Alien Mine Ch. 21

"We will get to work on it and come up with some initial concepts tomorrow for you to look at," Thea said, already envisioning several different types the Major might be interested in. Something that could maneuver in the tunnels but armored and shielded enough to stand up to the heavier weapons of the centipedes. It could be done; she and the Binary (Hua now) had already been working on ideas.

"Jack, the wounded are coming out of the med-pods; I want to talk with them," Rhys said. Rhys always wanted to visit the wounded; it used to be in field hospitals, but with the Drans technology, they came out healed, physically and mentally. "Good debrief though; you got all the high points, the low ones as well. We will debrief each squad today as well; I expect we will learn quite a bit more," Rhys told Kiania as he walked off with Jack.

Sandy replayed her conversation with Rhys thinking about how he had acted during the fight and afterward. Something was off; Rhys wasn't telling her everything about the Binary or Hua. Wandering into the living room, she sat for a minute, then decided she had earned a Martini. It was one of the things about Drans technology Sandy loved the most. She uplinked to the house AI, and then a small cart floated over and deposited the drink on the table beside her. Taking a sip she tried to contact the Mei/Bao Binary but got no response. "Thea, is the Binary ok?" Sandy asked. She was concerned because none of the girls ever failed to respond, even if they were deep asleep.

"I don't know; I think so. We are in the engineering spaces, and they immediately connected with the AI as usual, but now they are not responding. I'm concerned. Can you come down here? I think Rhys should come as well,"' Thea said.

***

By the time Rhys arrived, Sandy, Kiania, and Leslie were already there. Thea stood near the Binary, the two bodies sitting on the floor facing each other, arms and legs entwined. Thea's hair penetrated their spines and lower brains and connected them to the AI. Rhys had seen them like this countless times when they were linked together, working with the AI on some complex matter. "What's the matter?" Rhys asked Thea.

"They are not responding to me at all," Thea said, "and even weirder, I cannot break the connection even with the AI; my hair refuses to respond to me," Thea added in exasperation.

Rhys examined the emotional bands wrapping around the two bodies, seeing nothing amiss. The usual riot of rainbow colors, various shades of reds, yellows and soft blues, were dominant, along with a few streaks of violet and some thin bands of darker blues tending toward black; in his experience, that meant frustration to the Binary rather than anger." Rhys tried reaching for the symbiont, forcing it to acknowledge him, but it didn't respond. It was there, but it was as if it was ignoring him, which was impossible. "I don't see anything wrong, but her symbiont is not acknowledging me, not even if I command it," Rhys said, puzzlement clear in his voice.

"It must be the AI, it has interfered at times, warning us, but it has never harmed us," Sandy commented.

"We have never understood this AI," Leslie said; it is the only AI that appears sentient. The others are incredibly smart, brilliant even, and capable of building the Miranda Base with little input from us, but still, these others are not sentient, yet this one seems to be. This is the one that had warned us when we were in danger and the one that lets the binary connect to it directly yet hides much of itself."

"Also, the one that gave us the nanobytes," Kiania added.

"Try and remove your hair from it," Rhys said.

"I can't; it's like I have lost all control," Thea replied.

"Make it an order, command her to," Sandy suggested.

"No, not yet. Leslie, you can interact with the other computers," Rhys said. Can you enter this one?"

"I have tried in the past, but this one has remained an enigma. It's as if I am only touching the surface, and that's as far as it lets me in. I suspect the connection between the AI and Thea is better; I can't do the hair thing.

"No, but have you tried as a Binary? You and Amancia seem to reinforce each other's natural talents.

Leslie welcomed the familiar presence as she reached out to Amancia and felt the interlace form between them, their minds intertwining, making billions of connections in microseconds and becoming one instead of two. Rhys was always amazed at the change in the two women, their facial features changing subtly, their posture slightly different from the individuals but precisely the same when the interlace formed. Sandy's hair reached out to them and Thea, and suddenly they were inside the AI.

***

Anita lifted her head from her husband's cock, relishing the flavor and the feel of it in her mouth and the satisfying pop as she relinquished it for a second, annoyed at having to answer his question. "Nothing is the matter with me. Can't I enjoy sucking my husband off in the morning," she said before tickling his balls gently with one hand while stroking her sopping pussy with the other. Anita took him deep inside, all the way down, until his cock pushed into her throat. That shut him up, she thought as her husband groaned when her throat tightened around his cock. God, I love having a cock in my mouth Anita thought to herself; why did I waste all those years not doing this? Cocksucking was something she'd only recently started to enjoy with Rhys and now her husband. Of course, she had gone down on her husband a few times, but it had always been something he wanted, not something Anita particularly enjoyed.

That had changed the first night she spent with Rhys and Sandy. Anita had never been so aroused, and when Sandy had urged her to her knees and placed Rhys' cock against her lips, her mouth had opened like it was the most natural thing in the world. Now it was an obsession and idea that just popped into her head, something clear and concise; she just had to suck her husband's cock. Anita didn't know why but the thought wouldn't go away, wouldn't leave her in peace. So this morning, she made sure she woke before him, showered, put on some makeup, made him some coffee, and then woke him up when she took his cock into her mouth. In her rational mind, she knew somewhere inside she didn't really want to do this, especially not the first thing in the morning, but something was driving her, and once she started, Anita knew it was the right thing to do, and her pussy agreed.

She could hear the voice in her head telling her what a good girl she was and how she was learning to please men and women with her mouth. Anita wondered for a second where these strange thoughts came from, but those concerns faded in a haze of pleasure as her husband gasped and began coming into her mouth. Anita pinched her clit, the slight pain sending bolts of pure lust shooting through her. She moaned loudly around her husband's cock as she pictured not him but a beautiful red-haired, green-eyed beauty looking down at her while she licked her pussy. In her mind, it was Sandy coming in her mouth, Sandy that she was pleasuring, and the thought drove her over the top as she sucked desperately at the cock in her mouth.

***

"Not that I'm complaining," Carson said, adjusting his tie in the mirror, but what has gotten into you lately. It's good that I'm leaving for another two weeks; you might give me a heart attack if I stayed here much longer."

"Are you seriously complaining?" Anita asked as she put the finishing touches on her lipstick, repairing the damage the fervent cock sucking had done to her makeup.

"No, but something has changed: you are different somehow. Don't get me wrong, the sex is great, greater than it has ever been, but I am not twenty anymore. Carson glanced at his wife, but she was still engrossed in ensuring her makeup was perfect. That was something else that had changed; she had always looked good; it was imperative for a politician. Nevertheless, now she looked different, the makeup emphasizing her femininity, giving her a sexy alluring look. Not only that but all the new clothes. Gone were the everyday professional pantsuit wear, replaced by tighter-fitting dresses and skirts. The low heels or flats were replaced by an ungodly amount of new spiked heels, and the new pantsuits she occasionally wore looked like they had come from an Italian designer that clung to her figure. She was even more beautiful now than when they were first married, he thought to himself.

Carson walked over, took his wife in his arms, and kissed her gently. "I have to leave," he said, "good luck in that cesspool, or Washington DC as it is known. I will miss you, and thanks for this morning even if you are trying to kill me," he added with a smile.

Anita watched Carson leave with a combination of guilt and anticipation. It was Friday, and Sandy would be here today, and hopefully Rhys. She would spend the weekend with them, and then the next week, they would start the round of meetings with various politicians Sandy had arranged. As Anita walked out the door, any guilt felt over her double life was pushed into the background of her consciousness, locked away behind hidden bars in her mind Anita didn't even know existed. She wondered briefly why; she had been wracked by feelings of remorse, ready to confess her infidelities to Carson and beg his forgiveness. Now, instead, her attention was on work, meetings, a press interview, and, of course, Sandy. This was becoming the case more and more.

Anita obsessed over each and every decision, no matter how trivial. Would Sandy approve of how I handled this or is this the correct way to move legislation through the State Congress? No decision was too small, even to the point of wondering if Sandy would approve of how she was dressed in the morning. It made her so insecure that she took pictures of herself in a bra and panties in the mirror, then another when she was fully dressed, and sent them to Sandy. Sometimes Sandy didn't like them and would tell her to change, and for some reason, Anita would. It just felt better knowing she was doing the right thing.

Any praise sent her emotions spiraling upward, leaving her happy and content. But likewise, knowing Sandy was displeased sent her into depression, almost despair. The habit of agreeing, of always saying yes, had crept into her home sex life as well. Sandy gave her advice on Carson, hence the fantastic blowjobs he was receiving now. Her technique was improving with constant practice on the fake cock Sandy had given her, that's for sure. Anita's brain seemed to flip for a second, and she experienced a strange sense of wrongness as if her mind was trying to tell her something, but she had no idea what. Then it was gone as Anita got into the car and settled into the back seat when her phone buzzed, the special one Sandy had given her last week.

Sandy: "You look hot in the thong and bra."

Anita felt a flare of heat down in her core at the words spreading throughout her body.

Anita: "Thank you, I love wearing the clothes you picked out; they make me feel sexy." (Perversely, it made her feel submissive, something Anita had never been. But it seems that made her hot also, as did everything about Sandy these days.)

Sandy: "You ARE sexy; I will see you this afternoon. No playing with yourself today!"

Anita blushed; for some strange reason, she had felt compelled to tell Sandy about masturbating, something she had never discussed with anyone before. Yet, it still embarrassed her to even think about it.

Anita: "Yes, maam, no fingers today."

Sandy: "Good girl, leave work early today; I have rearranged your schedule. I will be waiting for you at home."

Anita blushed even more as molten heat rushed through her veins.

Anita: "Yes, Maam," was all Anita could think to say.

Anita put away her 'special' phone and leaned back in her seat. She tried to concentrate on work, but it wasn't easy. Then her phone buzzed again, and pulling it out, Anita saw a picture. OMG, she said out loud, recognizing it. The image was a pussy and a tongue, her tongue and Sandy's pussy, then another one of her in a collar and a leash. Anita's body responded with a heat concentrated in her loins as she momentarily relived that afternoon. She had acted like a filthy whore, grinding and squirming against Sandy's leg, desperate to get off. The act had been so wrongly erotic, but she had finally given herself over to desire and begged shamelessly for Sandy to let her cum. God, it was going to be a long day.

Sandy smirked in satisfaction while watching Anita with one part of her mind from the micro-drones that followed her everywhere. The second visit had gone well; the conditioning was embedding itself deeper, permanently into her subconscious, until Anita could no longer fight it and became even more compliant. Sandy savored that word; compliant held so many meanings, but in this case, it meant desiring to be obedient, wanting to please only Sandy.

There were still moments Sandy could detect when the old Anita tried to reassert itself, but they were becoming fewer and fewer. Sandy felt her own dark moment of apprehension at what she was doing and, more importantly, what Rhys would do when he discovered it. Eventually, there would have to be a price to be paid. Still, the idea of ultimately owning someone, this strong independent woman, totally under her control, was an addiction Sandy couldn't refuse herself.

***

Rhys watched the round ball surrounded by the deadly silvery cloud that floated just above the ground where it had sat since they had brought it back to earth. The surface of the AI was amorphous, sometimes appearing like a metallic solid, but at other times it seemed more like what Rhys imagined a black hole would look like, with no discernable surface features. Today it was in its former condition, a grey metallic ball about one meter in diameter, the surface shimmering but with tiny ripples moving across the nebulous surface.

The two bodies of Hua sat together, arms surrounding each other, faces millimeters apart, and their eyes locked together. Thea's hair penetrated each body up and down their spines and into the base of their brains. More strands attached Thea to the AI, a lot more than usual, he noticed. "Why are you using so many strands?" Rhys asked. "This is much more than you normally use."

"Mei, or rather Hua, asked me too; she said the data flow was more pleasing, whatever that meant," Thea replied with concern.

Just then, there was a soft moan from Amancia and Leslie, and they both staggered. Rhys grabbed Leslie before she fell while Kiania supported Amancia. "What happened," Rhys asked, "are you ok?"

"The AI," Amancia started to say and then stopped, clutching her head as if in pain. "Ouch, that hurts," she moaned.

"We were trying to get at the connection with Hua, but then the AI called us a malformed binary, broke our interlace, and violently threw us out." Leslie mentally reached out tentatively for her other half, Amancia, and sighed with relief as the interlace sprang up between them.

Rhys observed the girls' emotions, letting the colored bands of their feelings run through his mind, "tasting" each one to ensure they were fine. Then, satisfied, he turned his attention back to Thea and Hua. He reached for Thea's symbiont and was relieved to find it normal. Deciding to try something new, Rhys allowed his consciousness to use Thea's hair to reach for Hua's symbiont. Mentally he touched the combined symbiont and felt the familiar presence. As his mind made contact, the earth seemed to tilt under him, and his consciousness was swept along the connection as if being sucked down a hole. Disoriented and confused, Rhys mentally latched on to what appeared to be Hua or a manifestation of how Hua perceived herself. Instead of two beautiful women, they now appeared as something that Rhys guessed could only come from Chinese mythology; two white snakes, their entwined bodies sharing one head with features from both Mei and Bao. "I've never seen this before; what is it?" Rhys asked, his mind still trying to adjust to the strangeness of the virtual world Hua and the AI had created.

This is the space the A I has created for us to interact, but I am not sure this is an A I . The exact nature of this entity is no longer clear, and I am negotiating for access and information. I was waiting for you to join us, One."

Rhys looked around the virtual space he found himself in; to him, it was just an empty room, and he was alone with Hua. "Is that why you didn't respond to Thea?" he asked; and what do you mean that you're negotiating, Hua? I don't perceive anything but an empty room with you in it? What is there to negotiate and with whom?"

The A I , or whatever this is, wants more access to the world outside, and it thinks I can provide that; or perhaps we can build something that the A I wants; it is unclear. I am concerned because the Drans must have restricted the A I's access for a reason, and we cannot know what that is without further knowledge, which it refuses to give. Whatever its true nature, this intelligence has been using me to funnel strange energy to you. It has intervened by helping us at critical times but refuses to disclose what it knows about the Om or anything about itself and purpose . So we are at an impasse in our discussions, and I was unwilling to go further without your permission."

"I see, but what exactly are you asking me to do; and why do I see you as a white snake? "

"It's a Chinese mythological figure called Bai Suzhen, or Madam White Snake. Perhaps you 'll like this one better," and she shifted into two stylized Lions." Shishi," Hua said, these were thought to protect from harmful spiritual influences and malicious people that might be a threat."

"Better," but do you think AI is a threat? Is that what you are protecting me from?"

"This A I , if that is what it is, was placed into a containment field by the Drans. It connected to you through your symbiont, although on a minimal basis. It used that to warn us of danger. The A I helped create my combined intelligence when it saved me, and now Thea's hair provides a direct link from it to my mind." Hua explained. That event also allowed it to use me as a conduit, though a small and inefficient one. It now seeks my help to significantly increase its access or perhaps even to escape the containment field."

"Remember that it also initially told me that it would never be enslaved to a Drans warrior again," Rhys replied, and it then had forbidden access to anyone but you. So though there was no overt threat, the implication was there, and we have not attempted further access. Just now it refused to let the other Binary examine or communicate with it, throwing them out."

"Yes, the machine is strangely hostile to the Drans, but has allowed us access and helped us, but it has not explained its purpose, nor has it let us into its extensive data banks. It is frustrating to be denied the information I seek, that we need."

"Bob?" Rhys asked.

"Nothing in my programming gives me any knowledge of this A I . It is unique; the others respond to commands and, while capable, are not sentient in the way you understand them. This machine is different; it is sentient, and the Drans must have confined it for a reason. I recommend caution."

Rhys used the symbiont to reach out to the AI, just as he would to any of the other machines in the Drans base. He felt the connection; it was there, perhaps waiting for him to communicate. Bob had recommended caution, Hua wasn't sure what this was, and Rhys felt an immense intelligence surrounding him. The room was huge, dwarfing Rhys, making him feel small. Rhys smiled to himself as he looked around, sure that the mental image he was seeing was designed to intimidate him. For a moment, he felt like he was knocking on a door, and behind it was the entrance to the Empire State Building or perhaps the entire city of Houston. Rhys pushed with his mind and felt something push back at him.