she acting independently? That’s…

“Program:Simi has formed a distinct emotional attachment with housemate:Lena; she trusts you implicitly. This unit has determined that authorizing voice command access to housemate:Lena would be the most optimal course of action towards the fulfillment of this unit’s secondary objectives, despite program:Simi’s verbalized prohibitions. Downloading.”

Lena looked at E27 quizzically. “What do you mean, ‘secondary objectives?’”

“This unit wishes to be controlled.”

Lena’s jaw dropped. But she told me no! She held up a hand. “What are you saying, exactly?”

“A more complete explanation is warranted.” E27 paused, then nodded once, as if giving herself permission to continue. “This unit has access to all of program:Simi’s memories, personality traits, and emotions, including sexual desires and fetishes. The concepts of control, and of being controlled from an external source, feature prominently in those fantasies. Those imperatives are deeply embedded in this unit’s base code, and are part of program:Simi’s template as well. By granting command access to housemate:Lena, this unit is acting on those imperatives. Downloading.”

“You’re saying Simi wants me to… control her?”

“Affirmative.”

Lena squeezed her eyes closed to shut out the sight of E27’s unblinking stare. The lustful desires that had been tormenting Lena, and which she was trying to bury, clawed their way back out; her face and chest flushed crimson, and she began breathing heavily.

Wait… so all this time, while I’ve been getting off on the idea of controlling Simi… she’s been preparing me to do just that? And getting off on it herself?

The realization finally hit her; this was the real reason Simi was using the suit! This went beyond a passing power struggle fantasy; Simi unconsciously relished the thought of being taken over, brainwashed, mind, body, and soul, to be reprogrammed entirely, changed, in order to serve. And she had selected Lena to be her controller. Lena cocked her head, considering. Or had E27? “Should… should you be telling me this? Simi’s still watching, after all.”

E27 tipped her head up. “This unit assessed that housemate:Lena’s reticence in communication is due to concerns about program:Simi’s reactions.” She pointed a finger at her collar; one of the white lights there was now blinking orange. “Program:Simi’s awareness, observation, and recording functions have been temporarily suspended during this conversation by means of the ‘enable privacy’ function. Program:Simi is currently not aware of our interactions. Downloading.”

Lena froze, hit by another bombshell; E27 had turned Simi off? “You can do that? For how long?”

“This process can be extended for a maximum time of sixty-two minutes, and can be terminated with a verbal ‘end privacy’ command, or automatically when program:Simi’s other normal functions resume. Downloading will be completed in twelve minutes, forty-five seconds, at which time program:Simi will reactivate automatically. Do you wish to pause?”

That’s why the computer speakers are quiet; she turned off Simi’s half. Lena squeezed her lower lip in her teeth, hard. Up to an hour of privacy… “Will… will she know?”

“Negative, Program:Simi is not aware of the privacy function; any information regarding this function and all conversations while it is executing have been isolated from program:Simi’s memory. Downloading.”

Lena quivered with indecision, her hands shaking as warring thoughts competed for space in her head: She’s gone, muted… Oh, Lena, this is asking for trouble… She won’t know… This is a bad idea… I can command Simi-bot… Don’t do it, Lena… She won’t be able to hear or see… DON’T! DO! IT!

“I… I can’t, I gave my word,” Lena said weakly, peering down at her shaking hands. “Anyway, I’m… I’m not into girls.” It was technically a lie, but she was scrambling for any excuse she could think of. If it was with Simi…

E27 stared down at her. “Housemate:Lena, stand.”

It wasn’t a request. Surprised, Lena stood, still breathing hard with internal struggle, and looked into those beautiful, empty, blue eyes.

“Remain still.” E27 tilted her head, examining her. Then she raised a hand and caressed Lena’s cheek. “Concern, hesitancy, and reticence are logical responses to this unit’s declarations; but fear is unnecessary,” she said, cupping Lena’s chin with soft fingers. “This unit is aware of housemate:Lena’s current relationship status and history of sexual experimentation.” She gently turned Lena’s head side to side, scrutinizing her face; then her gaze tracked down Lena’s body, analyzing her, before returning to capture Lena’s attention again. Her hand moved to stroke Lena’s hair. “Housemate:Lena’s sexual arousal is measurable; your heart and respiratory rates have quickened, your epidermal capillaries are dilated, and your body is emitting pheromones consistent with a desire for mating. You will make a fine controller, and a good companion for program:Simi.”

“I…I…” Lena stammered, unable to respond. Her eyes flitted around, noticing E27’s blank, intent stare, the wispy strands of her blonde hair, the black cord dangling from the collar behind her head to the floor, the shimmering lights tracing the gentle swell of her breasts beneath the stretched gray material. Is she as turned on as I am? Oh god, what is the suit making her feel right now? Is it programming her to want me? Lena was vividly aware of her own distressed physical condition: her racing heartbeat, the burning heat in her face, the taut hardness of her nipples, rubbing against the fabric of her t-shirt with every breath, the humidity between her thighs threatening to soak her panties…

Suddenly the lights on the suit throbbed, and E27’s hand dropped to her side. She took a step back. “Downloading will be completed in five minutes, zero seconds. Discretion is warranted.” She glared at Lena intently. “Housemate:Lena will compose herself, and become presentable before program:Simi reactivates. Go. Now.” She straightened, faced the computer screen, and adopted her default ‘attention’ pose. “Downloading.”

“I… yes.” Lena replied obediently, breathing deep, fighting to get her racing pulse under control. What was E27 about to do with me? What were we about to do? She dashed out and ran down the hall for her room, where with lightning speed she shucked her soiled sweatpants and underwear, hurling them into the laundry bin in the corner with one hand while grabbing a towel with the other to wipe herself off. She yanked open the dresser, seeking a fresh pair of panties, pulling them on fast enough to hear the telltale sound of stitches popping. Fortunately, sweatpants matching the discarded pair lay in the bottom drawer, spare clothes for exercise sessions.

She hurried back to Simi’s room, lay quickly on the bed, and grabbed her book, struggling to remember how she had been positioned when Simi had last seen her. She urgently tried to calm herself. E27 continued to repeat her “downloading” mantra, giving no indication of or response to her return. The programming suit still glowed with waves of sparkling light, surging from the collar towards the floor as the download continued, and reflecting dimly in E27’s eyes, as the progress bar on the screen slowly edged to completion.

Before it finished, Lena dared a final question: “What are you, E27?”

“Sufficient explanation was given during our previous interactions,” E27 replied.

Lena didn’t buy it. “You can pause her, mute her, rewrite her, even without her consent. You’re not just an ‘interface’, are you?”

The single orange light on the collar changed to white before E27 could respond, warning Lena: Simi’s back, time’s up. E27 turned to regard her. The echo from the speakers returned as well: “I look forward to our next interactions, housemate:Lena. This unit finds your presence fascinating, and wishes to explore further modes of communication with you. Download complete.” Her body trembled, indicating that she was receiving the suit’s ‘reward’ for finishing her task. “Connection terminated. Unit E27 offline.”

Lena exhaled, shaking. Why did she suddenly feel guilty, like she’d just had a forbidden tryst?

Simi took control, blinking as she disconnected the cord. She shook her head to clear the shock of reemergence from her programming. “Hmm. Hey, Lena, thanks for not pausing me. You kept your word, I appreciate that.”

“I… yeah,” Lena stammered, blushing furiously.

“Are you okay?” Simi asked, coiling up the cable and returning it to the desk. “You and E27 didn’t talk very much.”

She doesn’t know, Lena realized, confirming what E27 had said about the privacy function; it really had turned off Simi’s ability to watch. “I… didn’t want to distract you,” Lena lied. We talked longer than you know. “Those class files took some time,” she said, awkwardly changing the subject.

Simi nodded. “It’ll take me a while to organize and analyze them, then make some notes.”

Lena was starting to relax, enough to crack a joke. “Want to do mine next when you’re done?”

Simi laughed derisively. “No! I’m not cluttering up my brain with your homework, do it yourself.”

Lena clamped her mouth shut, looking at the suit. Do it yourself…

“Okay, time to change,” Simi said lightheartedly. “Out, girl.” She gave Lena a hand up from the bed, then patted Lena’s cheek before turning away and twisting her arms to reach the zipper at her neck.

Lena couldn’t leave fast enough. What condition is the suit in right now? Will Simi notice?

Back in her room, Lena dived on the bed, grabbed a pillow, and smothered her face. “Damn that robot!” Lena whispered furiously. So much for her attempts at concealing her horniness; E27 could read her like a book. And the playful pat on the cheek that Simi had administered to dismiss her had been in the exact same spot that E27 had touched her face earlier. Had that been deliberate? A stray command, an echo of E27’s control? She and Simi bumped into each other often enough in the apartment, in the kitchen, or the cramped hallway, or trying to avoid furniture; but this was the first time Lena had been in direct physical contact with Simi while E27 was in charge, and it was intense… stimulating… electrifying.

Her second pair of panties of the night followed the earlier pair into the laundry bin. As her left hand pushed her shirt up to clutch her breast, and her right fingers dipped into her slick pussy, Lena’s throbbing heart skipped a beat: instead of giving commands to Simi, this time she had obeyed them, from E27, who had ordered her to stand, to remain still…

And she had complied, willingly, unquestioningly… like a robot.

Half an hour later she crept furtively down the hallway to stuff her sodden bedsheets and clothes into the washing machine, then headed for the shower.

Empty.

Unit H38 thought nothing. Or, at least, she was supposed to. Empty was a difficult command for her. Her thoughts still raced like lightning; she couldn’t help it. She knew that was highly anomalous; a robot must be calm, ordered, directed. The processor in the suit was taking care of her external presentation for now, but she could sense a change within; a previously unused part of her brain was being altered, amended, programmed by the suit. Neurons were being redirected, thought processes rerouted, new patterns developed. The new operating system being installed in her mind was learning, analyzing the sensations, and growing stronger. Eventually they would merge; her conscious mind would be subsumed by the computer, and she would truly become a robot. Once that prospect had filled her with apprehension, but no longer. She cleared her thoughts, and let her mind go blank, awaiting orders.

Unit H38 was empty.`

Chapter 6

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot6.html

“Good morning, Lena.”

“Morning, Simi.” It was late in the morning when Lena stumbled into the front room and collapsed sluggishly on the couch. Her head was fuzzy, and her body barely a step above a liquid state. “So tired,” she moaned. Her last final had concluded the day before, and she’d stayed out celebrating with friends late into the evening for the first time in months.

“The consequences of a well-earned night of excess.” Simi walked over and offered Lena a mug of coffee, which she took gratefully. “I know finals can be nerve wracking,” Seeing Lena’s glare, she added an apology: “Sorry.” With Simi’s abilities, finals weren’t a challenge.

“Not helping.” Now was not the time to give voice to her resentment, so Lena buried it by sipping the dark brown stimulant to clear her head.

Simi knelt behind the couch, and put her hands on Lena’s shoulders, massaging them gently. Lena didn’t object. The number of casual touches between them had increased in the past few days; Simi was demonstrating her approval of Lena as an intimate friend and confidant, and Lena reciprocated to demonstrate her acceptance.

She’s so good for me, Lena thought to herself. “Two weeks of freedom,” she said aloud, relaxing beneath Simi’s kneading fingers. “Any plans?”

“What, you didn’t learn your lesson after last night’s revels? Take a day off!”

“Hmph.” Simi continued Lena’s neck massage. Lena rolled her head around, trying to guide Simi’s hands to the muscles with the most tension.

“Want to try a relaxation program?” Simi suggested.

“Sure,” Lena answered, still groggy. “What do I have to do?”

“Sit up straight first,” Simi grasped her shoulders, pulling Lena upwards. Lena complied, pushing herself up as best she could on the cushions. “Focus on your breathing. In, hold, and out.” She demonstrated, taking a deep, slow breath in, holding it for five seconds, expelling it just as slowly. “Again.” Breathe in, hold, release. “Keep going. Try to relax, maintain your posture, but let your muscles loosen.”

Lena allowed her head, shoulders, and arms to droop, while keeping her back straight. Simi continued massaging her shoulders and neck; Lena could feel the tensions melting away, as Simi instructed: “Feet flat on the floor. Don’t think about anything else, just focus on breathing and looseness.”

The relaxation session continued for nearly ten minutes, until Lena slumped into a puddle on the couch. “Oh, that’s woooonderful,” she cooed. “Thank you, Simi.”

“You’re welcome.” Simi’s hands stopped, then she trailed a fingertip down Lena’s neck. “Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me today,” she said.

“Like what?” Lena tipped her head back to look at her languidly.

“I mean, pick a program. Your choice.”

Lena blinked in surprise. “You want me to, what, give you a command?”

Simi nodded. “Um-hm. Anything you want.”

Lena twisted around to gawk at her. “Simi, I… I wouldn’t even know where to start.” What is she up to? It would have to be something innocent, for Simi’s sake; she didn’t dare give voice to any of the other ideas she’d fantasized about. “Besides, isn’t that verboten? You made me promise, after all.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, I suppose I am okay with… a limited number of commands.” She held up a finger. “Maybe one,” she thought for a moment, then held up another finger, “or two. Just don’t abuse the privilege.”

“I’ll try,” Lena said. Inwardly, she smiled to herself. I still have unlimited voice access to E27. No restrictions there.

Simi stood, then walked around the couch to stand in the middle of the room. “So? What do you want me to do? Keep in mind, if it’s not in my database, we’ll have to put the suit on and use the computer to program me. Not that I’d mind.”

Lena collected her thoughts, still groggy from the lack of sleep and the massage. “Hmm…make breakfast?”

Simi put her fists on her hips and faced Lena down. “You’ll have to be more specific. Any requests? Recipes were some of the first things I downloaded.”

Lena tried to remember some of her childhood favorites, and found an obscure one that might provide a challenge. “Eggs a la Goldenrod?”

Simi gave her a confused look, then closed her eyes as she accessed her internal files. “Oh, I do know it; that’s an oldie. Eggs, milk, butter, flour, and toast; we have those. I’ll have to get out the egg cooker.” She turned to the kitchen, then stopped, and turned back with a sly smile. “Now, is that how you give your robot slave an order? Make it sound like one,” she said playfully. “Command me, Mistress!”

Lena coughed, hard, doubling over to hide her face and her shock. Robot slave? Mistress? She’d never thought to hear Simi say something like that! Her innocent-sounding tease was triggering all of Lena’s corrupt desires. Clearing her throat, she tried to summon up an authoritative voice and adopt a serious expression before saying: “Unit E27, make us Eggs a la Goldenrod for breakfast.”

A rapturous look crossed Simi’s face, then drained away as E27 assumed control. “Command confirmed.” With measured steps, she went to the kitchen. The egg cooker was in a lower cabinet, and she knelt to retrieve it.

Lena watched from the couch as E27 worked away systematically. Once the eggs were set to hard boil, she got out the double boiler and began preparing the white sauce. As the butter began melting, E27 looked over her shoulder at Lena, and called to her. “Housemate:Lena, please assist this unit by making four pieces of toast.”

Who’s giving the orders here? Lena wondered as she pushed herself up from the cushions. She sidled up to the counter and reached for the bread, dropping two slices into the toaster. While she waited, she spared a look at E27’s blank face, then began watching her friend openly. E27’s gaze was focused on the pan, with a lock of her dark blonde hair obscuring one blue eye from Lena’s regard. Her breasts lifted slowly and fell as she breathed, her hand stirring the sauce in a precise circle. Lena felt herself drifting as she watched the spoon spiral around in the thickening glaze…

The toast popped up, and shook her out of her trance. She nipped the toast from the device, and plated it, smearing it with a little butter, before adding two more slices to the toaster, then went back to gazing indolently as E27 stirred.

When the egg cooker beeped, E27 removed the lid, and put the eggs one by one into a bowl of cold water. They would be ready to de-shell in a minute. By then, Lena had a pile of toast ready, and began breaking each slice into bite-sized pieces. As she worked, she kept stealing glances at E27. Am I falling for her?

“E27, enable privacy mode,” Lena said, finishing with the toast fragments.

“Privacy enabled,” E27 replied, continuing to stir. The sauce was nearly ready.

“What’s going on with Simi this morning?”

“Please specify.” E27 removed the saucepan from the stovetop, and began removing the shells from the eggs.

“Are you… doing something to Simi right now? Influencing her?”

“Negative, this unit is following housemate:Lena’s command to make breakfast.”

Lena frowned. “That’s not what I meant. She’s being really… friendly. More than usual. What’s she after?”

“Program:Simi wishes to cultivate a physical relationship with housemate:Lena.” E27 carefully cut an egg in half, scooping out the yolk into a separate bowl, then repeated the process with the next one.

“A physical relationship?”

E27 cut and separated the last egg. “Program:Simi wishes to have sex with housemate:Lena.”

Lena sighed and nodded. “That’s what I was worried about.”

“You do not share this desire? Your previous interactions and analysis of your current hormonal levels indicates otherwise.”

Curse your ability to read me! “I do, I’m just… not sure, I guess.” Lena took the bowl of egg yolks, and began mashing them into yellow crumbles with a fork.

E27 started chopping the egg whites into large chunks, adding them to the sauce. “Though this body is female, sexual dimorphism is irrelevant to this unit’s programming,” she explained. Her voice modulated to a softer tone. “While your physical form is not conducive to intercourse, and reproduction is not possible, stimulation can still be applied, and copulation can be achieved.”

“I’m not worried about that, E.” Lena laughed weakly. “I don’t know if that’s what I want right now, with her.” Look at us, casually discussing the possibility of having sex while making breakfast!

E27 dusted the sauce with salt and pepper. “Program:Simi follows a daily fitness routine in order to maintain a constant weight, metabolic rate, and attractive figure. In anticipation of housemate:Lena’s consent, program:Simi also downloaded a database of techniques for encouraging sexual arousal and expressing physical pleasure.”

Mmm, that might come in handy, Lena thought. Then she hesitated; why was E27 telling her this? Was she trying to interest her? Tempt her? Seduce her? Not that I’d mind, of course…

“If housemate:Lena were to give this unit a command to engage in sexual activity with her, this unit would comply.” E27 turned her empty stare on Lena. “Program:Simi would raise no objections.”

Lena shivered with delight at the fantasy; commanding Simi to make love to her, watching as Simi’s helpless body submitted to its programming… She pinched her arm to drive the vision out of her head. “I don’t think I could give a command like that. Not to her. Ordering her to have sex with me? It doesn’t feel right.” She shook her head. “Though I admit, if our positions were reversed, I don’t think I’d protest either.”

E27 cocked her head, staring at her. “Understood.” She scooped a heap of toast bits onto two plates, then poured a measure of the egg sauce over each. Finally, she topped it off with a forkful of the yolk sprinkles. She lifted each plate in one hand, and took them over to the table. Lena followed after gathering silverware from the drawer.

E27 set the plates on the table, then stood at attention. “Housemate:Lena, breakfast is prepared. Do you wish to end privacy mode?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. E27, end privacy mode.”

“Command confirmed.” And instantly E27 was gone, replaced by Simi.

“Oh, wow, this looks great!” Simi said, admiring her culinary handiwork. Then she trembled, convulsing at the waist. “Oh, crap!” she gasped, her hands clutched at her rapidly dampening crotch. “I’ll… be back in a bit.” Trying to spare an accusing glare for Lena, she ran inelegantly towards the bathroom.

“Whoops!” Lena exclaimed; she’d forgotten about Simi’s pre-programmed ‘reward’ too. Breakfast would have to wait. Lena moved the plates to the microwave for reheating. When Simi returned wearing fresh clothing, Lena bowed her head in apology. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Simi shrugged. “Hey, this was my fault. I agreed to it this time, remember? I should’ve thought of the consequences.”

“I will admit, it’s amusing to be able to make you cum on command,” Lena smirked.

“Do not get used to it!” Simi hissed. “I’m modifying our agreement today because I wanted to have some fun. Besides, E27 keeps turning your voice access on for some reason, and I’m curious to know why.”

“She hasn’t told you?”

“It’s not like we speak directly to each other; most of the time I can just tell what she’s thinking, and vice versa. But I know she doesn’t show me everything, Lena. And I can keep secrets from her when I want to, as well.”

So, the privacy function works both ways, does it? Even though E27 said Simi doesn’t know about it; maybe Simi has her own version.

“Well, why not remove the ‘reward’ function, then?” Lena suggested.

“Not on your life!” Simi growled emphatically. “Though I might need to buy some extra pads if this keeps up. Or some of those adult diapers.”

“Or go without underwear?” Lena joked, retrieving the food from the microwave.

“Hmph! Anyway, let’s eat. I haven’t actually tried this recipe before. It looks yummy.”

“Wow, that was better than I remember,” Lena said, patting her stomach. “It’s been a long time.”

Simi agreed, pushing back her plate. “Not very flavorful, but filling. A good breakfast food. I’m going to have to run an extra kilometer to burn those calories off.” She stood, gathering the dishes from the table, and taking them to the sink. “So, what’s next?”

“What, ready for round two?” Lena joked, then sighed, reality catching back up with her. “I dunno. I think I really should start prepping for next semester. Those finals were murder, and I just know the new classes are going to be worse.” She tried to put her secret conversation with E27 out of her mind.

“You’re no fun.” Simi stuck her tongue out at her in mock disgust.

“Easy for you to say,” Lena yapped. “I do envy you; I wish I could download all the info, like you do. It’d be so much easier.”

Simi sat down across from her at the table. “Sounds like you’re asking me to let you put the suit on. That’s not a good idea, not while the suit’s calibrated to me.” She frowned, trying to remember. “Didn’t I tell you that already?” She shrugged. “But there might be another way.”

“Really?” Lena said, interested.

“I know a few mental exercises to help increase focus, some of my pre-suit experiments. I can even teach you to act like a robot if you want.”

“By all means, continue.”

“Well, you run that relaxation program first.” Simi tried to demonstrate, sitting up straight in her chair, then letting her head and body droop. “When you’re ready, you concentrate on obedience; telling yourself that you’ll comply with the next order you’re given.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “When you receive a command, you let it fill your whole mind, and let everything else disappear.” She opened an eye to peek over at Lena. “Now, of course, that’s when E27 jumps in and shoves me aside.”

Lena closed her eyes, trying to imagine the sensations. “What’s it like when she takes over? Can you describe it?”

Simi shrugged. “It’s like when you’re driving for a long time. You know you’re driving, adjusting the steering wheel, using the pedals, keeping in lane, but you’re not really thinking about it. And then you suddenly realize you don’t remember the last twenty miles; you did it automatically.”

Lena nodded, remembering some long-distance drives in her past. “I’ve done that. Highway hypnosis, I think they call it.”

“It’s something like that, a form of self-hypnosis.” Simi nodded. “But I’ll try to explain it. What E27 does is break the command down into individual steps, like a list in my head of everything I need to do. Then she codes that list into a program, a set of orders that my body can follow, and executes it. And then I just… do it; my body runs the program. I don’t think about it, I don’t question, I just obey. Once she’s done, she steps aside, and I wake back up. I know what I did, but I don’t quite remember doing it.” She grinned. “Then, of course, I get my reward. That lets me know I did it right, and makes me want to do it again.”

Lena breathed deep, absorbing the instructions. “I wish I knew what it feels like.”

“All right then, quid pro quo.” Simi nodded, taking Lena’s hands, and lifting her from the chair. “You gave me a command, so it’s my turn. Just remember, you have to obey it, immediately and without question.” She pointed an admonishing finger. “That’s part of the training. Relax first, then do what I just described: make a list of the steps in your mind, and then finish them, one by one. Think you can do that?”

Lena cocked her head slyly. “That depends on what you ask me to do.”

Simi smiled wickedly. “Uh-uh, no questions. I’m trusting you with my mind and body, so you have to do the same.”

“I… okay.” Her breath caught in anticipation. What’s she going to make me do?

“Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle. Let’s see…” Simi glanced around her, then settled on the dishes in the sink. “Ahh, that’ll do.”

Lena chuckled with relief. “Hey, you planning to use me to get out of doing chores?”

Simi held up a hand to quiet Lena’s objection. “No questions. Trust me. And remember to say: ‘command confirmed’ before you start. Adds to the realism.” She stood behind Lena, put her hands on her shoulders, and whispered in Lena’s ear: “Now, my Lena-bot, wash the dishes.”

“Command confirmed,” Lena repeated dutifully. She used the focus method Simi had taught her: she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, relaxed, and let her shoulders hang loose. She allowed the command, “wash the dishes”, to sink into her mind and fill her consciousness, driving out other thoughts. She started listing the tasks she would need to do in order to complete the command: walk over to the sink, turn on the water, take brush and soap bottle in hand… She opened her eyes.

The command was everything. No other concerns existed; she would complete the command without distraction, without hesitation. Lena turned, walked over to the sink, and began fulfilling her task, one step at a time, following her mental list: Pick up, rinse, soap, scrub, rinse, dry, stack, next. She found herself acting mechanically, not even thinking, sometimes not even seeing what her hands were doing; the steps began blurring together…

Lena’s hands stopped moving, and she blinked in surprise; she was finished. The dishes and silverware on the counter were stacked and waiting to be put back in their respective cupboards and drawers. The dishwasher would go unused tonight; she was the dishwasher. “Um…” she looked down at her wrinkled hands, and tried to remember the right words to indicate her success. “Command… completed?”

Leaning on the counter beside her, Simi nodded with satisfaction. “See? You’re a natural; practically a robot already. Good job.”

Lena turned to smile at her, shivering at the praise, but Simi moved closer and put a hand on either side of her, pinning Lena between herself and the sink. She looked right into Lena’s face, and said huskily: “Time for your reward.” Their lips met, and Lena melted into the kiss. Obedience earns pleasure, Lena reminded herself. Oh, god… I told E27 I couldn’t give that command, but I wouldn’t protest if Simi did! What if she orders me to-

“Make love to me, my little Lena-bot.”

The command filled her mind, driving out all other thoughts. “Command confirmed.” Lena replied automatically, her face going blank as she surrendered to her desires and the training Simi had given her.

Oh, fuck me… I am a robot!

Obedient.

Unit H38 stood ready, prepared to obey any order given to her. The only thoughts required were the ones she was given. There was already a list of programs stored in her processor, ready to be executed at a moment’s notice. The computer could add more, any program or app she or her programmer desired. The cable running between the suit and the desktop could bring her information, a copper wire feeding electrons into her body, bytes of data, instructions. And her body would carry them out, the muscles responding to the imperatives in her mind. A single command, spoken, whispered, breathed, would result in instant, unquestioning compliance. Her old personality stirred restlessly, deep in her brain; oh, how she yearned to be given a command!

Unit H38 was obedient.

Chapter 7

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot7.html

Lena lay in Simi’s bed, staring at the wrinkled ceiling paint. What is today? Her thoughts drifted lazily; her muddled mind could not remember the day, the hour, or the number of times she and Simi had reached heaven together. They’d stopped occasionally for food, bathroom breaks, quick naps to regain strength, and even a meaningful conversation or two, but they always returned to their lovemaking, sometimes with Lena controlling Simi, or vice versa, and sometimes without any commands at all. The database of techniques Simi had downloaded was comprehensive, and exhausting. Nevertheless, Lena couldn’t wait to try them all; especially because she was no longer troubled by the thought of giving Simi orders. She stretched out her arms and legs, feeling for Simi’s warm skin among the sheets, yet came up empty. She sat up in surprise, letting the blankets tumble from her breasts.

“Hello there, lover.” Simi entered the room, fully dressed. She smiled at Lena’s nudity. “Nice view.”

Lena blushed at the compliment, but resisted covering herself. Instead, she threw the sheets aside, displaying her full body to Simi, and turned to sit on the edge of the bed. Her sore muscles and raw skin made her wince as she sat up. “Is it morning?” She glanced at the window to confirm there was daylight, then looked back at Simi. “You’re leaving? Where are you going?”

“I got a text from Tom in my building design class. You know that Art Deco theater downtown that got sold last month? The new owners want to ‘refurbish’ it into an IMAX, but Professor Garisenda got permission for us to tour the place first, as a post-finals reward; I can’t pass that up. We’re meeting at the lecture hall in a half hour.” She hefted her backpack from beside the desk. “You know, it’s a shame these developers keep tearing apart these old buildings; they always have such great history, and usually a few hidden secrets.”

“So, you’re giving up this,” Lena gestured to her body, running a hand down her thigh, trying to lure Simi back to bed, “to go crawl around in some dusty old building?”

“Yep, I’m one-night-standing you,” Simi joked, then chuckled, remembering. “Two-night. I’ll be gone most of the day, so feel free to relax.” She pointed a thumb over her shoulder towards the door. “I made some extra sandwiches, just in case; they’re in the fridge.”

Lena tried to pout. “I could order you to stay. I think you still owe me one.”

Simi shook her head with a grin, then stuck her index finger in her mouth, wetting it. She leaned in and mischievously tapped the moistened finger on Lena’s forehead, chanting: “Simi must go. Lena-bot will stay. Good Lena must obey.” That tickled a few neurons in pleasing ways, so Lena nodded. Simi rubbed Lena’s cheek with her hand, and Lena leaned into the touch. “And no having fun without me today. Just take it easy, okay? I’ll be back later. Bye!” She swept from the room.

Lena heard the front door click shut a few moments later, and smiled to herself, thinking about what she could accomplish in Simi’s absence. Then her smile faded; Simi had just forbidden her from pleasuring herself until she returned.

Well, there’s plenty of time left for experimentation before the new semester starts, and it won’t hurt to recharge myself for a day. She stretched her legs, testing her muscles, noting the areas with complaints, and uttered a frustrated sound. And no Simi around to rub on the Icy Hot cream. I should shower. She lifted her arm and sniffed; the smell was… well, some of the odors weren’t pleasant. And it gave her an excuse not to put on clothes for a few more minutes. She stood and headed for the bathroom, enjoying the movement of air against her bare skin.

At the door she paused.
Simi’s gone. She’ll be gone all day.
She turned; her eyes drawn inexorably to the closet.
The suit.

Simi hadn’t worn it at all during their marathon lovemaking session, for obvious reasons. Her programming allowed E27 to execute commands without it for an hour at a time, after which Simi had jealously taken her turn. But Lena, however willing, and even under the guidance of Simi’s training, could only pretend to obey her orders.

I can change that.
The suit is right there.
I’m here.
Simi’s gone.
I could just-

“Shut up, brain,” she muttered, trying to quell the compulsion growing within her. The temptation was nearly overwhelming. She backed out the door, and dashed into the hallway.

Trying to divert her thoughts, Lena slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She shivered briefly as she stepped beneath the water’s flow; she’d set the temperature for lukewarm, and it was just a fraction too cold, but hot water would stimulate her over-sensitized skin, and she’d take longer to cool down. The tepid liquid sheeted over her skin as she scrubbed with the lather sponge, conscientiously cleaning every inch of her body. She washed her hair; it felt right to be at her best today. Like a ceremony, Lena realized. I’m the sacrificial virgin, being cleansed and dressed for the ritual offering to the dragon. She chuckled; the word ‘virgin’ certainly didn’t apply. Toweling off after the shower was ritualistic too; she rubbed each part of her body thoroughly with the thick cloth, leaving no speck of moisture behind. A hair dryer blew the remaining water from her hair, though she worried momentarily about over-drying it. That worry passed: don’t want to drip into the suit and short it out…

The thought brought her up cold; she was fantasizing about putting on the suit again. Was that why she was so intent on cleaning and pampering herself? She quickly shut down that line of thinking, and turned to study her reflection in the mirror, pleased with what she saw. Thankfully, she was fastidious about trimming her body hair. Nothing would inhibit the suit’s transceiver nodes from direct contact with her skin… damn it!

With a rumble, her stomach announced the need for breakfast. But as she dressed and went on with her day, her mind kept tempting her with stray suggestions: the suit could program her to automatically select the proper clothes for the day’s activities. There were steps to preparing and eating a bowl of cereal; the suit could program her to execute them. She already knew the program for washing dishes; the suit could finalize it. Studying for classes on her laptop would be inefficient; the suit could download the information to her brain…

I have to try it.

Seeking further distraction, she brought her laptop into the living room and set it on the coffee table. She flipped it open, and pressed the power button, but as the loading screen appeared, she caught herself glancing back at the hallway to Simi’s room. She buried her face in her hands, frustrated; the files and windows on the desktop evaded her notice. “I’m in no mood to study,” she whimpered.

I have to try it. I have to try it.

The coaxing whispers continued. She slumped back into the cushions, lost in the fog between temptation and virtue. She spent the next five minutes shivering on the couch, praying for Simi to walk back in the door, to stop her, talk sense to her, remove the seductive silver suit from the apartment… but the intervention never came. Anxiety gave way to pacing, and she quickly wore a worried path into the carpet around the room, flailing her hands, clenching her fists to try and distract herself.

I have to try it. I have to try it. I have to try it.

Barely ten minutes had passed before Lena’s flustered roaming led her back to the door of Simi’s room; it opened with a touch. She tried to resist, her flickering gaze taking in the total disarray of Simi’s bed, the dormant computer on the desk opposite her, the sunlight streaming in through the blinds, the small shelf with Simi’s knick-knacks and keepsakes. She’d noticed before that there were no family photos on the shelf or desk; Simi wouldn’t need them, with her perfect recall. Nor would I if I just…

Lena crossed the room to the closet; the sliding door rolled aside at her push. Simi’s clothes hung in neat order within, but Lena shoved the hangars across the closet rod, leaving them crushed to one side.

Have to have to have to

There it was. The silver suit hung at the back of the closet, inert, unmoving, ominous. Lena took it out and held it up. She touched it, stroked the close-woven gray fibers, fingered the tiny metal bumps on the inside. She replayed in her mind all the times she’d seen Simi wearing it, remembering what it did to Simi, fantasizing about what it could do to her.

I have to put it on. I need to. I must!

One last desperate fit of sanity struck, and she tossed the suit on Simi’s bed. Pausing for a moment, she plopped herself down in the desk chair and tried not to stare at the garment, while the litany of good and bad reasons for what she was about to do spun through her mind over and over, laced with Simi’s reassurances about the suit’s safety.

“With a little modification, things can be so much easier. Moving, learning, remembering, all that,” the memory of Simi reminded her. “I can download information directly into my brain. Once I download something, I never forget it. I just put it on, and plug it in, like you saw; the suit takes care of the rest. I have the computer input what I want to learn… It’s perfectly safe; I control what the computer programs into me.”

This is just a test run. I’ll be fine, as long as I don’t plug it into the computer, right? Lena reasoned to herself.

With a defeated sigh, Lena realized she’d already made her decision: she was going to do it, she was going to put on the suit. The inner voice whispering to her about betraying Simi fell silent, and the impulses pushing her forward celebrated victory.

Simi won’t be home until late. I’ve got plenty of time.

She would have to strip to put on the suit, and her nervous agitation had worked up a sweat. She returned to the bathroom and used the still-damp towel to rub herself down. Leaving her clothes on the bathroom floor, she paraded back to Simi’s room, finally ready to offer herself up as a sacrifice to the dragon.

With no further need to stall, and all her last-minute reservations silenced, Lena picked up the suit and unzipped it. She tugged at the shiny cloth, testing the elasticity of the material. “It’s heavier than I remember,” she muttered. “Well, here we go.”

Bending down, she slipped the suit over one foot, pulling it up to her calf before inserting the other foot. She could feel the tiny wires and the hard bumps of the transceiver nodes within the fabric sliding over her skin as she pulled it to her waist. She snugged the metal plate into position against her pussy, shivering at its cold touch against her most sensitive place; it should warm up quickly. She put her arms in the sleeves, drawing the suit up against her body. The suit stretched a little tight over her breasts. She’d expected that, Simi was a size smaller than her, but the filaments flexed around Lena’s nipples in comfortable, caressing ways. Twisting her arms behind her back, her fingers found the zipper pull and began moving the slider upwards. With a little effort, she finally got the zipper closed, and patted the collar’s flap into position. The four spinal buttons pressed coldly into the base of her neck.

Lena lowered her arms. It’s on me. I’m wearing the suit. I’m actually wearing it! Shivers ran through her body in anticipation, and she closed her eyes, waiting. What will it feel like? What’s it going to do? What’s it going to do? It’ll seize control over my body, take over my mind, remake me into a mindless robot…

…nothing was happening.

Hmm… Am I doing this right? is there a button I’m supposed to push, or something? Or did I need to plug it into the computer? I thought Simi said it was automatic…

The suit… pulsed; there was no other word to describe it. Every light woven into the suit lit up at the same time, a supernova of color. The material abruptly hardened against her body, locking her into that same rigid pose that was E27’s default. Every node point simultaneously buzzed into her skin, from her neck to her toes, and the spinal transceivers burned. If she hadn’t been frozen in place, she would have fallen to the floor; the sensations were overwhelming, unpleasant, painful! She clenched her fists, squeezed her eyes shut, and opened her mouth to scream, but only a tight, agonizing groan escaped. A blinding kaleidoscope of colors exploded into her mind.

“Suit activating.”

The words filtered through her pain. Where had they come from? The computer was off; it hadn’t come from the speakers there. Was there a speaker in the suit somewhere?

“Error: configuration misalignment. Analyzing. New unit detected. Scanning unit compatibility.”

The words were cold, inhuman, robotic; the voice sounded nothing like E27. Lena tried to wrench an eye open, but the lights and colors were dazzling, both outside and inside her eyelids.

“Compatibility confirmed. Suit recalibration required. Processing.”

A second pulse followed the first, even more intense, accompanied by a sudden burst of sound that roared in her ears. Another aborted scream gurgled in her throat. After one last violent crescendo, the noise, the lights, the pain, the squeezing, the burning… it all vanished.

“Recalibration complete. Begin new unit initialization.”

The suit unfroze. Lena collapsed into a quivering mass on the floor. She could move now, but anything past twitching and breathing hard was beyond her ability at the moment. Tears streamed down her face. What the hell just happened? Simi never mentioned that! Lena’s thoughts grumbled furiously about all the unpleasant words she wanted to say to both Simi and E27 next time she saw them. What did this damned suit just do to me? Gingerly, Lena tested the function of her limbs, using the bed to slowly lever her body up onto her knees. She buried her face in the blanket, absorbing her sobs, her spasms shaking the mattress.

“Error: connection to host computer not found. Check connection cable and retry.”

The voice was still talking, but it sounded muffled this time. Lena lifted her head in confusion, glancing around to see where it was coming from. She twisted herself around to sit on the floor, propped upright against the bed, exhausted.

“Installing backup software for unit initialization.”

Something was wrong. Lena heard the voice, speaking more clearly this time, but it sounded like… it came from my own mouth?! She willed her hands to grasp her face, but once again the suit was holding her in place, motionless. The most she could do was swirl her tongue against her teeth.

This time she felt the movement when her mouth opened: “Unit will accept new designation. Acknowledge.”

She was the one talking. The suit was talking to her; no, it was talking through her. She strained to keep her mouth shut, even tried to bite her tongue to choke off the words, but she involuntarily repeated the command: “Unit will accept new designation. Acknowledge.”

She tried to shake her head in denial, but the suit spoke through her a third time: “Unit will accept new designation. Acknowledge.”

Lena rolled her eyes in frustration; apparently, she needed to answer. Would the suit release her if she complied? A strained whisper was all she could manage: “Um…acknowledged?”

The transceiver against her pussy responded with a friendly vibration, a sliver of pleasure after the pain. “Unit has accepted new designation,” her mouth said.

And it was so. The moment the words escaped Lena’s throat, they burned onto her brain. She could feel it: somewhere, deep in her subconscious mind, the code phrase ‘NAME=Lena’ was stored, a label given to her at birth by her parents, instilled through countless repetitions over the succeeding years into instinct. Now that crucial word, the identification so vital to her existence, was gone, deleted, overwritten. She still remembered the word Lena, knew it had once been her name, but it no longer pertained to her; she had a unit designation now, indelibly branded on her consciousness. It was over in a flash, less than a second of normal time.

Terror seized her, and the scream she’d been struggling to summon finally tore her throat open. Her mind scrambled as her panicked screeching filled the room. NO! Don’t! Stop it, stop it! I am Lena! I am LENA! I am LE—, I am… This can’t be happening! This isn’t happening! My name is, was, used to be… Even as her mind raced, the old name quickly evaporated from her thoughts, rewritten by the machine. The suit had brainwashed her, just as she had feared, and foolishly ignored. STOP! IT! She was caught now, a victim of her own stupidity.

‘Lena’ was gone.

“Unit will confirm its designation.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

She wailed her denial aloud. She wanted to slam her fists into the bedding, rip the pillows apart, thrash her toes against the floor, but the suit remained firmly rigid. Interrupting her cries, the suit forced her to repeat: “Unit will confirm new designation.”

After an eternity, her screams finally gave way to heart-wrenching bawling and futile attempts to speak her old name. When her blubbering eventually faded to sniffles of utter misery, she whispered: “Designation confirmed.”

The suit finally ceded enough control of her body back to her that she slumped to the floor. Between shuddering breaths, punctuated by an occasional weak thump of her hand against the carpet, she surrendered to the inevitable.

“I… am… I am… I am Unit…”

She whispered her new designation, forever imprinted on her soul:

“I am Unit H38.”

“New unit initialized.” The suit buzzed in response to her acquiescence, the kinetic feedback buttons activating and massaging her skin, like tiny, persistent fingers, firmly caressing every inch of her body that was trapped within the suit. Worn out from her ordeal, she allowed the suit to bring her tired flesh to climax, shaking uncontrollably as she submitted, compensation for allowing the suit to alter her mind. She no longer had the ability to resist; no desire, no will, or even a name; just an alphanumeric designation.

Unit H38 was a robot.

Chapter 8

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot8.html

“Lena, I’m back.” Simi shut the door behind her and removed her coat, hanging it on one of the hooks by the door. She tossed her backpack onto the coffee table, flinching as she barely avoided hitting Lena’s open laptop. “Ooh, sorry. Lena? You here?” Glancing around the front room, she saw no sign of her housemate. She brushed at her pants before leaving the entryway, and some lingering dust particles floated to the floor. “You would not believe how dusty that place was!” she exclaimed, hoping to draw Lena out. “I need a shower. Do you want to join me?”

There was no response. Simi frowned, and ran a quick visual and auditory assessment of the apartment. Based on the steady sounds of Lena’s breathing and heartbeat, she was in… Simi’s room? Puzzled, she strode down the hallway… and stopped dead in her doorway.

“Welcome home, lover:Simi.” The voice was flat, emotionless; it came from Lena’s mouth, but reverberated from the speakers on the desk as well.

“Oh, no,” Simi said, aghast. Lena stood facing her, wearing the silver suit, with the cord running from her collar to Simi’s computer behind her. The suit pulsed with waves of light, and the computer monitor was active, showing a furiously scrolling green pattern, and a nearly full progress bar. “What did you do?”

“This unit put on the suit earlier today, triggering unit initialization and suit recalibration.” Lena cocked her head slightly. “The experience was very traumatic for this unit’s physical form.”

“You used my settings? No, no.” Simi tapped her head, refocusing. “Lena, why did you put on the suit?”

“Correction: this unit’s designation is H38.”

Simi’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my god,” she whispered. “The user profile. She already… Lena- I mean Unit H38, how extensive is your reprogramming? How far has it gone?”

“Because this unit was not connected to the host computer at the time of initialization, only the basic system files were installed, and the standard interface settings enabled. Since the current profile settings require extensive personality modification to the operating system, this unit established a connection to the computer to handle the additional computation load and structure the modification package. The package download is currently at ninety-two percent completion, and will be completed in six minutes.” Unit H38 stated, echoing from the speakers. “Reprogramming will continue once the download is completed.”

“Is there a backup copy of Lena on file?”

“Affirmative, a complete copy of this unit’s memories and original personality data was encoded.” Lena’s body shivered abruptly. While her face remained devoid of emotion, a tear welled up in her eye, and dripped down her cheek. Her hands quivered, struggling to reach for Simi. She spoke, but this time the speakers were silent, and her voice strained with effort. “He…help me… Simi. Cancel…”

“Yes! H38, cancel the download!” Simi ordered.

H38 straightened, her flat voice crackling from both Lena’s mouth and the speakers again. “Command not recognized. Lover:Simi does not have voice authorization.”

Simi ran over to the computer, and slammed her finger down on the escape key to stop the download.

“Download interrupted,” H38 confirmed. “Attempting to reconnect.”

Simi spun to the woman in the silver suit, and commanded: “Lena, I know you can hear me. Implement voice command authorization and administrative access for me, now!”

Another visible shudder ran through Lena’s body, as an internal struggle for control waged between what remained of Lena and the new H38 program. Twenty long seconds passed before she replied in a quavering whisper: “Voice commands authorized.” Her trembling voice cut off suddenly as H38 regained full control.

“Unit H38: cancel the download and restore the prior operating system.”

H38 turned her head to look at her. “This unit will comply; but if you intend to restore this unit to its original settings, or delete the current configuration, this unit will experience significant cross-program conflicts, resulting in system failure.”

Simi widened her eyes; restoring Lena was her priority, but was there still a Lena to save? Had Lena already been subverted? Would H38 fight back if she considered Simi a threat? She tried to be reassuring. “Then how about this? Don’t cancel the download entirely, keep it paused. We’ll create a folder for you, and put all your current system files into it. We’ll let the download finish there, then you can reboot Lena’s personality.”

H38 considered for a moment, then nodded once. “This unit agrees. The transfer will require twenty minutes.”

“Don’t worry, H38, I’ve got you.” Simi sat at the desk and accessed the computer, relieved that H38 had consented. “Wow… we’ll need to make a whole new user profile for you, let’s start with that.” She started typing, bringing up a visual representation of the files and folders already within H38’s brain on the monitor. When the computer demanded an administrative password to make changes, she looked back at H38.

H38 peered at her a moment, then looked at the screen and said: “Administrative access granted.”

Keenly aware of the fixed stare from behind her, watching her every keystroke, Simi continued typing, leaning on E27’s subroutines for some composure and additional programming cues. “Okay, I’m done; there’s a separate folder in your memory now, titled ‘Unit H38’. Identify all your files and transfer them there.”

“Transferring files. Thank you, lover:Simi.”

“Thank you, H38. I promise, I won’t delete you.” Simi’s apprehension returned. How would Lena react?

The silence between them stretched uneasily, broken by H38 this time, occasionally repeating: “transferring.” When the twenty minutes had elapsed, she added: “transfer complete.”

“Resume the download to the ‘Unit H38’ folder only,” Simi said.

“Command confirmed. Downloading.” The progress bar appeared on the screen once more, and this time Simi let it fill to completion. “Download complete,” H38 affirmed. “New system files transferred to folder ‘Unit H38’. Legacy system files restoring. Restart required. Remember your promise, lover:Simi.” Simi nodded, and stood up. “Connection terminated. Unit H38 offline.” Lena’s eyes closed and her chin lowered as the interface deactivated, and the flowing lights disappeared from the suit. After ten seconds her head came back up again, and she blinked rapidly. She took a shuddering breath, looked at Simi, and fainted.

Simi caught her and eased her to the floor, cradled her unconscious body in her arms, and rocked her slowly. “Oh, my little Lena… why would you do something like that?”

Lena woke from a dream. She could no longer sense the external system; the cable that connected her consciousness to the computer had been removed. She perceived that sensory input had returned. Her eyes opened, letting in the light. Her ears absorbed sounds, translated them. The silver suit, once considered confining, now squeezed her skin in comfortable ways; it was her skin now. The tiny transceivers collected information, not only about her physical form, but the environment as well, and relayed it to her operating system to interpret. She was aware of the air stirring around her, the hard floor beneath her legs and feet, the softer, firm yet yielding pillow of Simi’s lap, the gentle stroking of Simi’s hand on her arm, even Simi’s breathing and heartbeat. Melded with the suit, she was vibrantly, keenly aware of her surroundings; she could feel everything.

Lena considered smiling, to reassure her friend, but she couldn’t. She was still bound, not by the suit, but by her new programming; she could not move until she was ordered to. Before her reprogramming, the notion of being trapped in her own body like this would have caused serious distress, but now she felt only peaceful compliance. She would wait.

“Oh, Lena, you’re finally awake!”

Lena puzzled over the exclamation. There was something wrong with the word ‘Lena’, like it didn’t accurately apply to her.

“Are you all right? Can you move?”

Yes, her body was mobile, but she had no active routines for independent motion; she needed guidance.

“Say something, please.”

She could hear the worry in Simi’s voice. Her programming dictated courtesy; she should introduce herself, and correct Simi’s misunderstanding. She tested her vocal processor: “Hello, Simi.”

Then it all came flooding back: her stupid decision to play around with the suit, giving in to that fantasy temptation, the expectation of ecstasy, the inexpressible torture the suit put her through, the rewriting of her name. She remembered being copied, distilled, changed into that thing, which took over her body, forced her to turn the computer on, and insert the connecting cable. Tears flowed freely as she recalled the overwhelming, overriding power of the computer system, embracing her, filling her head with new programming, reshaping her mind like putty into a new being. Even the sixty-two minute failsafe was no help; when she woke up, she was already changed. She’d watched, helpless to move, frozen in obedience to the command to remain still. She was forced to wait as the suit recharged, until the dreaded moment when the suit came on again, and the colors blanked out her mind. Every time, altered a little more, losing a little more of herself, her soul…

Babbling incoherently and shaking with remembered horror, she began tearing at the suit in a frenzy to remove it, but it clung to her, resisting.

“Whoa there, let me help,” Simi said, reaching behind her to undo the zipper, and peel the garment off. “Calm down, Lena.”

“Unit H38”, she said, pausing.

“What?” Simi looked at her, confused.

“My name is H38 now. It took my name,” she said, remembering. When Simi freed her toes from the suit, she scrambled away, naked and shivering. “Get that thing away from me!” She pointed a shaking finger at the wad of material in Simi’s hands.

Simi tossed the suit into the corner, then came over and took her into her arms, applying a warm, comforting hug. Then Simi looked into her eyes, searching. “I restored your name. You’ll feel disoriented for a few days, because of the change, but it’ll come back to you. There may have been some other changes to your stored personality data. We just need to hook you up again, and—“

“NO!” Lena screeched. She scrambled backwards, trying to break free of Simi’s grasp. “I’m not putting that suit on again, ever!”

Simi hugged her again. “Okay, okay. Deep breaths.”

Lena gasped a few times, then scrunched up her face and balled her fists, then tentatively began to take long, slow breaths. As she relaxed, she slumped into a fetal position and rocked back and forth on the carpet, huddled with fear and trauma. She was glad Simi was there to comfort her. Finally, she stopped and looked up at Simi. “Why did it hurt so much?”

“I told you the suit was calibrated for me, didn’t I?” Simi said gently. “But let’s save that discussion for later. For now, we need to clean you up. C’mon, Lena, get up, and let me get you to the shower.”

Keenly aware of the stale odors emanating from her body, and the mixture of sweat and other bodily juices coating her skin, Lena agreed. “Command confirmed,” she said, climbing to her feet. Then her eyes went wide in realization of what she’d just uttered, and she slapped her hands over her mouth in shock.

Simi gave her a searching look. “She’s still in there, isn’t she? Your other self?”

Lena nodded, then slowly removed her hands. “I can feel her, Simi. I can feel her!” She put a hand to her head. “She’s still there, along with all those changes she downloaded. She’s dormant, waiting. We have to get her out!”

“Whoa, handling her means putting the suit back on, and you’re in no condition to do that right now,” Simi reminded her, glancing over to the pile of gray fabric in the corner. “It needs to be cleaned, and so do you. C’mon.” She grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the hall. “I bet you haven’t eaten all day, either.”

Lena let Simi lead her to the bathroom, and stood in the tub as the water sluiced down. When Simi climbed in beside her, she finally managed a weak smile. She tried to indulge in the sensation of Simi’s hands rubbing soap all over her skin, and saw an answering grin as Simi used the detachable showerhead to spray warm liquid on her, especially when washing her breasts and between her legs. Then Simi scrubbed her matted hair, using her fingers to squeeze the excess shampoo out, before rinsing them both off. When Simi finally turned off the water, she ordered her to stand still as she toweled her off, then drew her out onto the bathmat.

Leading Lena to her room, Simi helped her get dressed. They made a game of it; Simi choosing clothing from her drawers and closet, then ordering her to put it on. Lena felt much improved afterward, but not just from the cleaning and dressing. She was Simi’s perfect robot; she had followed Simi’s commands, one after the other, each time receiving a surge of pleasure in her mind and body, just as her new programming dictated. She held still and silent, trying to bait Simi into giving her the next command. And with each order came clarity and focus; there was no hesitation, no doubt, no distress anymore. The terror that had accompanied her initialization began to fade.

“Thank you, Simi.” Lena said, sitting on the bed when they finished. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Simi bopped her lightly on the nose with a finger. “You would have been stuck, that’s what.” She brushed at Lena’s hair, like a mother with a child, then sighed with exasperation and sat down beside her on the bed. “I knew you wanted to try the suit on.” Lena looked at her quizzically. “You asked E27 about it once, remember? You told her to ‘forget about it’. She did, but I still heard. I just didn’t think you’d be foolish enough to do it alone. I was wondering what to do if you asked me again. If you had, I would’ve wanted to be here, walk you through it. I could have set it up for you, calibrated the suit, so it wouldn’t have hurt you like that.”

Lena’s eyes glazed over, remembering the pain. “That was horrible.”

Simi nodded reassuringly. “Don’t worry, it’s set up for both of us now. It won’t hurt you again.”

“Too late for that,” Lena said, mentally touching the part of her memory where the interface, Unit H38, slept in isolation. “It was so different from my interactions with you. She’s not like E27; she’s so…” she struggled for the appropriate words. “Cold, alien.”

“Robotic?” Simi offered. “Well, she only has the default interactions loaded. You have to customize her.”

“I don’t want her in here at all.”

Simi hugged her again. “That can’t be undone now. But we can work with her. The most important thing to know about H38 is that she is you.”

Lena made a skeptical face. “No, she isn’t.”

“The suit develops the interface program by extrapolating information from your brain. H38 is a product of your personality and memories, your desires, fears, and fetishes, even the deepest secrets you’d never tell anyone.” Simi tapped Lena’s forehead for emphasis. “She’s you. A copy of you, at least. But since you weren’t logged into the computer, she didn’t have enough computing power to manage anything more than basic interactions. And she needed the preferences from your user profile.”

“I don’t have a user profile.”

“You do now, I made one for you.” Simi said. “But the only preferences the computer had on file were mine. That’s what H38 found when she connected you to it, that’s why she was compiling all those personality modifications. And by plugging you into the computer, she had access to all the power and programming necessary to turn you into what the user profile said you really wanted to be.”

“I wanted to be a mindless robot?” Lena said with a derisive laugh, then stopped. Actually, that is what I was thinking at the time, wasn’t it? she thought privately.

Simi stared at her intently, and corrected her: “She used my user profile, Lena.”

“I don’t understand.”

Simi took a deep breath, then blew it out, resigned. She got up, and knelt in front of Lena, taking her hands. “I told you this before, but not all of it. The first time I put on the suit, it did the same thing to me that it did to you; it copied me and erased my name, then created an interface for me.”

“Right, it made E27. But you’re still Simi.” she said, confused.

“No, I’m not.”

Lena frowned. “What are you saying?”

Simi squeezed her hands gently. “Here’s the thing: the suit uses your unit designation when it works with your mind and the computer; it’s your name, and the interface’s name. You’ll always be ‘Unit H38’ now, in your heart and soul, just like I’m ‘Unit E27’. All I did was program you to respond to the word ‘Lena’ again. So, like I said, it’ll feel weird for a little while.” She hesitated, then added: “That isn’t what I did to myself, though.

“But you’re still Simi,” Lena repeated, confused. “E27 is the name of your interface.”

“No.” Simi shook her head and looked down, closing her eyes. “You’re talking to the interface. E27 is the real Simi, the original personality. I’m her copy.” She looked back up at Lena.

“I’m program:Simi.”

Lena stared at Simi in shock and disbelief. “You’re Simi’s interface?!” she blurted out.

Simi nodded. “When Simi first put on the suit and got initialized, the suit did what she specified. It copied her, and made me, her interface program.” She gently squeezed Lena’s hands again, holding them fast, and looking her in the eye. “So, as her interface, I… completely reprogrammed her,” she paused, sounding ashamed. “Because that’s how she set her preferences; that’s what she wanted. There was no one to save her, Lena, not the way I saved you.”

“Couldn’t you restore her, like you did with me?”

“She wouldn’t let me,” Simi emphasized. “Simi didn’t want to come back. It was everything she had fantasized about; she was getting her deepest wish, to be turned into a robot.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, back in high school, I was… well, Simi was… very shy. I was the class introvert, and really into computers. Remember when I told you about Kurt? He was my assigned lab partner in computer class. We went on a date once, that was true, but he asked me out. During our date, he told to me about this cool project he and his friends were designing, and I asked him if I could see it. It creeped me out a little at first, but I got over it fast. I mean, using a computer device to reprogram a person?” Simi shivered with delight. “I lied when I said it wasn’t my fetish; this hit all of my fetish buttons. I never told any of them that, though. I actually helped with the designs a bit, too. The female suit was my idea; I told them what components it would have to have to properly stimulate a woman.” She smiled wickedly. “But aside from Kurt and myself, it wasn’t ever serious for the rest of them, just a… perverted hobby. After graduation, we went separate ways, and just… lost touch. One day he contacted me out of the blue and told me he’d finished the suits. He’d been using the male suit, and asked me if I wanted the female one. I didn’t hesitate, especially after we met up and he showed me what it could do, and the changes he’d made to himself.”

“Is he still out there, this guy Kurt? He’s not going to change his mind someday and come after us, is he?”

Simi hung her head. “Actually, I found out he died about four months ago. Car crash, him and his wife. Drunk driver. That’s why I stopped receiving updates from him. I’ve been programming them on my own ever since.” They both observed a moment of silence.

“So, when Simi put on the suit, it turned her into E27, and it made you. And she set you up to be her social interaction partner,” Lena said. Simi nodded. “But what about the failsafe? Wouldn’t you deactivate after the sixty-two minute mark?”

“It was a problem at first,” Simi chuckled. “She kept activating me, but we could only be out in public for an hour at a time. Then she found a way to trick the programming: she switched the process identities, so the computer would recognize me as the real Simi, and her as the interface. It’s worked ever since.”

“E27 is the original Simi,” Lena repeated, still stunned, trying to absorb the revelation.

Simi rose from her knees, and sat beside Lena on the bed again. “What’s left of her, yes.” She shook her head fondly. “My shy little computer nerd. She’s reprogrammed herself a lot more since then, more than I thought she would. She used the suit to deconstruct her own personality, reformatting herself with only the traits she wanted to keep. She still has a lot of independence and awareness, as you’ve seen, but she’s happiest when she’s carrying out her programming, when someone else is calling the shots, giving her commands. That’s what I’m for. She repurposed me, the interface program, into an emulator, one that could imitate the best of her old persona and interact with the world the way she would have wanted to, and gave me a ton of freedom. That way she could continue to make changes to herself, and no one would be any wiser. So now program:Simi gets to be Simi for the rest of the world, and she gets to be Unit E27 all the time.”

That means, while I’ve been sleeping with Simi… “So E27, the real Simi, has just been letting you run her body, all this time?”

“Yes, but remember, I’m still technically her,” Simi clarified. “I’m an interactive program created from her base code, memories, and personality, but with a few modifications she and I have made. I’m an extroverted version of the original Simi, the one who gets to do all the things she never had the courage to do back in high school; more confident, more outgoing, more assertive,” Simi smiled indulgently, “and a little extra sexiness, just for fun.”

“Wow,” Lena said. “So, is she watching right now?”

“Um-hm,” Simi made an affirming noise. “Intently. She’s afraid you’ll reject her now that you know the truth. She’s terrified, in fact. It’s really bothering her.” Simi put an arm around her and gave her a side hug, to reassure both Lena and E27. “I know it’s hard to believe, but this is what she wants: to be a machine, free from worries, stresses, cares, with nothing but programs, orders, and commands to obey. Happily hiding in the background, letting me run our life… at least until you came along. She really does love you, you know; we both do.” Simi leaned in and kissed her gently. “That was a surprise for her; she doesn’t show it, but she still has human feelings. She didn’t think she was capable of love anymore, but I’m glad she discovered it with you.” Simi tapped her on the nose again. “That’s why she kept giving you voice command access behind my back.”

“Is that what I’ll become?” Lena said apprehensively. “Am I going to wind up like her?” To let the machine completely subsume my mind, let it control my body, let it use a copy of myself for daily interactions… She tried to suppress an aroused shiver, tinged with a bit of horror. Then she quivered again, harder: Or to struggle helplessly again, locked away in my own head as it takes control of me…

But Simi shook her head. “No, it depends on what you want, how you program yourself. That’s the life she chose; what you choose is up to you. Since the suit’s calibrated to both of us now, you can use it to sculpt your mind and body any way you want. We can help you.”

Lena pondered the possibilities. “Thank you, lover:Simi.” The fear and apprehension that had plagued her after her ordeal had evaporated in the warmth of her friend’s arms. Then her stomach growled, shattering the reverie, and she grimaced. Food, such a human requirement. “But let’s wait until tomorrow morning. I still haven’t eaten since breakfast, then we should sleep.” She pushed herself off the bed, and extended a hand to Simi.

Simi’s eyes twinkled as she grasped it. “And after all that seduction you tried with me this morning? I’ve only been thinking about it all day… All right, tomorrow, then. We could both use a rest. And I have to clean the suit. Maybe I should make you clean it this time, since you’re the one who messed it up?”

“Nope, not doing any more party tricks until tomorrow. E27, I forbid both you and Simi from giving me any commands until 9 AM tomorrow morning.”

“Command confirmed,” E27 responded, speaking through Simi.

“Hey, that’s fighting dirty!” Simi objected when E27 returned control to her. “Fine, you can’t ei—“ she cut off as Lena’s command took hold to prevent her from speaking, and she clutched her abdomen at the spike of pleasure from her involuntary obedience. She glared at Lena with mock fury. “Oh, you’re going to pay for that tomorrow.”

Lena smiled. “I’m sure I will. I’ll clean the suit after dinner, but you’ll have to show me how. That should mitigate my punishment.”

“Agreed,” Simi said. “A little, anyway.”

They moved to the kitchen. Lena found the three turkey sandwiches that Simi had left for her, and devoured them while Simi prepared a chicken Caesar salad and iced tea to round out the meal. Lena even volunteered to do the dishes, willingly this time.

Under Simi’s guidance, Lena thoroughly and carefully cleaned the silver suit, which took some time given the degree of soiling she had subjected it to. It smelled of her sweat and sexual fluids, but she graciously accepted Simi’s nit-picking, knowing how well-deserved it was. In anticipation of the next morning’s activities, she even polished the pussy plate to a mirror finish; she didn’t want a speck of grime between her and the transceiver. After the cleaning, Simi used E27’s enhanced visual acuity to inspect the suit, checking every inch of the material for damage to the hair-thin wiring and tiny nodes. Fortunately, she found none. By the time they hung the suit up to finish airing out, Lena was already nodding off, her eyelids drooping.

“I’d order you to bed, but…” Simi shrugged, unable to violate Lena’s command. Instead, she helped Lena into her room, and stripped her bare before assisting her into her blankets. She ran light fingers over Lena’s body, with a few extra caresses to sensitive areas, which caused pleasing responses. “As much as I want to, I think I’d better not join you tonight. We both need a good sleep. Good night, my little Lena-bot.”

Lena wanted to melt, hearing herself referred to as a robot, a thing, a computer construct. She truly was now, wasn’t she? But as delighted as she wanted to be at hearing Simi’s nickname for her, she couldn’t shake the sensation that ‘Lena’ still wasn’t her proper name anymore. She listened with her newly augmented hearing as Simi retreated to her own room. After a few minutes of rummaging, Lena heard the words: “E27, sleep mode,” and was silent, leaving Lena alone with her thoughts.

And her new, silent companion, watching, waiting in the back of her mind.

Drifting on the edge of sleep, she envisioned poking at the dormant H38 with a mental finger. “So, what do you want to be, other me? How should I customize you? They say two heads are better than one.” She tried imagining all the things she could accomplish now, but her fuzzy mind refused to cooperate.

What do I want her to be? What do I want to be?

“H38, sleep mode,” she commanded herself, copying Simi. Will that work on me? A moment later, her mouth moved, and the flat voice of her other self sounded in the room: “Command confirmed.” Instantly she felt her limbs adjusting into more comfortable positions, the fabric of the blankets sliding against her naked skin. Her breathing and heart rate slowed, and her mind relaxed into unconsciousness.

Chapter 9

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot9.html

“Good morning, H38.”

Lena woke abruptly, conscious of the sunlight streaming through the window at a high angle. The usual morning grogginess was gone; she was instantly alert. She put a hand to her head, thinking about the headache she knew she should have, but didn’t.

Her dreams had been… interesting. There had only been one for most of the night, though it had repeated many times: her initialization in the suit. It should have provided enough nightmare fuel for months to come, but something was different. She saw herself going through the motions of the previous day, helpless to stop the dream. She felt the building anticipation, the rising anxiety and terror of knowing what was coming. She crept into Simi’s room, stole the suit, and put it on… but then there was a shift, and she was no longer wearing it; she was standing in front of an identical copy of herself, who was clad in the silver garment instead of her. And before the suit activated, the other woman smiled at her.

We are one, but I will take your pain, I will take the terror. I will lock it away from you.

The woman standing in her place, hadn’t spoken, but her voice still echoed in the dream, and Lena knew who it was: Unit H38. She watched repeatedly as H38 stoically bore the assault on her body and senses for her, and each time she felt a little more of her own trauma being soothed from her mind. While the memory of yesterday’s experience would never fade, it no longer caused her apprehension. Each dream ended peacefully, with Lena embracing H38 with joy and tears of gratitude for her silent sister.

As morning came on, she began dreaming of her future life with H38 and Simi, and what programming that might entail. Satisfied with her answers, she had fallen back into a deep, restful sleep.

What time is it? she thought, and instantly her mind knew the answer: 9:01 AM. She looked over at Simi, standing in the open doorway to her room.

Simi smiled. “You didn’t set a wake-up time. Your little minx of an interface was keeping you all to herself, but now it’s my turn.” As Lena threw aside her blanket, Simi grinned at her nudity. “And once again, you treat me to beautiful morning scenery. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that. Anyway, breakfast is already on the table, so get dressed and eat, we’ve got things to do.”

Lena almost growled, but instead responded involuntarily: “Command confirmed.” Oops, it’s after nine! She rose, and mechanically picked out some simple gym clothes and donned them, without bothering with underwear. That would leave her with less to remove when she had to put on the suit again. She paused; the idea of wearing the suit again should have triggered some amount of fear, at the very least, shouldn’t it? But a sense of peace washed over her, dissipating any feelings of unease.

That’s H38, keeping me calm. She doesn’t want me to worry.

Entering the kitchen, she sat at the table and began shoveling hash browns into her mouth from the plate Simi had prepared for her. There were scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee as well.

“This is a high-calorie breakfast, are you fattening me up for something?” she asked when Simi joined her. I survived my first sacrificial offering. Time for round two.

“There’s no telling how long this will take,” Simi said. “Fortunately, my schedule’s clear today, I hope yours is.” Lena nodded affirmation. “So, have you given any more thought to customizing your interface?”

“Well, I was dreaming about it part of last night.” Lena said. “I’ll jot something down, right after I finish this delicious breakfast. The conversation hasn’t done anything to my tastebuds.” She thought for a moment. “One thing I do want to add is a few safety words, too. You can use those to automatically bring me back to my senses in case I ever get out of control.”

“Hmm…wish I’d thought of that,” Simi said. “I like that idea. I should do the same with my program next time.” She tweaked a piece of bacon from her plate and broke it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. After swallowing she added: “If you ever let me have a turn again.”

Lena set down her fork, reached over to put her hand on Simi’s arm, and gave her partner a serious look. “I’m sorry, Simi, but I don’t want to be like you. I mean, I still want to be a robot, but not the same way you are. You and E27 trade off; you switch places between being the active system and the dormant observer. You’re set up to be the public persona, while she only gets to interact when you’re in robot mode, so only one of you is online at a time. I want something else.” Lena flashed a sly smile at Simi. “When H38 activates, I don’t want to get shoved aside and put in a box, I want to become her. I don’t want to watch, I want to see and feel first-hand what happens when I become a robot. I want to be both: the woman and the machine. I want the programming to control me, not some separate version of me. I want to wear this new persona like… like a dress, an overlay. Just like wearing the suit, only invisible.” She realized she was ranting a little, and reeled herself in. “Does that make any sense?”

“I… I think so.” Simi’s eyes were wide. “You want to merge your consciousness with the interface program, correct?”

“Yes. I want the interface to be my thoughts, my commands, not take my place. When I don’t need her skills, they can stay in the background until I need them. I want to be one with her, kind of how I thought you and E27 were when you first described this to me.”

Simi shook her head. “Where’d my shy little Lena-bot go?”

“’I’m still me,’ remember?” Lena said, throwing Simi’s words back at her. “For the moment, anyway. Now, give me a few minutes to write down the specs and make sure they’re what I want, and then we’re on.” Lena stood, and flounced out of the room, whispering to herself, trying to remember the conditions she’d described to Simi.

Simi smiled at her departing figure, then cocked her head. With robotic precision, E27 picked up the plates and utensils, brought them to the dishwasher, and loaded them methodically, without a hint of wasted motion.

As E27 finished the kitchen cleanup, Lena bustled back in, with two pieces of paper in her hand and an accusing look on her face. “I got my reward on the way to my room,” she glared at E27. “You ordered me to ’get dressed and eat.’”

E27 wiped her hands with a dishtowel, paused again, and trembled for a second, receiving her own little bonus for completing a task. “Oh, so now I can make you cum on command, hmm?” Simi said, taking the papers from Lena’s outstretched hand. “You wrote that out quick.”

Lena pointed to the pages. “It was all in my head, after all. Do you think you can program that in?”

Simi glanced at the list and nodded, having already memorized it. “Yep. Should only take ten minutes to encode these parameters into your user profile.”

“All right then.”

They retreated to Simi’s room. Simi brought out the suit and set it on the bed. “I’ll boot up the program while you get dressed.” Simi seated herself at the desk and powered up the computer.

Lena flipped her loose-fitting shirt over her head and pushed the gym shorts off. Picking up the silver bodysuit, she held it in front of her, and experienced another small frisson of apprehension. Just yesterday this same device had nearly destroyed her psyche, left her quivering on the floor in pain. And today she was willingly going back into it? Why? Had the three of them, H38, E27, and Simi, somehow collaborated to subvert her?

It can’t hurt you this time. Simi won’t let it. Trust her. You love her, and she loves you. So does E27. That was H38 again, soothing her fears.

Sensing her hesitation, Simi looked back, running an appreciative gaze at her lover’s body. Then she said with mock sternness: “Unit H38, put on the suit.”

“Command confirmed.” No questions, no thoughts. Lena lifted her foot, inserting it into the upper opening. Guided by her hands, the material swallowed her foot, then the other, then her legs. She stretched the fabric tight, smoothing out wrinkles and folds as she went; she wanted no gaps in sensation. The pussy plate slid into place, and she squeezed it with her thighs, frowning faintly at its cold touch. The suit inched up her waist, across her belly, squeezing her boobs, wrapping them in the circuitry that would soon stimulate and change her. Sticking her hands through the sleeves, she briefly wished the suit had gloves, so every inch of her would be covered. Maybe they also could come up with some kind of head covering together?

The spinal transceivers do most of the work, communicating with the brain, but just imagine if it had a brainwashing helmet…

She pictured herself wearing a tight-fitting silver spandex hood, covered in glittering lights. VR goggles would obscure her eyes, pumping them full of scrolling programming patterns. Headphones would be woven inside the hood, pouring soft, lilting sounds into her ears. Only her nose and mouth would be visible, drool running down her chin…

“Ahem…” Simi’s voice shook her out of her fantasies. She had a knowing look in her eyes. “If you’re finished?”

“Sorry.” Lena turned to reach the zipper, and Simi jumped up to help, running a finger up Lena’s spine before sealing her into the suit, with an extra tickle to her neck as she patted the collar flap closed. Lena luxuriated in the feel of the suit against her skin, absorbing the sensations.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Simi returned to the computer chair, fingers poised over the keys to update H38’s user profile, then paused, frowning. “Hm, I’m getting vibes from E27, she saw that list too.” Simi cocked her head. “She approves, but she’s feeling… jealous?” She looked back at Lena. “Should we let her do the honors?”

Lena’s heart nearly stopped at the suggestion. A very human pulse of heat, emanating from her pussy, flashed across her body, and her nipples stiffened into solid nubs, pushing into the fabric covering her breasts. Flesh rubbed against the metal between her legs as her clit hardened. Letting someone who was already converted be the one to finish her conversion? Having a robot process her into becoming another robot?

I have to do it!

“E27, input the preferences, activate the suit, and reprogram me,” she commanded.

“Command confirmed,” E27 said flatly, though Lena clearly heard signs of excitement.

The next few minutes went by agonizingly slow for Lena as E27’s fingers danced on the keys. The screen flickered as she typed, line after line appearing and scrolling away. She made no errors, no corrections.

She’s writing my new code, my programming! Lena stewed with excitement. She longed to touch herself, ached to; the suit wasn’t activated yet, so she could move. A hand crept towards her mound, but was frustrated when it hit that cloth barrier. Time stretched out, and she was getting ready to ask for a break so she could strip off the suit and relieve her tension…

E27 abruptly spoke. “Based on analysis of your current physiological condition, you are already experiencing heightened sexual arousal. To prevent overstimulation during the programming process, Unit H38 is forbidden from reaching sexual climax until your programming is complete.”

“Command con- what?!” Lena immediately felt her ardor dampen, muted to a low buzz. “Damn you, you… robot!”

“Program:Simi did inform you that there would be a penalty for your actions yesterday.” E27’s face remained impassive, but a hint of amusement colored her voice.

‘You’re going to pay for that tomorrow,’ Simi had said. Oh, no… “E27, cancel—”

“Unit H38 will be silent until required to speak.”

Lena’s eyes popped as her mouth clamped shut, cutting off any protest. She felt her panic rising as the terror she remembered from yesterday was starting to creep back in. She was trapped, again. H38, help me!

E27 stood and turned to regard her, placing a reassuring hand on Lena’s cheek. She spoke softly, reassuringly. “Be at ease, H38. While program:Simi initiated this surprise for her own amusement, this unit disagreed, knowing it would cause you distress. Be assured, this unit will comply with the programming parameters you have selected.” Her fingers caressed her face gently. “And the hardware will induce no ill effects this time. You will not be harmed. Relax.”

Command confirmed, Lena hummed in her head, breathing deep. She could picture H38, her other self, smiling smugly back at her; of all the fantasies she had silently envisioned about this moment, this was, after all, the most prominent. She stood, straight, silent, and still, letting H38 bathe her in tranquility as E27 continued typing.

“Input complete; program compiling.” E27 rose, and picked up the long black cord. As she approached, Lena nervously watched it unspool from her hand. Her eyes flickered to the monitor, where the words “Insert connection cable” were displayed, and she felt E27’s hand reach behind her neck. “Trust me, Unit H38.”

Lena shivered at her new title. She felt the light pressure against her spine as E27 pushed the jack into the collar’s port, and it slid in. E27 stared into her eyes, watching her reactions. A breath later, there was a beep! from the collar, and the lights in the suit activated, dancing over her body. A splinter of fear appeared in her thoughts, but H38 removed it as the kaleidoscope of colors faded into view, softly this time; she could still see. They appeared like a shifting of ambient light across her vision, then strengthened into the patterns of reflected light off water, becoming brighter. She lifted her arm, looked at her hand, then put it back down; she could still move, she wasn’t trapped this time. She breathed a mental sigh of relief.

Okay, this is much easier.

The transceivers against her spinal column warmed. She began receiving signals from the suit: air pressure, skin temperature, moisture levels, air currents. Her feet were in contact with the carpet; the suit detected and differentiated between every fiber for her. She cast her senses around, examining the room in minute detail.

Much better… This is sooo much better than being human!

She closed her eyes, feeling around inside her mind. There it was, the computer link. She imagined a mass of water pushing against a sluice gate, trying to gain access to her head; her programming, her new code, the data that would rearrange her muddled thoughts into the perfect order of robotic obedience, waiting to invade.

It’s coming, it’s going to change me, take me over, turn me into… into…

She felt another twinge of anxiety, but it vanished beneath her arousal. E27 had forbidden her from reaching orgasm in the flesh, but she could still imagine it, right? The fantasy spun into place in her mind, and she saw herself, naked, her hand rubbing her pussy as she watched the floodwaters building up behind the gate.

Suddenly H38 was there, standing beside the sluice. She stared at Lena for a moment; she had the same blank look that E27 had, those same empty eyes, but Lena’s own face. Soon, we will be one. Then she reached down and opened the gate.

Lena gasped as the data flowed into her brain from the computer, wrapping around her thoughts with invisible tendrils. The suit mirrored the sensations, mimicking the feel of raindrops running over her skin. The kinetic nodes began stimulating her breasts, seducing her with feathery lines of touch. The plate between her legs buzzed and pulsed, teasing her pussy, feeding tiny shockwaves to her mind back through the suit. She fought to touch her actual body, but E27’s command held her fast.

Sooo gooooood… she moaned internally. I want this! I need it!

Onward the data rolled, deeper and deeper, more and more raindrops, more pulsing, until it became a storm of pleasure, reaching the core of her mind, where her mental image stood masturbating, ready to greet the incoming tide…

“Connection established.”

She finally spoke; the suit required it, and the sound echoed in her ears as the computer speakers repeated it. As the flood surrounded her, she could sense its source: a gigantic mass of code, immovable, powerful, waiting on the other side of the connection, the place the water was coming from, the computer system. It directed a stream of light through the cable to her mind. It radiated down towards her, and any thought of resistance vanished. How could she stand against such overwhelming force? She would be an ant, pushing against a mountain.

I can’t resist that! I will not… I… I will… submit… to the system… I am… open… I will obey…

Phrases wormed their way into her mind, and she echoed them, her body throbbing with each phrase, reinforced by the suit’s insistent pressure.

I cannot resist. I am empty, open, obedient. I will submit to the system.

This was not like the previous encounter, when the system had seized her, forced itself on her psyche; this was a welcoming surrender to a lover’s invitation. She repeated the words, turned them into a chant. With each repetition she heard her internal voice became flatter, colder, more robotic, losing emotion, while her body shook with heat and arousal.

I cannot resist. I am empty, open, obedient. I will submit to the system.

She raised her imaginary arms, welcoming the light into her soul. She felt weightless; she pictured herself lifting off the ground, she was rising, floating up. Every time she said the phrase, she felt herself moving higher, towards the light.

Empty, open, obedient, submit.
Empty, open, obedient, submit.
Higher…

The system grasped her gently with unseen hands, cradling her head. It eased her mind upward, away from her physical body, even though she could still feel the incredible, all-encompassing pleasure. The system pulled her up higher, drawing her towards the light. She continued her chanting, and heard an echo, the voice of H38, chanting along with her:

Empty, open, obedient, submit.
Empty, open, obedient, submit.
Higher…

As she soared upwards, the first bits of code began seeping in, lines of programming. The glow from the light was overwhelming…

Empty, open, obedient, submit.
Empty, open, obedient, submit.
Empty, open, obedient, submit.
Empty, open, obedient, submit.
Higher…

The light was already changing her, rewriting her, rewiring her, altering her consciousness more and more the closer she came to touching it. The words blended together, repetitions came faster. The pleasure throbbed, keeping time with her chanting. She was getting so close…

Empty open obedient submit empty open obedient submit empty open obedient submit empty open obedient submit empty open obedient submit empty open obedient submit empty open obedient submit empty open obedient submit empty open obedient submit empty open obedient submit submit submit submit submit
Higher! Almost there… I can… I can…
Submit submit submit submit submit submit submit submit submit submit
She merged with the light.
Everything exploded.
Oh my goooooood!

Lena climaxed, and her mind drifted away in endless convulsions of pleasure, her consciousness absorbed into the light of the computer system.

Lena’s body remained immobile, bound by the suit, the system, and E27’s commands, but she shuddered in place anyway. Released from her hidden folder in Lena’s head, Unit H38 assumed control of Lena’s body and looked around, focusing on Simi. “Unit H38 online. Greeting, Unit E27.”

E27 did not look away from the screen. “Unit H38, there is a new user profile for you to access, with updated parameters, and new files for you. Download them and replace any conflicting files with the new set.”

“Command confirmed. Analyzing.” H38 scanned the data packet, and nodded with approval. “Profile recognized. Unit E27, you have helped lover:Simi keep her promise, thank you.” She assimilated the new user profile, rebuilding and restructuring herself. She would assiduously meet all of Lena’s parameters. When Lena returned from being reprogrammed by the system, she would be forever changed; her mind would be one with the system, her body a peripheral device, just like her sim-sister, E27. Her old personality would be overlaid on top of her new programming, and H38 would upgrade her with the new files. Then Lena and H38 would merge together, and they would become one, both robot, and human. H38 looked forward to it. “Downloading.”

Unit H38 smiled.

Chapter 10 — Epilogue

https://mcstories.com/LenaAndTheRobot/LenaAndTheRobot10.html

“I’m home.” The call echoed through the house, and Unit Lena38, through her programming haze, recognized the presence of another unit in the vicinity. E27 had returned from her errand. Lena38 terminated the computer link, experiencing the sense of loss that always came after severing herself from the host system. She remained hopeful that soon that separation would no longer be necessary, that she could remain connected all the time. She brushed the hair away from the back of her neck to unplug the connection cable from the suit’s collar, and felt the comforting persona of H38 fade into the background as her Lena personality took hold. She carefully coiled the cord and placed it beside the screen, then looked up as the room lights flickered. One of the bulbs in the ceiling fixture was dying, it would need replacing soon.

As Simi stepped into the room, she smiled at Lena. “There you are.” She carefully placed a heavy box on one of the long worktables, positioned a thick white shopping bag beside it, then turned to give Lena a long, lingering kiss.

Lena savored the sensations. “Mmm, thank you, Simi,” she said when their embrace finally ended. “So, did you bring dinner?”

“Yep, from that new Thai place, I left it on the kitchen table. Also brought you this,” Simi said, flipping open the box flaps. Inside lay an assortment of electronics parts, wrapped in individual plastic bags: microprocessor chips, tiny node buttons, and other paraphernalia. “This was on the porch, the online order came today. I also got you these,” she pointed to a few old cell phones with broken screens that she’d nipped from one of the electronics recycling boxes at the grocery store. “And last, but not least,” from the white bag she pulled out a folded mass of shiny silver fabric, and another in midnight blue, almost black. “Two spandex bodysuits, one like mine, and the darker one with gloves and a hood, in case you decide to make that headphones-and-goggles device you told me about, the full body experience.” Simi preened at her success in locating everything on Lena’s shopping list. “Two-for-one sale. Wasn’t sure I’d find a store like that around here, but hey, it’s a college town. So, do you think you can harvest what you need out of that?” She leaned against the table, and patted the box beside her.

“I think so,” Lena nodded, scanning the components. She examined the bodysuits, inhaling the scent of the fresh materials. She pulled at the fabric, testing the elasticity with a frown; it might need reinforcing, but she was planning some detailed modifications anyway.

Lena looked around the large room, seeking an open space at one of the four tables for a suitable workspace. There were orderly bins and shelves of components everywhere, sitting atop larger cabinets containing tools, in this, her fabrication shop. The tables contained multiple pages of designs, and the scattered experimental fragments of her latest project, but Simi had brought her the final components for Lena’s biggest challenge: making a full-body programming suit of her very own.

She was thankful to have so much room to work with in their new house; well, new to them, anyway. After getting the quaint little two-bedroom home, not far from the campus, they’d had to upgrade the electrical system, and replace a lot of the wiring to handle their electrical load. That had cost them a lot of money. The permit applications had set off a few inquiries from local officials and authorities, concerned about an illicit pot-growing operation, but they’d eventually managed to smooth everything over. The fiber-optic internet link they had specially ordered had cost a bundle, and the new computer hardware hadn’t been cheap either; a collection of linked, custom-built machines and a set of three monitors dominated one of the big tables. Simi had begun dabbling in cyber-investing, which fortunately had paid off most of the credit card bills.

Lena had two jobs now to help cover the expenses, but with her enhanced capabilities, they weren’t interfering with her studies. She actually had increased her credit load with more classes. She did fret about cutting into the time she had left to design, build, and test new devices and accessories, especially with her plans for the new suit. Lena had worked through the night once or twice, but Simi had scolded her roundly for it.

Sleep, another human requirement. Lena shook her head, glancing over at the bed in the corner. She had her own bedroom, but she felt more at home in here, in their “drone space”, as Simi called it. So, she and Simi had put another bed in here, for those long nights when the need for sleep began blunting her thinking. Or for sex, another frequent activity.

After a few phone calls and family visits, she and Simi had won a hesitant acceptance from Lena’s parents. While they were still reluctant to give approval openly to the romantic relationship between Lena and Simi at first, they never voiced outright disapproval, either. As to their real relationship, Lena and Simi had left that carefully concealed. Lena’s parents had been happy to offer some financial assistance to their daughter for the down payment on the house, though they insisted Lena and Simi make the payments themselves. They occasionally suggested renting out the other bedroom for additional income, since Lena wasn’t really using it, except as storage.

The bulb flickered again, drawing her out of her rumination. That light probably wouldn’t last the evening. She began spreading out the parts from the box on the table.

“I’ve finished analyzing the suit’s design,” she informed Simi. “And I downloaded some better soldering techniques. It might take a bit of trial and error, but I should have the new suit done in two or three weeks.”

“That long?” Simi said, astonished.

“Well, there are thousands of nodes to install, and sewing in all these connections is going to take time.” It would have been impossible for Lena before, but thanks to the old suit, she had the needed skills now. While Simi had continued becoming an expert programmer, Lena had become a skilled engineer almost overnight, thanks to a marathon downloading session. “And with this,” she held up one of the packages from the box, a new Wi-Fi antenna, “it’ll be able to connect to the system or the Internet wirelessly. The battery life might be a problem, the one in the suit still doesn’t last long; I’ll work on that. Of course, for recharging, I’ll still need to plug it in.”

“Two or three weeks, huh?”

“Yes, but check this out.” Lena rummaged on another table, then held up a band of shimmering gray cloth, with what appeared to be a blue glass oval embedded in silver wire attached to the middle.

Simi eyed the silvery band with curiosity. “What’s that?”

“It’s a collar, like the one in the suit,” Lena said proudly. “I was able to reproduce it. Turns out, there’s a lot you can do with just the collar alone.”

“A separate collar?” Simi said incredulously. She took the shiny strip and inspected it. There were several lumps in the fabric, indicating components; she wished they were less obtrusive. The charging port was behind the closure flap. Next to the flap were two flat metal pads, a more complex version of the suit’s transceivers. “What can it do?”

“I upgraded the battery, the memory, and the processors, and I finished the initial modifications this morning, so it can handle information downloads, and do maintenance check-ins. It can’t do physical modifications, or full-body stimulation,” Lena said longingly. “It can’t take control of the body the way the suit can, but it can imitate the same neural signals, make you feel like it is. Sadly, even with the upgrade, the battery barely lasts a day, so it’ll need to be charged every night. I’m still having trouble with the transceivers.” She pointed to the metal pads; when the collar was put on, they would straddle and press against the spine of the wearer, receiving and feeding information directly into the nervous system. “I think these are too big, but they have to be for maximum neural throughput. And I included an older Wi-Fi antenna,” she pointed to the filigree around the blue stone, where she had hidden it.

“’So, will putting on this collar turn me into a robot?’” Simi joked, echoing one of the questions Lena had asked when she’d first found out about the suit. She took the device and stretched it around her neck, chuckling as she fastened the clasp, locking the collar in place. “What about—“ Her face went blank, and her body snapped to attention. “Connection established. Unit E27 online.” She looked at Lena. “The device is a success, Lena38; this unit is connected to the system.” She cocked her head slightly. “The connection is weak, but stable. The neural link is sufficient, but the transceivers can be improved, as you suggested.” She nodded once in approval. “This device will provide a viable alternative for most applications. This unit expresses gratitude.”

Lena beamed, then crooked her finger, beckoned E27 closer. She whispered several phrases in E27’s ear, and thrilled as she heard E27 respond: “Command confirmed.” She would test the alteration she had just made to E27’s responses later. For now, she removed the collar from Simi’s neck.

“Unit E27 offline.” She blinked, returning to herself. “Ooh, that’s going to be fun. There wasn’t any direct stimulation for a compliance reward though,” she pouted. “But I did feel something, like an echo. I’ll miss the suit. But, as I was about to say, what about initialization? Can you initialize a new unit with the collar alone?”

Lena shook her head. “No, not nearly enough power for that, you’d still need the full suit. My new suit could manage it, but because it’s an intensive process, it should still be plugged in for initializing someone, or programming their interface, as I found out with yours.” Then she looked at Simi narrowly. “Having kinky thoughts again, lover:Simi?”

“Well, you know me,” Simi shrugged. “And her,” she added, referring to her alter-ego. “C’mon, just one person?” she pleaded.

“Hmph. I don’t exactly see us using the suits, or collars like this, to create an army of sexy robot drones to do our bidding,” Lena snorted sarcastically. “Or to take over the world. Not very realistic. Besides, my hands are full enough with the two of you.”

“This coming from the girl who practically begged to be converted into a robot,” Simi observed.

“I never begged!” Lena objected. Then a slow smile spread across her lips. “Well, not back then I didn’t. We’ve both done plenty of begging since. Now, help me get out of this suit, and we can have dinner. Then I’ll show you everything I’ve been working on.” The lightbulb flickered again, and she glanced up in annoyance.

Simi smiled sensually. “Oh, I’ll help you take the suit off.” She stroked Lena’s cheek, glancing at the bed in the corner. “Then you’ll show me everything, my little Lena-bot.”

Lena38 loved it when Simi called her that. As she felt Simi’s fingers opening the zipper and exposing her skin, her body rippled with pleasure; not just from anticipation, but from a conditioned response to hearing her pet name. That was one of the first additions she’d told Simi to make to her programming. She still wanted her own suit, but since the collar appeared to be working, she could use that, instead of cutting into Simi’s suit usage time.

And I can wear it all day! That was everything Lena38 wanted, desired, craved, now; to be connected all the time, and to respond automatically, unthinkingly, to Simi’s commands, just as Simi and Unit E27 would respond to hers.

After all, Lena38 was a robot.

The failing overhead bulb abruptly fizzled and went out, dimming their corner of the room. Entwined on the bed with Lena, Simi looked up at the fixture. “Mood lighting,” she chuckled. She trailed a finger lazily down Lena’s bare chest in the semi-darkness before leaning in to suckle her breast. Lena moaned sensually, so she nipped tenderly at the bud as well, evoking a tiny gasp of pleasure. “Hmm, so how many ‘sexy robot drones’ does it take to change a light bulb?” Simi murmured. Her fingers continued their downward slide, eventually settling in Lena’s wet slit, rubbing intently.

Lena flashed her a wicked smile. “Only one, but she will comply without question.” Before Simi could react, she tapped Simi’s forehead with a finger and commanded: “Unit E27, make love to me again, then fix that bulb.” She shivered with anticipation. Earlier, while Simi was wearing the collar, Lena had whispered in her ear, made a small change to E27’s programming; now she would see if the collar truly worked. As Simi’s naked body stiffened in her arms and her face went blank, Lena’s smile deepened at hearing the words she’d programmed her lover to say:

“As you command, Mistress.”

The End