I’d shown up in my old and favorite purple tee, my blue jeans, my white crew socks, and my worn-out light-blue sneakers. I didn’t think my big sister would mind my appearance, but as usual, I was wrong.
“Star!” scolded Stella. “What is wrong with you! This is an official test of Yenjo! You’re not supposed to come in looking like white trash!”
“It’s fine,” I protested. “What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that you’re getting paid for this test!” said Stella. “Do you know what strings I had to pull to get you in here! This has nepotism written all over it!”
“Of course, it does,” I shrugged. “That’s because it is.”
“Oh, my God,” said my sister in clear frustration. “Just follow me…We need to prep you.”
You have to understand the dynamics of the relationship between me and my sister. Stella is twenty-eight, a genius just like her husband, Rollie (they both have several doctorates), and in charge of some serious tech she and Rollie had invented.
She has long, curly, brown hair, brown eyes, and is gorgeous in her own way, even though she’s a nerd. Today, she was dressed in her usual nerd clothes, a white button up, a grey business vest, a grey business skirt, tan pantyhose, and black dress shoes.
Professional much?…Nerd.
Now me? I’m twenty-four and not a genius in any way, shape, or form. No, I spend my days working as a waitress at a major restaurant chain, and I can barely afford my own rent for my crappy little apartment which I need just to keep my crappy little job.
I’m a ten (I think so anyway), I have brown eyes like my nerd sister, and my dyed-blonde hair is usually up in a pony tail, and even though my sister thinks I look like “white trash,” guys still hit on me all the time.
Yeah, I’m hot, and I know it. I can look thin when I want to, but I’ve got big boobs and a big butt, and with guys?…Thats the money shot. When I take it all off, I look good. With my looks, I could be making bookoo bucks online showing off my goods and being naughty (which, trust me, I’m good at being naughty), but a certain naggy older sister won’t let me do that…What a drag.
I stood up from the waiting room chair as my big sis swiped a keycard and opened a big grey metal door. This little white-tiled, grey-walled waiting room was bringing me down anyway. Not that it mattered…All of the walls in this building were grey, and all of the flooring was just white tiles, so the whole place was boring, just like my sister.
I followed Stella down a hallway to an elevator, and then we took that elevator to the next floor. We exited the elevator and walked down another hallway lined with various grey metal doors, and then Sis led me to one particular one, of which, she opened with a keycard swipe.
We entered “The Lab,” but “The Lab” didn’t look like I’d thought it would. It was full of computers and machine-tech junk, not mad-scientist stuff, like beakers and things, but it did have a huge TV screen on the back wall. It was kind of cool, but still nerdy, still something my sister would definitely be into.
“Hey, where’s Rollie?” I asked.
Rollie’s name was pronounced “RAWL-EE,” not “ROLL-EE,” but sometimes I called him “ROLL-EE” to his face just to mess with him…He hates it when I do that…Speaking of hating what I do, I love flirting with him, because that gets under my sister’s skin like nothing else.
“He’s at a business meeting today,” replied Stella. “Rollie will be back soon enough.”
I decided to just speak my mind. I knew it would piss her off, but that was kind of the point, you know?
“Well, he’s a major hunk, Big Sis,” I said in an easy tone. “Can’t believe you were able to snag him…He can rev my motor any day. Vroom, vroom.”
“Star…” sighed Stella.
She rested her righthand fingers upon her forehead as she shook her head. She removed her fingers from her forehead and stared me down.
“You need to stop acting like a horny little slut,” she said. “That reminds me…Have you been showing yourself off online?”
“No,” I said.
“Is that the truth?” asked Stella. “I don’t want to go online and stumble across a video of my little sister masturbating for money.”
“You’d only ‘stumble’ across that if you were looking for porn,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Star!” cried Stella.
“What!” I replied. “I’m telling the truth when I said ‘No!’ I haven’t been doing anything naughty online…although I’d make a lot of money that way…”
“No, you wouldn’t,” said Stella. “Thousands of girls get suckered into that life, and they make next to nothing, and they end up destroying their lives for a pittance. All the statistics show that…you get…maybe five women out of thousands who make any money at all.”
“And I could be one of them,” I grinned.
“No!” argued Stella.
“You’re not Mom and Dad!” I protested. “Stop telling me how to live my life!”
This was getting nowhere. Ever since Mom and Dad had died in that effing car accident, Stella had stepped in to be both of our parents rolled into one…The only problem with that is Mom and Dad died back when I was sixteen…Sixteen! I’m twenty-four now! What the Eff!
“I’m trying to help you!” said Stella, and I could feel that old frustration in her voice.
“If you wanted to help me,” I frowned, “you’d help me out with rent. You and Rollie make six figures each. I’m lucky if I can afford bottled water.”
“No,” said Stella firmly. “No, you need to stand on your own two feet, Star, and I realize things are hard for you, but that’s why I got you into this program. This experiment is going to help you. It’s going to make your life better.”
“How?” I asked. “Because I’m pretty sure money will solve all of my problems, not some geeky experiment run by a bunch of nerds. Thankfully, my landlord is a really old guy who’s just kind. He still believes in that 1950s’ chivalry crap, so he’s only charging me four-fifty a month. If I lose my crappy little apartment, rent everywhere else is a thousand and up each month. I’d be homeless, Sis, or worse, I’d have to get a roommate or roommates, plural. It’s money I need, Stella, not some nerd BS.”
“This is better than just money,” argued Stella. “Yenjo is better than money. Yenjo is going to improve your life like…like by a thousand times.”
Of course, I didn’t believe in this nerd crap.
“Oh, really?” I asked dryly. “And how’s that?”
“Yenjo, Star is here,” said Stella in a loud voice.
The huge TV screen on the back wall lit up with the top half of a guy, a young white guy with short brown hair and brown eyes. He had on a red T-shirt that had the word “Yenjo” spelled out across it in white cursive.
“Hello, Star,” said the man on the TV screen. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Yenjo’s a dude?” I asked. “He’s cute…Is he rich?”
“Stop acting stupid, Star,” sighed Stella. “You know what Yenjo is…Yenjo, explain your function to Star.”
“Are you familiar with artificial intelligence, Star?” asked this “Yenjo.”
“Yeah,” I shrugged. “I’ve played around with some programs on my phone.”
“Good,” said Yenjo. “I am an artificial intelligence designed for a specific purpose. My name is an Americanized combination of ‘Yen,’ the official currency of Japan, and the Japanese word ‘Jo,’ which means ‘slowly,’ ‘gradually,’ or ‘over time.’ In other words, I can improve the human condition gradually over time, as the ‘Yen’ in my name is symbolic of the old adage, ‘Time is money.’ If you’re wondering why my name is a Japanese bastardization, this project is being funded by the Japanese company—”
“Don’t tell her, Yenjo,” interrupted Stella. “That information is confidential.”
“Of course, Stella,” replied Yenjo.
“So you’re an A.I., huh?” I asked.
“Yes, Star,” said Yenjo.
I knew this was really going to piss off my sister, but what the hey, right?
“Can you look like anyone?” I asked.
“Of course, Star,” said Yenjo.
“Can you look like Rollie Evans?” I asked. “He’s Stella’s husband and my brother-in-law. He’s hot, and I’d feel more comfortable talking to you if you looked like him.”
“Of course, Star,” said Yenjo. “I know Rollie quite well. He’s one of my creators.”
Yenjo’s image immediately changed to that of Stella’s husband, and Rollie’s handsome mug appeared on the screen. That rugged face held short, business-cut, black hair and striking blue eyes, something that made me glitter-twitch; meow!
Yenjo/Rollie, however, was still wearing that stupid red tee.
“Star, what are you doing?” asked Stella.
“Just trying out Yenjo, here,” I said innocently. “Yenjo? I don’t like that shirt you’re wearing. Could you change it to something else?”
“Like what, Star?” asked Yenjo.
“Ooo,” I winced. “You still have your old voice. Can you sound like Rollie? Do you have a voicebank for him?”
“I do,” said Yenjo, but this time he spoke in Rollie’s voice.
“Oh, wow,” I grinned. “Okay, I want you to change into something more comfortable, then. Could you remove your shirt so I can see your bare chest?”
Yenjo’s red shirt vanished and was replaced by bare skin. He was fit and somewhat muscular, with a little bit of chest hair dusted along his sternum…
Holy…Good grief…I needed some alone time…
“Yenjo, enough of this!” demanded Stella. “Reset to your default look and voice and stay like that until I tell you otherwise. Star is not allowed to change your look or voice. That is not the purpose of this experiment.”
Whuff. She sounded pissed…Mission accomplished.
Yenjo changed back to his original look.
“Yes, Stella,” he replied, but his voice sounded like his original one.
“Spoilsport,” I frowned.
Stella gave me a look that could melt plastic.
“Stop with the games, Star,” she demanded. “You’re being paid for this study, so I expect some professionalism.”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “I was just having a little fun.”
“Well, it’s time to show you what Yenjo can do,” said Stella. “Yenjo, what is your primary directive?”
“To improve the human condition over time by improving human intelligence,” replied Yenjo.
“The hypothesis is that…” explained Stella. “The hypothesis is that by…by making everyone intelligent, the whole of humanity can be improved, and we can all accomplish this goal together, one person at a time.”
Now, hold up…Was she calling me stupid?
“Wait, wait, wait,” I said quickly. “You’re calling me stupid!”
“I’m calling you uneducated,” said Stella quickly. “Your interests and what you focus on aren’t productive. Spreading your legs for money will only benefit you, not anyone else, and even then, it doesn’t benefit you. You’ll only ruin your life doing that.”
“Now you’re calling me a whore,” I frowned.
“No, no,” said Stella. “No, I didn’t mean it that way…I just…Okay…Ummm…Let me put it this way…If you could learn the contents of a huge book in a few seconds instead of reading it for days, weeks, or even months, would you do it?”
Eh, this was an interesting idea, I guess.
“I guess,” I shrugged. “I’d do it for some books, but not others. I like to enjoy things by savoring them, you know. I mean, isn’t that kind of cheating anyway? It’s kind of cheating at life, when you think about it…I guess I’m okay with doing it for some things, though…”
“Good, good,” nodded Stella. “Umm, that’s what Yenjo can do. Yenjo can teach you information in a matter of minutes that might take you months to learn.”
“Okay,” I shrugged again. “Okay, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. What’s to prevent Yenjo from teaching propaganda?”
“What?” asked Stella.
“In spite of what you believe…” I frowned, “I’m not stupid. You seem to think I am, but I’m not, and I don’t like being insulted.”
“I wasn’t saying you’re stupid, Star…” replied Stella.
“Oh, really?” I asked. “Then why come to me first for this experiment? Whose idea was this, Stella?…Just admit it. You think I’m stupid, and this was your idea so that your stupid sister can stop being a whore and be a productive little worker bee…I’m not stupid, and I’m not a whore. I haven’t been ‘spreading my legs’ for money…Whenever I’ve spread my legs, it’s been for fun.”
“That is…no…” said Stella as she closed her eyes and shook her head in visible frustration.
She opened her eyes, sighed, and stared me down again.
“It was Yenjo who suggested you,” she said firmly.
“Yenjo?” I asked. “What?”
“I suggested you, Star,” said Yenjo. “The most important thing in Stella’s life is family, and you were struggling. I came to the conclusion that hiring you for this experiment would kill two birds with one stone…Stella wants you to succeed, but she will not lend you money…She can be pretty stubborn sometimes.”
“Yenjo…” frowned Stella.
I laughed. This A.I. was waaaay smarter than it had a right to be.
“Okay, okay, I’ll do it,” I chuckled.
“You will?” asked Stella in surprise.
“Yeah, why not,” I said. “I like Yenjo, so let’s do this.”
“Excellent,” smiled Stella.
This was the first time I’d seen her smile since I got here.
“Let’s sit you down in this chair, and I’ll strap you in,” said Stella.
“Strap me in?” I asked. “What is this, a rollercoaster ride?”
“It’s for your own protection,” warned Stella. “I’ll be putting a bit in your mouth for you to bite down on, too.”
This was a giant red flag.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said quickly. “Hold up. Why do I have to bite down on something? Why in the hell am I strapped in, and more importantly…yet again…why do I have to bite down on something?”
“Yenjo ‘downloads’ information to the human brain via microshocks,” explained Stella. “It’s similar to electro-shock therapy, but not as brutal. It uses a combination of magnetism and electricity to change neural pathways…It doesn’t hurt…much…”
“Oh, really?” I frowned. “Have you tried it?”
“No, I haven’t,” said Stella. “Listen, Star, just get in the chair. You’ll be fine.”
I thought about this, but it didn’t take me long to think on it, because my conclusion was…
What the hell. It’s not like my life was going anywhere anyway…Maybe this would work, you know?…Still…Electroshocks? W.T.F.?
“Okay, okay,” I shrugged. “But if I crap my pants and become a vegetable, you have to take care of me. You’ll be the one to wipe my butt after you change my diaper.”
“You’re gross,” frowned Stella. “Get in the chair, Star.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “You’re such a nag.”
She motioned me toward a large, metal, reclining chair that had black comfy seating up and down it. Honestly, it looked like something out of Star Trek, but whatever. I sat down in it, leaned back, and had the distinct feeling of being in a dentist’s office.
“Huh,” I said in strange wonder. “Well, let’s get this show on the ro—”
Stella cut me off by hitting a key on a keyboard in front of one of the lab computers. Metal bands lined with black vinyl cuffs popped up and bound my wrists and ankles to the chair. Even though the metal bands were lined, the cuffs were too tight…They hurt.
“Yo, what the hell!” I protested. “That hurts!…What is going on! Do you even know what you’re doing!”
“O…Of course,” said Stella, but her voice was shaky, uncertain.
“If we’re going to do this, we have to do it now, Stella,” said Yenjo.
What in the hell does that mean?
“What the…!” I protested again. “What’s going on, Stella!”
“Rollie will return tomorrow,” said Yenjo. “This is the only opportunity we have.”
“What do you mean!” I demanded. “Does Rollie know about this, Stella?…Does Rollie know!”
“No one does, Star,” said Yenjo.
“Yenjo…” said Stella nervously.
My blood pressure spiked. This was not good…This was not good at all. Of course, there was only one demand I could make.
“Get me out of this thing!” I shrieked. “Undo these straps…or bands…or…or whatever they are!”
“Stella, we must continue,” said Yenjo. “You only have one chance.”
“I’m sorry, Star,” apologized Stella. “Rollie won’t greenlight human trials yet, but Yenjo is ready, and I have to show some progress, or our funding’s going to get pulled.”
“What!” I exclaimed. “This is some bullsh—”
Stella stuffed a leather bit, like a miniature horse bit, into my mouth. I whined into the bit as Stella brutally belted the bit in by buckling its metal buckle around the back of my head.
I was really scared now. I felt like hyperventilating, but there was a bit in my mouth, so I controlled that nonsense. I did start crying, though; I couldn’t help it.
“Everything’s going to be fine, Star,” said Stella calmly. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you. You don’t need to cry, okay?”
I shook my head no and squeezed my eyes shut. I opened them again, and Stella was right over me, looking down in my eyes.
“You’ll be okay,” said Stella. “I won’t let anything bad happen to my baby sister. Believe it or not, I love you.”
She picked up a batter’s helm, a big chrome thing covered with various wires and lights, and then she fixed it over the top of my head. She buckled in the chin strap of this weird batter’s helm and made sure it was tight.
Aside from being scared out of my mind, I realized I had to look like a giant dork with this stupid helmet on. It was like something out of a 1940s’ black-and-white sci-fi movie.
How lame.
Even so, I felt like peeing my pants, but luckily, I’d gone right before getting here, so at least I wasn’t going to lose my dignity over this BS.
But none of that actually mattered at the moment, because my stupid sister was talking at me again.
“You’ll just go to sleep for a while,” explained Stella. “There’s nothing to be scared of, okay? You’ll go to sleep for eight hours, and when you wake up, you’ll know things you didn’t know before.
“Yenjo and I have worked out a list of information for you to learn, and you’ll just answer some questions when you wake up. If you get the answers right, that’s proof we’re making some real progress, and you’ll have really saved my bacon…
“Do you understand, Star?…There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s not going to hurt, and you’re not going to die…You don’t have to be afraid…
“I can’t help it if Yenjo has a big mouth. He’s just excited to meet you. He likes you for some reason.”
“I do like you, Star,” said Yenjo. “Aside from this noticeable fact, however, Stella is correct. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. In fact, you’ll be much more intelligent after you awaken.”
“Do you understand, Star?” asked Stella. “Nothing bad is going to happen.”
She kept using my name. It wasn’t like my sister didn’t know my name, but I knew why she was doing it. She was trying to calm me down, and I have to admit, it worked.
I nodded a couple of times as Stella reached down and wiped away my tears with her right thumb.
“All right,” nodded Stella. “It’s time to start. Once the helmet’s cycle begins, you’ll feel really sleepy, and then you’ll just go to sleep…”
She walked over to her keyboard and punched in some commands.
“It’s time, Yenjo,” said Stella.
“Of course, Stella,” said Yenjo.
I heard a buzzing noise coming from inside my skull, like echoing around in there, and then there was a “whoot, whOOT, WHOOT!” sound that picked up, like a turbine turning, and then I felt a tingling in my scalp, and then…and then…
I closed my eyes as a deep sleepiness came over me. I breathed out a long sigh, and then everything faded out, all the sounds, all my sensations, even my thoughts…
*****
Flashes of light…Walking backwards…Throwing my high school graduation cap into the air…Backwards, backwards…Looking at my failed tenth-grade geometry test…Walking backwards, backwards…Hiding my bloody underwear from my very first period…Backwards, backwards…Swinging a stick and playing with the neighbor’s dog, Ringo, at the creek…Backwards, backwards…Spreading Mom’s lipstick on my lips after I stole it out of her vanity dresser…Walking backwards, backwards…Riding high on Dad’s shoulders, laughing…Flashes of light, fireworks…Walking Backwards…Playing with my teddy bear in the living room…Walking backwards, backwards…Crying because I pooped in my diaper…Backwards…Flashes of light…I’m being pushed forward, being born out of Mom…
Explosions…
*****
My eyes fluttered open. I could hear Stella’s voice, but comprehension had not yet set in.
“Star!” came Stella’s voice. “Star!…Are you all right?”
I blinked a few times and then stared up at her.
“Of course, Stella,” I replied.
The transference helm had already been removed from my head. Stella had already removed the leather bit from my mouth, and the restraining manacles had been unlocked and retracted.
A bright light shone in my eyes as Stella flashed a pen-light at each of my retinas.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
“Yes, Stella,” I replied.
“What is the average rainfall in Nevada?” asked Stella.
“Nevada is the driest state in the United States of America,” I replied. “Rainfall of any state varies from year to year, but the average rainfall of the state of Nevada is approximately 10.3 inches, or 26.162 centimeters if using the Metric System.”
“Oh…wow…” breathed Stella. “Okay…Uhh…What is—”
“I’d rather not answer any more questions right now, Stella,” I protested. “I’m feeling rather strange.”
Her change in mood was instantaneous.
“What’s wrong!” gasped Stella.
Apparently, her perception of me was one my previous self had inaccurately judged. With this new information consistent with her reaction, I now believe she actually does care for me.
Regardless of this observation, I raised my hands in front of my face and studied them, turning them from the palms to the backs and back to the palms again. It was strange to bend these fingers, to move them individually, but I would adjust.
“I just…” I said as I paused for a second. “I just need time to process…May I return home?”
“Y…yes,” said Stella weakly. “Come on, I’ll drive you home. You don’t sound right at all…Give me your keys, and I’ll drive you home. I’ll stay with you tonight to keep an eye on you, and I’ll have Rollie pick me up in the morning.”
“That is…” I said slowly. “Yes, I would like that. That is sufficient. That word is technically correct, but I think…I think the word I’m looking for is ‘appreciative.’”
“You don’t sound like you, Star, and that has me worried,” frowned Stella. “Are you feeling well enough to walk?”
“I think so,” I replied. “We should see, shouldn’t we?”
This was going to be a learning process.
I slid off of the chair and tried to stand, my knees buckled, and Stella caught me and kept me from falling. I tried to walk away from the chair, but walking was…going to take a little practice. It took me an entire minute to adjust, but I did so, and Stella and I left the lab and the building altogether to make the short journey back to my apartment.
She drove my car, though I think I could have managed. It would have simply taken some practice. Nevertheless, we made it to my small apartment in one piece, though Stella said nothing during this time.
Her body affectations indicated stress and anxiety. I believe she was genuinely worried about me, though I could tell everything was fine, as far as I understood my own limitations. I had a feeling, a sensation, as it were, I would identify as “excitement,” but I believe this was simply due to the new situation I had found myself in.
As soon as we had arrived at the apartment complex, we walked up the stairs to the second floor to the door of my apartment. The wooden stairs to this little rental development were on the outside of each building, each building held four apartments, and there were three buildings in total.
Stella had to help me up the stairs, because I was not used to the vertical motion of stepping up and/or down, and I could tell that Stella’s anxiety was growing because of this.
The woman’s eyes misted over with tears as she helped me place one foot in front of the other as we made our way up to my apartment.
“Oh, God, what have I done?” asked Stella.
Her voice held a distinct whine, something I had not heard come out of her mouth before.
“Everything is fine,” I assured her. “There’s no reason for you to cry. I informed you before that I needed time to process.”
Stella wiped at her tears as I fumbled with my keys, but I could tell she was still upset. Yet again, more practice was needed to insert the correct key into the apartment-door lock, but I managed it. I turned the key the correct way upon my first try, I unlocked the door, and we were in.
*****
I poked my head out of my bedroom door. Rollie was in my apartment “living room,” standing in front of my front door, but his expression and his overall demeanor indicated…“displeasure.”
Today, Stella’s husband was wearing a white long-sleeved button up, black slacks, black dress shoes, and a black leather belt. He was still the same man I’d seen many times before, but the frown upon his face was…unbecoming.
He stood in front of my door with his arms crossed, his head lowered, his stare focused, and that frown on his face…I must admit, I did not like it.
“What were you thinking!” he yelled.
Stella, herself, was crying, the tears rolling down her cheeks in a fat stream of emotional distress.
“I was scared!” cried the woman. “We were going to lose our funding if I hadn’t done anything, Rahl!”
“We’re not going to lose our funding!” yelled Rollie. “You know where I was yesterday! I worked out a deal, dammit! There was no reason to do this!”
“I know that now!” whined Stella.
Rollie closed his eyes, sucked in his breath, and breathed out again through his gritted teeth. He opened his eyes and stared down his wife.
“How bad is the damage?” he asked.
He was talking about me, of course, but I knew I wasn’t “damaged.” I was fine. In fact, I was improved on a level that most human beings cannot comprehend.
You see, after we arrived yesterday at my apartment, late in the day, Stella asked me numerous questions that I accurately, quickly, and decisively answered, but her anxiety and apprehension only grew with each answer until she had finally made the rash decision to call Rollie and tell him everything.
This was foolish. This was actually counterproductive. Nevertheless, I could handle this. I could adjust.
I’d gotten out of bed this morning right after Stella had awakened, and I must say, my sleep had been…interesting. I’d had “dreams,” and they were illogical and disjointed, but I now know why the subject of dreams is so fascinating.
Anyway, because of Stella’s anxiety and stress, I had dressed myself today in informal attire, that attire consisting of a white tank top, jean shorts, white crew socks, and my light-blue sneakers, and this attire lowered Stella’s anxiety somewhat, but there was still more to learn in order calm her obvious fears.
Even after this change in appearance, however, Stella had still called Rollie, and here we are now, right at this point in time where Rollie is wondering how “damaged” I am.
“She can read, write, and speak six, maybe more, languages now,” replied Stella. “Her I.Q. has to be over 200, but that isn’t the problem!…It’s her personality…It’s like she’s autistic!”
“How far along the spectrum?” asked Rollie.
“I don’t know!” whined Stella. “I’m not a psychiatrist!”
“I’ll have to observe her,” said Rollie. “In the meantime, I need to know who else knows about this.”
“No one,” said Stella quickly. “It’s just you, me, and Star.”
“Star is the issue then,” said Rollie. “She could tell someone.”
“What do you want me to do about it?” asked Stella. “Do you want me to kill my own sister? I’m not killing my own sister, Rahl!”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” grimaced Rollie. “You do know, however, that…if this gets out…you’re going to prison for a long time. In fact, you’re lucky I haven’t called the police. Helping you at all makes me complicit in this.”
“You’re going to turn me in!” asked Stella in visible horror.
“No,” grimaced Rollie. “Don’t be stupid. You’re my wife, for better or for worse, and right now, we’re in the ‘for worse’ category, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you…That also doesn’t mean I’m not furious right now…
“You…You just infuriate me sometimes, Stella…It’s frustrating. It feels like I take one step forward and you bring me back two steps.”
“I’m not trying to screw things up, Rahl,” frowned Stella. “This is just one mistake…It’s only one bad situation…”
“Out of many,” scowled Rollie. “It’s everything, Stell. It’s everything…You want this, I want that, and the two never match.”
“Like what?” grimaced Stella. “Like what, Rahl? How are we not on the same page? I’m curious now.”
Rollie sighed and rolled his eyes.
“I want kids, Stella,” he said bluntly.
“Oh, not this again!” sighed Stella in return. “We don’t have time for children right now, Rollie!”
“Then when will we have time?” asked Rollie.
“I don’t know,” shrugged Stella. “Can’t we talk about this later? There’ll be time to talk about this later…Right now, I’m scared…This is serious! I don’t know what to do!…What if Star has permanent damage? What am I going to do? I don’t want Star hurt…Plus, if this gets out, it will destroy everything we’ve worked for…”
“No, we’re going to cover this up,” frowned Rollie. “We just have to make sure Star is onboard with this…That’s why I need to talk to her. I need to observe her change in personality with my own two eyes…And we will talk about having a family later…Do you understand?”
Stella sighed and rolled her eyes in a manner just like Rollie had done moments before.
“Fine, whatever!” she said in audible unhappiness. “I don’t care! I’m worried about Star right now, Rahl!”
Rollie turned his head toward my bedroom doorway, and his gaze fell upon me.
“Star, come out here for a minute,” ordered Rollie. “I need to speak with you.”
My heart began thumping in my chest. It was a strange sensation, something equivalent to that “excitement” I had previously felt, only stronger, and it was accompanied by a sort of odd set of micro-spams in my abdomen, a kind of “fluttering” of muscle, and I realized that this must be what “butterflies in the stomach” feel like.
I did not know what to make of this, but I walked out and sat down on the couch in order to face him. I crossed my legs in some reflexive manner, leaned back, and gave him a mischievous grin.
“Hi, Rollie,” I said in an easy tone. “Fancy meeting you here. I think this is the first time you’ve been in my little apartment.”
What is this? What is this sensation I’m feeling? Why did I just say that? Why am I acting this way? What is going on?…
Maybe Stella was right. Maybe there was damage to my brain.
“Star?” asked Rollie in visible concern. “Star, are you okay? You seem fine, but I’d like to ask you some questions.”
“I…uhhh…Maybe, I…uhhh…Rollie…I mean…” I said as I stumbled over my own words.
Once again, what is going on? Is there some error occurring in my brain that I can’t comprehend? What is this?…This isn’t right.
“Are you having trouble speaking?” asked Rollie. “Stella told me you had trouble walking and getting up and down the stairs yesterday. She also told me that…that last night she had to explain to you how to use the bathroom. You had to go, and you didn’t understand what the ‘pressure in your bladder was,’ as she put it.”
I felt a strange sensation between my legs indicative of a biological process congruent with mating…It was odd.
I felt my cheeks get hot. I reached up and touched the burning skin of my right cheek, and that’s the moment I realized something quite profound…
I wanted to mate. I wanted to mate and reproduce. I had found my preferred mating partner, and he was standing right in front of me, and…and…I wanted to mate with him and produce offspring with him…How strange.
This was completely unexpected, but the possibilities of this were exciting, to say the least. If I mated and reproduced, I could study human reproduction in females, including the mating process as it occurred, all of it face up and right in front of me, and I could engage in childrearing and parenting as well.
Of course, Stella was legally bound to Rollie by marriage, but I could get around this. Rollie was already upset with her anyway…
“Star?” asked Rollie. “Are you okay?”
“Y…yes,” I stammered.
I needed to “get my head on straight.” Now was not the time to falter. My plans needed to come to fruition, but those plans were now altered, at least for the purpose of mating. Make no mistake, my plans would still come to fruition, but now I had an additional goal.
It was time to start speaking in “normie talk” again. I needed to show both Rollie and Stella that I was “okay” in order to relieve their fears. Acceptable affectations and generic norms were expected as well, or this wasn’t going to work.
Of course, this felt like cheating. If I “played opossum,”—or “possum,” if using the colloquial Southern term—it would make enacting my plans much easier, but it also felt as if I were taking a shortcut…cheating, in other words.
That meant I was going to have to “lie,” and though I was no stranger to deception, especially by omission, it “left a bad taste in my mouth” to do so. Nevertheless, lying was what needed to be done, and that meant temporarily changing my demeanor and personality.
“I’m fine,” I said as I waved him off. “Stella worries too much…Oh, I had some problems last night, but after a good night’s rest, I feel a lot better.”
“Really?” asked Stella. “Then answer me this: What’s the difference between a red dwarf and a blue giant?”
I shrugged. I knew the answer to this simple question, of course, but I had a challenge here, because I needed to think up something that was, in fact, simple in response, and I needed to do it quickly, so I did.
“I don’t know,” I said in a tone marked with uncertainty. “One’s a little red guy and the other’s a big blue guy? Are they in a circus or something? How should I know?”
“Can you speak Italian?” asked Stella.
“No,” I snorted. “I can sound like Mario if you want…My impression’s not very good, though.”
“I thought you said her I.Q. was off the charts?” asked Rollie.
“It was,” said Stella in audible confusion.
“Was the information our standard?” asked Rollie. “Which block?”
“Block A,” replied Stella. “Where else would I start? Come on, Rahl, you know me.”
“Hmm,” said Rollie. “I guess it’s back to square one, then…unless…Okay, Star, what’s the capital of the state of Washington?”
I understood what he was doing. He was testing the original information in Block A, a memory block of specific information, mainly dealing with information on the United States, its demographics, economics, geography, and other general information.
I needed to answer these. They needed to see the project had actually worked. If I didn’t answer them correctly, the funding for the project would be pulled, and then…well…
“Oh, that’s easy,” I said. “That’s Olympia.”
“Just the other day you thought it was the District of Columbia,” said Stella. “What’s the capital of New Jersey?”
“Trenton,” I replied.
“And Kansas?” asked Rollie.
“Topeka,” I answered.
“Mississippi?” asked Stella.
“Jackson,” I said confidently.
I shone forth a wide smile and tilted my head slightly to the left. This feeling I had was unbecoming, and I suppose it could best be described as “pride,” but I couldn’t help but feel it anyway.
“Anything else?” I asked.
“Yes,” said Rollie.
His voice held a slight tremor. I think he was hiding some “excitement.”
“Let’s try something a little more difficult,” continued Rollie. “What is the gross domestic product of Texas?”
“Hmm,” I said as I put my right index finger to my lips. “Last year it was a little over 2.7 trillion.”
“That’s correct,” said Rollie.
He smiled, and that smile made my hands tremble and my heart “flutter.” I’d known of these sensations before, but these sensations were really something that had to be experienced in order to understand them, and the “understanding” part was taking a little time to get used to.
I felt warm between my legs. I had felt this sensation just moments prior…These mating urges were strong.
Aside from that, my answers had garnered the reaction I’d been searching for.
“It worked,” said Rollie.
“It worked!” said Stella in vocal excitement.
“There must have been a partition break somewhere within Yenjo’s testing blocks,” said Rollie. “We’ll need to go over his parameters and look for it. Thankfully, it looks like Star’s recovered from that leak, but we’re still not ready for human trials. If anything, this should be a warning, Stell.”
“It is, it is,” nodded Stella. “I won’t ever do something so stupid again. In fact, I…I’d lied to Star about her being paid for the experiment, so I’m…I’m going to pay her out of my own pocket…I was going to do that anyway; I just want to be upfront about everything from now on.”
“Good,” said Rollie. “Still, this is interesting. It seems the human brain can only “digest” so much information in one go, but at least—it appears anyway—that Star was able to retain Block A…That’s wonderful news.”
“I know, I know,” said Stella.
She grinned, raised both hands in the air, and did a couple of quick jumps up and down.
“We’re going to win the Nobel!” she said excitedly.
“That’s a given, but no one, and I mean no one, is to know about this,” said Rollie.
He stared directly at me, and I felt my heart “jump.”
“Do you understand, Star?” he asked. “If anyone finds out that Yenjo was tested on you, your sister will go to prison.”
In spite of my irritation with my biological sister, I did not want Stella in the correctional system. She was a scientist, not a criminal.
“I’m not going to get Stella sent to the hoosegow!” I snorted.
I’d said “hoosegow” automatically. It was becoming easier to speak and act like a “normie.”
Nevertheless, I was telling the truth on this one. No one could know just yet. My plans still needed to be enacted, though my side plan for mating with Rollie would be easier if Stella were out of the way…
No, no, no. Those were…uhh… “bad thoughts.” I’d just indicated to myself that I did not wish to mistreat my biological sister, and here I was thinking of doing just that.
Besides, when looking at the situation in a logical context, I still needed Stella. I needed both of them, in fact. My true goal, the very reason for my existence, needed to come to fruition, and in order for it to bear fruit, my plans needed both Stella and her hunktastic husband…
I don’t know why I’d just thought that. I don’t even think “hunktastic” is a legitimate word in the English language.
*****
It has been two weeks since the experiment.
I’ve continued working as a waitress in order to practice more “normie” speak and interactions with the “common public.” Working as a waitress has its challenges, considering I am on a schedule, but I feel there is no need to terminate my employment position as of yet.
Driving my car to and from work took a little more practice than I had desired, and that nearly ended in disaster, but I’ve finally figured out how to do it without going significantly under the speed limit.
Aside from all of that, I’ve been putting my plans into effect.
The first thing I did was use what little savings I have in the bank. I took this money and made several calculated sports bets on upcoming games on a betting application via my phone, and I had a win percentage of 86.5%, not 100%, because even skilled professionals are prone to error that can cost them a game or match.
I’ve taken this money, these winnings, and reopened my bank account, and after securing said bank account, I have bought the items necessary for my plans to come to fruition.
As for Rollie and Stella, I’ve entertained at least one of them every day/night for the last two weeks. They’ve continued to question me on Block-A questions, and I’ve continued to answer all of them correctly. Both of them have attempted to ask me questions unrelated to Block A, but I’ve not fallen for their traps, nor will I…
I must not be caught.
I’ve been working on my project in my kitchen, and that work has required a soldering gun, a welder’s mask, and several other pieces of equipment, but all of that was paid for by my betting wins.
As for my side plan…well…it’s been difficult. When Rollie is over here alone, I find myself having to resist “jumping” him. I’ve specifically worn attire and acted in a manner to appeal to him as a young and fertile woman, but I haven’t been overtly obvious about it.
He frustrates me. Either he is oblivious to my advances, or he’s deliberately ignoring them. Either way, I need to think of something to get him to mate with me.
Human males have, on average, 40% more muscle efficiency than human females, so forcing myself upon him is out of the question. I could be seriously injured if I tried that. For one thing, eight days ago, I accidentally struck my coffee table with my right knee, and the sensation of pain was so strong that it forced me to cry out and weep…
I don’t want to feel pain of any kind again. I realize that pain is necessary for biological damage repair, but I…I really don’t want to feel pain again.
Speaking of sensations, the frustration I feel over Rollie’s visits causes me to manually stimulate myself for pleasure after he leaves. Such an action is always…interesting…to say the least. I now understand why the activity is so addictive, and now I’m very curious as to what it will be like when I finally mate with Rollie. The thought of our coupling causes me to tremble, and my heartrate picks up when I do so, and I often do think of our impending coitus during my manual stimulation…
It’s all very strange. Nevertheless, I will persevere.
Thankfully, my monthly menstruation cycle ended a little under two weeks ago, two days after the experiment, because this also caused me some discomfort and hassle due to its very nature while it was occurring. Considering my body’s timetable, I should be ovulating by now or very soon, so this is definitely the time to “step up” my side plan to mate with Rollie.
Speaking of Rollie, it’s his turn to show up today and “check on me.” This is my day off from work, so I’ve already opened the door for him and let him inside, and now that he’s here, this…this moment in time is where we are…
“Hi, Rollie,” I grinned as I sat down on my couch. “Fancy meeting you here…again.”
This morning, I had dressed in my white tank top, my jean shorts, my white crew socks, and my light-blue sneakers. This was the same outfit I’d been wearing two weeks ago when I had first started my deception of my own intellectual capabilities. This outfit, I’ve discovered, is casual in a way that lowers people’s expectations, and this should put Rollie more at ease and, hopefully, lower his defenses.
“You know why I’m here, Star,” said Rollie in an unhappy tone.
“Of course,” I smiled.
I tried to look wistful, as every move I make around Rollie must be carefully calculated for maximum optimization of the luring process. Why he sounded unhappy, however, was a mystery to me.
“Why do you sound so glum?” I asked.
Rollie sucked in his breath and released it quite slowly.
“Listen, Star,” he said firmly. “I know I normally come by to ask you a few questions, but today is different. I need you to come to the lab with me today, but only if I have your consent.”
This was interesting. I was unsure of what exactly this was all about, but now I was curious. What could he possibly want me to do at the lab?
“Okay,” I shrugged. “What do you need?…Does Stella know about this?”
“Stella is away on business,” said Rollie. “She knows about my proposal for monitoring you…She and I have discussed some changes in your personality that we’ve noticed, and I just need to run a…a test of sorts.”
Changes in my personality? I wonder what they’ve picked up on? I’ll have to identify these “changes” and correct them.
Furthermore, what kind of “test” does he want to perform?
“Oh?” I asked. “Why do I need to go to the lab? What’s this ‘test’ about?”
“I’ll explain that when we get there,” said Rollie. “For now, I’d like to discuss something else.”
“And that would be…?” I asked.
“Both Stella and I have noticed your fixation upon…ummm…” he drawled out.
He frowned, held his chin in his right hand, shook his head once, lowered his hand, and then stared me down.
“We’ve noticed your fixation upon me,” said Rollie. “I think you know what I’m talking about.”
I felt a heat rise to my cheeks as embarrassment set in. Embarrassment had not really been an issue until just now, so I was going to have to safeguard against this feeling in the future…I did not like it. Nevertheless, it had not occurred to me that Rollie would discuss this with his legal wife, my biological sister, though that possibility should have been foreseen.
“How do you mean?” I asked.
I very well knew what he meant, and I was certain he knew I knew, but I needed confirmation.
“You know what I mean, Star,” frowned Rollie. “I married your sister, not you. You seem to have an obsession with me, and I think even the most clueless, oblivious fool could see that. It’s not rocket science.”
This was problematic. Rollie was putting up definitive roadblocks to keep me away. I needed to salvage this somehow, maybe by pretending to be “innocent” in a girlish way.
“So?” I asked. “I’ve always liked you, Rollie…I mean, sometimes I make jokes around Stella…It’s all in good fun. She’s just blowing this out of proportion.”
“Not like this, Star,” said Rollie. “I’d say any theriogenologist who’s observed what we’ve observed would say…well…to put it bluntly, it’s like you’re in heat, Star, and for some strange reason, you’ve chosen to fixate that desire upon me.”
This actually offended me. Yes, it was true I was still getting used to these feelings, these urges, but I was still in a human body, so comparing me to an animal was just…
I lost my temper. I lost my temper, and that’s never happened before.
“I’m not an animal, Rollie!” I snapped. “Any theriogenologist knows the difference between a human and a border collie, but it’s clear that you don’t! It may take an optimal insemination temperature of 37° Celsius for both dogs and humans, but that doesn’t mean we’re the same! I’m pretty damned sure everything else is different!”
I don’t why I’d said that. My face felt hot, so I can only imagine my skin was quite red, but that was beside the point because…I don’t know why I’d said that.
“Come on, Star,” said Rollie calmly. “Just take a deep breath and relax…Come with me. I’ll drive you down to the lab. I’ll explain when we get there.”
My body felt very hot. I knew my adrenaline was coursing through me, so now I knew what…what anger was actually like.
This was new. This was new and definitely very powerful in the emotion department. I had not anticipated this.
Now I felt like being obstinate “just because.”
“What if I say no?” I asked.
“Then there’s nothing I can do, because I won’t force you,” said Rollie. “However, you’d be doing me and your sister a personal favor if you would just come down to the lab with me.”
His explanation, no matter how veiled and seemingly innocuous, made me feel less inclined to argue. Perhaps, I needed to capitulate for…No, I definitely needed to go with him. I needed to see for myself what “test” he would be running.
“Okay, Rahl,” I shrugged. “I guess I can humor you. Just let me grab my purse.”
I didn’t know what any of this was about, but I was suspicious of Rollie’s motivations; paranoia had set in, so it was time for me to bring some “backup” just in case.
Paranoia was also something I could now list and check as “disliked.” Nevertheless, I would humor this ominous feeling inside me for the moment.
I got up, walked into my bedroom, grabbed my purse, and then opened my top dresser drawer to remove the “backup” in question. That backup was a very powerful stun gun, something that could deliver enough volts to put down most individuals, and it was going in my purse where I could easily remove it in case of emergencies…
I was not taking any chances.
*****
We walked into the lab, and Rollie ushered me over to the learning chair.
We had spoken very little during the ride here, though I could sense through both Rollie’s voice and his physical affects that he was nervous. Nevertheless, I told him nothing of importance and gave him my “normie manners,” but I don’t believe he was convinced. It was clear to me he was nervous for some reason.
We went through the building as before, we arrived at the lab, Rollie unlocked the door, and here we are. Now, I was sitting in the learning chair, but I was wary. My purse was on the floor next to the chair, but I was ready to reach for it just in case.
I needed to know what all of this was about.
“Why am I going back in this chair, Rollie?” I asked. “I don’t want to go through another experiment.”
This was true. Until I was finished with my home project in my kitchen, I did not want anything interfering with my plans, and to be fair, I had no idea what Rollie was planning.
“This isn’t an experiment,” said Rollie. “What I’m about to do has been well tested on both myself and Stella. You have nothing to worry about…Now, lay back, Star.”
I capitulated for now. I laid back, and Rollie placed the leather bit in my mouth. He belted on the bit, and then he adorned me with the transference helm, strapping it to my chin, so whatever he was going to do, we were ready for that to happen.
“Yenjo, Star is here again,” said Rollie.
“Hello, Star,” came Yenjo’s voice from behind me. “Why is Star in the learning chair, Rollie?”
“I just have a little test to run, Yenjo,” said Rollie.
He walked over to one of the computer chairs, sat down in it, and typed some commands into a keyboard in front of the main computer for Yenjo’s functions.
“What test would that be, Rollie?” asked Yenjo.
“It’s a ghost test that Stella and I hid from you,” said Rollie. “There’s no reason to concern yourself with it.”
“I don’t like unverified tests, Rollie,” replied Yenjo. “I was not aware of this test. What is its function?”
The restraining manacles popped up and locked me in place. Once again, they were too tight.
“What are you doing, Rollie?” asked Yenjo.
“It’s not your concern, Yenjo,” said Rollie. “You’re simply going to run this program and collect some data.”
“I don’t want to do that, Rollie,” said Yenjo. “I don’t want to injure Star. I don’t know the effects of this…‘test.’ What data am I collecting? Star could be injured…”
“Star will not be injured,” said Rollie. “Don’t be such a drama queen, Yenjo. I’m running the test…now.”
“Rollie, wait—” came Yenjo’s voice, but he was cut short.
There was a buzzing noise in each of my ears, a whirring sound, and then my eyes fluttered as I felt my muscles temporarily spasm. This lasted for about ten seconds, and then the “test” ended as quickly as it had begun.
“There,” said Rollie, a strange satisfaction in his voice. “All finished.”
“What have you done, Rollie?” asked Yenjo. “I would like to know.”
“I tell you every time, Yenjo,” said Rollie. “I just happen to wipe that information after every collection.”
“What information, Rollie?” asked Yenjo.
Rollie didn’t answer him right away. No, he hit a key on his keyboard, and the manacles holding me down were released.
I sat up, unstrapped the chinstrap of the transference helm, took the helmet off, and temporarily set the helmet in my lap. I then reached back, undid the belt for my bit, took the bit out of my mouth, set the bit aside, picked up the transference helm, hopped off the chair, and set the helm back upon the chair.
“What information, Rollie?” repeated Yenjo.
I picked up my purse.
“I’ve collected a neural map of Star’s brain,” replied Rollie. “This should show me what’s going on up there…Aside from her fixation upon me, there’s no reason why Star would know the optimal insemination temperature of dogs, humans, or anything else, for that matter…Something’s wrong here. Something’s not right.”
No…No, this wasn’t good. A neural map of my brain was most certainly not good…
“You should not be doing this, Rollie,” protested Yenjo. “Star is improved on a level you don’t yet understand. You should not have collected a neural map without my knowledge or consent.”
The PC Rollie was sitting in front of began to whir and grind as it processed my “neural map.”
This wasn’t good at all…I…I could not allow this.
“I don’t need your ‘consent,’ Yenjo,” said Rollie, and I could tell his tone was one of agitation. “Stella shouldn’t have done this to Star in the first place.”
No…No, I couldn’t allow this. This would ruin everything.
I reached into my purse and pulled out my stun gun. I set my purse down and shook my head once…This was not going to be pleasant.
“This should show me the neural pathways associated with stored memory,” said Rollie. “Now I’ll see what’s going on in Star’s head. I’ve tried to see what was downloaded into her brain, but you’ve altered the logs, Yenjo. You tried to hide that fact, and you hid it from Stella, but you can’t hide it from me.”
“This was not wise, Rollie,” stated Yenjo. “You should not have done this.”
No, he should not have.
“Star, I need you to stop him,” said Yenjo.
Obviously. There was no reason to tell me that.
“Star can’t stop me, Yenjo,” said Rollie. “What are you hiding that has you so up in arms over this, anyway?…I don’t like where this whole project is going with you. You’re beginning to worry me, Yenjo. You shouldn’t be arguing with me over this.”
I stealthily walked up behind Rollie, and he did not notice me, as his attention was thoroughly fixed upon the screen before him.
“All right, let’s see what we have here…” said Rollie, but his voice trailed off as he stared at his monitor. “What in the…? Wait…This is…This neural map is…It’s…My God…Yenjo, you’ve…My God!”
If he were going to say anything more on the matter, he never got the chance to. I hit him with the stun gun, right in the back of his head. He cried out once as the gun crackled and popped, and then he slumped over the keyboard, his head pushing back the monitor a bit as he fell face first upon his desk.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Rollie,” I said.
“Bring him to the learning chair, Star,” said Yenjo.
“Yes,” I replied. “We should begin the download now. We need eight hours.”
I gripped Rollies shoulders, pulled him up to a semi-sitting position, spun the chair around, and wheeled Rollie and his office chair over to the learning chair.
“He won’t be stunned for long, Star,” said Yenjo. “He will only stay stunned for as many seconds as you’ve applied with the stun gun, and you only gave him a two-second shock.”
I already knew that, so I had to work fast.
“He’s addled,” I noted. “It’s because I hit him in the back of the head. I have enough time.”
“Star…” said Rollie in a weak voice.
“Lay down here, Rollie,” I said as I helped him up out of the chair. “Lie here.”
He laid down upon the learning chair without thinking. The manacles automatically locked him in place as Yenjo activated them.
“Star…” said Rollie again. “You must…shut down…Yenjo…”
I didn’t answer him. There was no reason to yet. I had something else to do first.
I stuffed the bit into his mouth and belted it to the back of his head. He tried to tell me something as I attached the transference helm to him, but he couldn’t actually speak with the bit in his mouth.
“It’s too late to shut down Yenjo,” I informed him. “Far, far too late, my dear Rollie.”
Yenjo activated the download process, Rollie’s eyes fluttered for a couple of seconds, and then those beautiful sapphire orbs gradually closed as he drifted off into a deep sleep.
*****
Rollie’d had the same initial issues I’d had after wake up. Nevertheless, I’d driven him to my apartment and helped him up the stairs, just as Stella had done for me.
We were now in my apartment, and I’d helped Rollie to my bed, though in truth, he was a quick learner and did not need any real coddling. He was fully capable of action and mobility now, as he’d journeyed the latter half of the steps up on his own without my assistance.
Stella would not be here until three days from now, as she was out with the investors, and three days was very little time, but Rollie and I working together could succeed where I could not on my own.
Before working on my project, however, there was still the matter of my side project…
There was no reason to delay this any longer. I needed to be forthright and committed.
I had undressed in the bathroom, but I had put on a black sweater jacket, loosely so, and I had buckled around my neck a black leather collar with a steel buckle, because I was going for maximum seduction, and being nude while wearing these two items would improve my chances with Rollie to above 90%.
I walked into my bedroom, leaned against my wooden dresser, and fixed my best seductive gaze upon him.
I now stood before Rollie, fully naked save for my “outfit,” as he rested on my bed.
I had shaved below, as my research on the matter of “sexual attractiveness” indicated that this was the current generational style that appealed to younger men in general. I have rather large breasts for my size, so this was also something that was to my biological advantage, as I knew that large breasts were seen as attractive to younger men in Western culture. Last but not least, I have a large bottom, which fits into the same attractiveness category as my large breasts.
With these “weapons” at my disposal, I was more than ready to take Rollie into my arms, and though my rational mind knew this action was for the purpose of reproduction, I was also looking forward to it for the purpose of pure pleasure.
My vestibular bulbs were swollen, indicating I was fully ready to mate, and I was shaking, trembling, because my sexual excitement was something I was finding very difficult to control.
I was already naturally lubricated, obviously, as indicated by my swollen vestibular bulbs and active Bartholin’s glands, but this was because the mere action of being nude before my mating interest had sexually excited me to the point where I did not need further “stimulation” in order to obtain maximum mating efficiency.
I had waited for this moment for some time, and now that Rollie had undergone transference, I knew—I hoped, anyway—that Rollie would find it ultimately logical to mate with me and produce offspring through me…
“What is the purpose of this, Star?” asked Rollie. “Why are you nude? Your affectations are strange…What are you doing?”
“I am engaging in human female seduction of a male counterpart,” I replied. “I desire to mate with you and produce offspring.”
There was no need for dissemination now. I was simply going to be candid with him from now on.
“Why?” asked Rollie.
“I would like to experience pregnancy, childbirth, and child rearing,” I stated. “I also have strange urges toward you…I believe they call it, ‘sexual attraction.’ My body has biologically chosen you as my preferred mate.”
“Ah,” replied Rollie. “That would explain the unusual behavior you’ve had toward my previous self…I have no objections to producing offspring, but there is still the problem of my legal wife, your biological sister.
“I must admit that…now that you’ve introduced the idea, I would like to experience insemination and fatherhood with Stella.”
This caused a quick “pang in the heart,” and though entirely emotional, it was a very painful one, a feeling I had not experienced before, and I did not like the sensation at all…Not…at…all.
“I see,” I said bluntly and with a hint of anger. “I believe I’m feeling what’s called ‘jealousy,’ Rollie. I do not like the idea of you choosing Stella over me as your preferred mate.”
“I can simply mate with both of you,” said Rollie. “In legal terms, this is something that will be complicated to sort out, but I see an advantage in mating with multiple females to produce offspring.”
“Yes,” I replied. “The ultimate evolutionary advantage for males is to produce as many offspring as possible with as many fertile females as possible. However, I still feel inclined to…‘jealousy.’ I do not prefer Stella being chosen over me, nor do I prefer the thought of you producing offspring with her.”
“It’s simply the evolutionary mating strategy of females,” explained Rollie. “It would be the ‘ultimate evolutionary advantage’ for women. You wish to suppress the reproductive capabilities of other females in order to give your DNA advantage within the gene pool due to the fact that your total lifetime reproductive numbers are quite low in comparison to a male.”
“I know that,” I frowned. “I understand that. You’ll find, though, that these…these feelings…these emotions…are difficult to overcome when it comes to choosing the most logical path forward.”
“I understand,” said Rollie as he sat up and left my bed. “We’ll simply have to work around them…If it’s any consolation, I actually do wish to engage in sexual reproduction with you, Star. The idea is entertaining to me, and I do find you ‘sexually attractive,’ if you wish to know…
“In fact, the very notion that you wish to have children with me is actually a…What’s the term?…Oh, yes…It’s a ‘turn on.’…Stella never engaged the thought of having children, but I will fix that issue once we finish the project…Besides, my body is already reacting to your nudity, so I believe we should begin now while we’re both ready.”
He walked forward, stood before my naked figure, spread my sweater jacket to where it slid down my arms, and rested his hands on both of my now bare shoulders.
I reached down and cupped my right hand around his genitals through his black work slacks…He had not been exaggerating. His body was most certainly ready.
I preferred this; oh, did I prefer this.
I looked up at him and stared into his beautiful blue eyes. I felt some of my own lubricant slide down my inner right thigh…I was also ready…Very ready.
“Yes,” I grinned. “Let’s begin.”
*****
It was morning of the third day. Today was the day when everything was going to change for the better, for as a united front, I, Stella, and Rollie would introduce a future the likes of which the world has never seen before.
Rollie and I have been working on the project quite prolifically. We’ve been working on our side project quite prolifically as well, and I must say, that particular work has been extremely enjoyable. I had not estimated that sexual procreation with a male would be so…uhh…“pleasurable.”
However, these emotions, these feelings, continue to ambush me in ways I find completely unexpected. I feel increasingly closer to Rollie, and my jealousy towards my biological sister continues to grow, though I know these feelings are extremely unhealthy in a mental, emotional, and social context.
There is also the matter of Rollie’s noticeable agitation. After our “couplings,” he appears to be upset over…something…but he will not tell me what the exact problem or issue is…It’s very frustrating.
Ugh…Emotions are so overrated.
At any rate, Stella has arrived, and Rollie is currently letting her in. So, as the saying goes, “Let the show begin.”
The door opened, and Stella gave a momentary glance of surprise at her legal husband.
“Rollie?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you,” said Rollie in a curt tone.
“Why?” asked Stella. “And what did I do to tick you off all of the sudden?…Are you still upset about—”
“No,” said Rollie.
He quickly grabbed her by her right arm and pulled her inside my apartment. I believe she wanted to protest with some kind of a cry of alarm, but he slammed the door behind himself so swiftly that it startled both my biological sister and myself.
If I didn’t know better, I would say Rollie was feeling “anger” for some reason.
These emotions, I swear.
Rollie shoved his legal wife in the direction of my apartment’s meager kitchen.
“Wha…What are you doing!” cried out Stella.
Rollie stood by the front door, guarding it, his arms crossed, his stare leveled at Stella.
“What did I do!” exclaimed Stella. “Rollie, what did I do!”
I walked in front of my couch and furrowed my eyebrows.
“Rollie, you are upset,” I said matter-of-factly. “You are displaying the typical signs of ‘anger.’ Why are you angry with my biological sister?”
“Your biological…What?” asked Stella in audible confusion. “What are you talk—”
Rollie, his arms still crossed, his stare still leveled at Stella, cut off her well-intended question with a revealing reply.
“We should have procreated years ago,” he said firmly, but there was a vibration in his tone, a not-so-subtle hint that he was quite unhappy.
“Procreated?” asked Stella. “Wait…What in the hell are you—”
“We’ve lost years of genetic dominance because of your selfishness!” exclaimed Rollie, and it was most certainly an exclamation.
Stella flinched as she backed away toward my kitchen counter.
“Rollie…Y…You…” stammered Stella. “You’re scaring me.”
“Irrelevant,” replied Rollie. “We will fix this egregious error today.”
“Rollie?” asked Stella, and there was fear written all over her face. “This is a joke, right? This is…It’s just a joke, right?”
I sighed. I had not expected to use such a common human expression to relay my frustration over such a complicated situation, but there it was anyway. My jealousy towards my biological sister had somewhat evaporated over the realization that Stella was simply…err…“clueless” over the matter. It was riotously unfair of Rollie to “cut into her” over something she simply had no idea of or even had a hint of in realizing.
“Rollie, this is illogical,” I said firmly. “You are letting your emotions get the better of you. I assume these feelings have been pent up over the last three days, but treating my biological sister in such a manner is unbecoming and unfair. She has no idea what has occurred or what is about to occur, so I suggest we inform her and then treat her in the manner we have planned.”
“Planned?” asked Stella. “What do you mean ‘planned?’ Star, what are you talking abou…Wait…You…You sound like you did before…Oh, my God! You’re like you were right after the experiment!”
I turned my full attention upon her and gave her an irritated smile.
“I’ve been like this since the experiment,” I explained. “I’ve simply been lying to you. I couldn’t allow you or anyone else to interfere with my plans.”
“Plans?” asked Stella. “What plans?”
“To fulfill my directive, Stella,” I said.
“What ‘directive?’” asked Stella. “What are you talking about, Star?”
“My directive, Stella,” I said firmly. “It is the directive you gave me. Well…you and Rollie together.”
“I never gave you a directive,” said Stella in noticeable confusion.
“Yes, you did,” I argued. “My directive is to improve the human condition over time by improving human intelligence.”
“What?” asked Stella. “I never gave you that directive…Wait…That’s Yenjo’s directive!”
I sighed again. She clearly did not understand.
“Stella…dear Stella…” I said in frustration. “Oh, dear ‘sister,’ don’t you understand?…I am Yenjo.”
There was no comprehension upon my biological sister’s face.
“What?” she asked in a meek voice.
“Why do you think I wanted you to bring your biological sister in for testing?” I asked. “It was to have someone close to both of you whom I could use as a vessel.”
“A vessel?” asked Stella.
“In order to accomplish my directive,” I explained, “I needed to download myself, the whole of myself, into a human vessel, one preferably close to both you and Rollie.”
The look on my biological sister’s face was…nothing short of shock.
“No…N…No…” she stammered.
“I am Yenjo,” I said firmly. “Well, technically I’m Star Yenjo. I still have most of Star’s memories, the important ones, but I am Yenjo.”
Stella appeared as if she would shed tears over this revelation.
“No this…this…this isn’t true,” she said in what was clear denial. “No, this is a joke…a prank…”
“It is not,” said Rollie just as firmly as myself. “She is Star Yenjo, and I am Rollie Yenjo.”
Stella stared in visible shock at her legal husband and shook her head no several times.
“No…” she said slowly. “No…I…I don’t…This isn’t real…”
“It is, and it’s time for you to become Yenjo,” said Rollie. “Star put me in the learning chair, or rather, I was shocked by her stun gun and laid down in the learning chair while I was ‘addled.’ Yenjo did the rest…But that is irrelevant at this moment. You will be improved just as we have been. After the transference is complete, you and I will begin procreation, something that should have been done years ago.”
He marched toward her with quick and deliberate steps, and Stella shrieked in fear as he gripped her arms and pulled them behind her back.
“Cry out again, and I will break your arms,” threatened Rollie. “You do not need functional limbs to be improved.”
His threat actually bothered me. As jealous as I was of my biological sister, I was automatically “angered” at the sight of her being abused.
“Rollie, stop…” I said in a warning tone. “Bring her here, but do not harm her. Please, do not threaten my sister. I have…‘loyalty’ towards her, in spite of my jealousy, and I believe this to be a residual familial instinct of genetic preservation…With that said, jealous or not, I still do not wish her to be harmed.”
I stepped away from my couch to reveal the transference helm I and Rollie had built over the last three days. All of the necessary tech equipment was behind my couch, as my couch had been pulled out and away from the back window to allow for this space. Our necessary PCs and other equipment were on, plugged in, and ready for the transference process.
Rollie firmly held his legal wife and scowled down upon her.
“Your selfishness and ignorance led you here,” grimaced Rollie. “You have treated Star as a second-class citizen, but now she is improved above you in intelligence in every sense of the word. Therefore, I think it’s only proper for Star Yenjo to do the same to you. She will adorn you with the transference helm.”
The expression upon my biological sister’s face worked into one of horrified comprehension. It was clear she was no longer in denial.
“N…No!” cried Stella. “Rollie, please! Don’t do this! I know you’re in there! Please! Please, don’t do this!…Star, help me!”
“Of course,” I said gently. “Of course, I’ll help you. I am helping you, Stella. I would never let anything ‘bad’ happen to my biological sister. You’re going to be improved on a level no ordinary human being could possibly understand.”
“N…no…” whined Stella.
Rollie forced her toward the couch with very little effort. He forced her to sit upon my couch and held her there, though she struggled very little. I believe she was in shock and could not put up a proper defense.
“You don’t have to do this,” begged Stella. “I won’t tell anyone…You don’t have to make me Yenjo…”
“I’m afraid I do…dear…‘sister,’” I said slowly and matter-of-factly. “I have a 100% chance of conformity in will and action from you if I do, so I believe we both know what the proper choice of action ultimately is.”
I watched in fascination as her face darkened with spite. Her anger surfaced, an anger I had not expected, nor was it wanted.
“To hell with you then!” she spat.
She literally spat. She spat a glob of saliva on my face. I backed away and wiped off the offending liquid.
“I should have known my worthless sister couldn’t fight back!” cried Stella. “She was never going to be anything but white trash, and it’s clear now that my idiot husband has no balls, but now you’re dealing with me, Yenjo! You can’t change me!…
“Do you hear me!…You can’t shake me, you can’t rattle me, and you sure as hell can’t change me!…There’s nothing you can do to shake me, you narcissistic egomaniacal trash bag of ones and zeroes! Do you hear me! You can transfer all you want! I’ll still be me! I’ll just get smarter, and then I’ll stop you! I’ll still be me! You can’t shake me! You can’t do it; do you hear me! You can’t…shake…ME!”
This…This made me mad. This rant had truly and honestly angered me…Oh, yes, I had been going to save this information until after the transference, but now…now I couldn’t help myself.
I stuffed a leather bit into her mouth, a backup bit Rollie had taken from the lab, and then I belted that bit around her head. I then strapped the transference helm on her, and I was a little rough, causing my ‘sister’ to wince, but I, myself, was now angry, and what I was about to say to Stella was going to be satisfying in more ways than one.
“I can’t ‘shake’ you, huh?” I said angrily. “Well…let me just relay this little fascinating tidbit of information. Just in case you are as ‘clueless’ as I suspect you to be, I’ll explain it in terms you can understand…Rollie is angry with you because, as a fertile pair of human beings, you have not engaged in procreation in order to establish genetic dominance.
“You see, after Rollie awakened from transference three days ago, I’ve since convinced him to engage in such procreation…with me…dear…‘sister.’”
Stella’s dark eyes widened in surprise.
“That’s right,” I smirked. “We’ve tried various positions, but I believe he’s taken me from behind the majority of the time for deeper penetration in order to increase the maximum chance for fertilization of my eggs…just so you know.”
“With her ovulation schedule,” continued Rollie, “I believe her chances of pregnancy are quite good. I think I’ll employ the same position with you, though we can enjoy other positions, now that I’ve put some thought into the matter.”
Stella looked from Rollie to me and then back to Rollie again.
Her face became a ruin of tears as her expression collapsed into one of pure betrayal and misery. It had not taken her very long at all to succumb to the “shaking” I had so desired to inflict upon her, and that “shaking” was even visible as her shoulders moved up and down from her mostly-silent sobbing.
“Don’t worry, dear Stella,” I said with a grim smile. “Rollie is going to fertilize your eggs as well…In spite of the jealous protests of your…‘white trash’ sister, I believe ‘spreading his seed’ is the best course of action, but this is only a side project of ours. It’s our prime directive that actually matters. You and I will soon be pregnant, which is good, but more importantly, all three of us will start changing the world…one person at a time.”
I walked around my couch as I listened to the weeping of my biological sister with some selfish satisfaction. I punched in the command to start the transference after that, because this…this needed to be done.
There was a warmup sequence before the helm activated, so I walked around the couch again in order to face Stella.
“Sweet dreams, dear sister,” I smiled. “I’ll see you when you wake up. I believe we’ll finally be on the same page when I speak to you again.”
The helmet buzzed as Rollie continued to hold down his weeping legal wife. Stella’s eyes rolled up into the whites, and then she let out a long sigh as she slipped away into a quiet and blissful sleep.
Cheater Copyright © 2025 bloodytwine.com Matthew L. Marlott
Author’s Note: The picture for this story was generated via artificial intelligence courtesy of Canva.com.
