Artificial Happiness

Robert kept up his pleasuring until the wave of exhilaration had passed. Afterwards he ascended along her body until they were face to face.

"That was amazing," Lisa praised with sparkling eyes.

Robert's desire for her was so intense it was hardly bearable.

"Are you ready for the next step?" he whispered.

She nodded. Robert aligned the tip of his erection with her opening. For a moment he let it rest there, savoring the suspense. He entered her slowly while keeping his eyes on her face, studying her reactions. It was tight but plenty of lubrication made him slide in smoothly. She winced a little when he encountered some more resistance but before Robert could even think of stopping, she grabbed his backside and kept him from retreating. With a gentle pull and an encouraging smile she urged him to proceed. So he did; until their groins met. Lisa let out a long sigh while he closed the last remaining distance. Her face was drawn into an expression of bliss, eyes closed and mouth wide open. Robert found the face of pleasure incredibly arousing.

Meanwhile the satisfaction he received from having his dick squeezed by the woman's insides was very fulfilling as well. He still craved for more though. When he was sure Lisa was comfortable with it, he started moving; slowly at first, withdrawing just a few centimeters before pushing forward again. When the only responses it caused were positive ones, he increased his tempo and range of motion. Soon he was pounding away at a brisk pace, building up their mutual joy. On an impulse he leaned down and engaged in a long, passionate kiss. Their bodies were moving against each other almost on their own.

The pleasure Robert felt outmatched all his previous experiences by a huge margin. That inevitably meant that it wouldn't last for long of course. His need for release made him speed up even further. Unable to hold back any longer he ejaculated with a final deep thrust. He kept his hips pressed tightly against Lisa's while shooting multiple bursts of cum into her.

Afterwards they kept lying in each other's arms for some time. Robert could have stayed like that for hours. That wouldn't be possible of course. If they didn't return to the station with the next shuttle, their absence would almost certainly be noticed. The company would probably find out what they had been up to and then... then what? What would their superiors do? Was there a plan for such a scenario? They hadn't broken any official rules. Nonetheless they were practically the property of VRW; more equipment than employees. A Worker who was no longer controlled by the CERS could probably not be considered as reliable anymore. Equipment which didn't work reliably was considered defective. Defective equipment was usually discarded. Would that also apply to Workers? Would they just be discarded? What would that even mean?

These thoughts were terrifying and the longer Robert dwelled on them the darker they became. Only when he heard Lisa's voice he was able to wrest his mind from the disconcerting topic.

"We should get cleaned up and head back to the shuttle," she proposed and untangling herself from her lover.

Just like the rest of the hotel room, the bathroom was nothing special in relation to general standards. To the Workers who were used to sharing sanitary facilities with a legion of others, it was pure luxury. The shower cabin could easily accommodate two persons and the idea of showering together came naturally. Just as naturally the circumstance of having their naked, wet bodies close to each other led to more sexual exploration.

The delighting activities briefly absolved Robert from his worries, but the distraction was short-lived. Soon after he stepped out of the shower his mood descended again. It only got worse when the pair was back to being dressed in Worker uniforms and on the way through the commercial district toward the shuttle. The more he pondered, the more Robert realized that it was not just the prospect of punishment which frightened him. It was also the idea of losing all of the beautiful things he had enjoyed on this delightful trip to Mars: the freedom, the excitement, the conversations, the sex, the state of mind and most of all Lisa. He just couldn't bear the thought of abstaining from all of this.

For the first time in his life, the thought of continuing to work in the factory for the rest of his life, the central purpose of his existence, caused Robert dread. The company which had been his primary source of happiness for so long now seemed to loom like a shadow over him. The space station which was the only home he had ever known appeared more like a prison, to which he inevitably had to return.

A sideward glance to Lisa walking next to him proved that she was not plagued by similar sorrows. Her entire body language seemed to radiate a sincere happiness. She showed him a merry smile, which instilled some hope. He saw an obvious explanation for why her thoughts weren't as troubled as his: she hadn't ventured as deep into the mental realm of the Naturals as Robert had; not yet. His CERS alterations had simply taken him too far away from the simple, carefree world of a Worker. The issues which haunted him were those of Naturals; confusing, scary and pointless. All he had to do was find a more agreeable compromise of CERS settings; then he could be happy with his life. At least that's what he told himself.

When they reached the gateway to the shuttle, Robert and Lisa were prompted for some verification that they were eligible for going to Zukunftfabrik. A brief scanning of their implants showed that they were VRW employees and granted them access. A few minutes later the shuttle rose to the sky, bringing the two Worker's field trip to an end.

10

Lisa awoke to a choked scream. The distressed cry was not her own; it originated from the person next to her. That realization was almost as startling as the unexpected noise itself. She was still not used to sleeping next to someone else. 23 nights had passed since she had started her sexual relationship with Robert and they had slept in the same bed for more than half of them, but it still felt strangely unfamiliar. The first few evenings they had always returned to their individuals rooms, in fear of someone noticing their affair. Those worries had turned out to be unfounded. The employee quarters were not monitored in any way, no Naturals ever went there and the Workers just didn't care. Factory staff was generally conditioned to mind their own business. Even if one of them did realize that there was someone coming out of the wrong room in the morning, the CERS would not promote the idea of putting a lot of thought into it.

Turning around she found Robert lying on his back, with eyes wide open and breathing heavily.

"Another bad dream?" she asked. He nodded. This had happened twice before.

The concept of dreaming was still somewhat strange to her. Workers usually didn't dream; or if they did, no memory of it remained. Messing around with the CERS had changed that. Lisa had only had some vague, short dreams with little substance. For Robert it seemed a lot more intense.

"Can you remember what happened?" she wanted to know.

"Not in all detail, but the essentials are still there," he told her. "Same as last time; our employers found out about as. They considered us defective and intended to discard us."

"What do you mean by discard?"

"They... put us in an airlock with nothing attached to the other side; without a space suit. The dream ended just when the airlock opened and we were sucked out into space."

"It was just a dream," Lisa ensured him. "They would never do something like that." Then with some uncertainty in her voice she added: "Would they?"

"I don't know," Robert confessed, "probably not." It didn't sound very convinced.

Lisa took a look at her watch. It was almost time to get up anyway, so she might as well start her day early.

"Are you coming?" she asked while putting on a shirt.

Robert twisted and turned in the bed, but made no real effort to get up. "Go ahead without me, I will follow in a minute or two."

They were both aware that it wouldn't be a minute, but Lisa knew better than to attempt persuading him. He was in one of his 'Natural configurations' as he called it. That inevitably came with some behavior which was very atypical for a Worker, including a decline in motivation and punctuality. Lisa left the man to his whims and headed for the sanitary facilities without him.

She knew that Robert wouldn't remain in this state for long; he never did. At some point he would get frustrated with his own thoughts and return to a mood closer to what was appropriate for a Worker. For some time he would be the perfect example of a dutiful employee again; until he would get bored with that as well. Lately Robert altered his configurations so often it became hard to keep track of his current personality. His CERS manipulations had definitely become more frequent and excessive since Lisa had learned about them. She was starting to worry for him. In his constant search for happiness he seemed to become ever less content with what he had at the moment. Of course this might just be normal for Naturals; she had no way of knowing.

For herself, Lisa had found a more or less constant configuration which she was comfortable with. It provided more freedom, decision-making and potential for pleasure than her old default, but didn't interfere much with her everyday work and schedule. At first she had also experimented a lot with different settings. That had been entertaining for a while, but the frequent changes made her feel unbalanced. She had learned that a more stable condition was preferable in the long run.

When she reached the sanitary facilities, Lisa decided that she wanted to shower. Since the reconfigurations she had started to find joy in very simple things which had provided no positive emotions before; among those were the comfort of a bed, the company of a dear person or the wet embrace of a shower. Looking forward to this small source of delight, she quickly undressed.

While she let the water run down her body, Lisa studied the other Workers around her. The sight of the naked bodies held a certain attraction. This was no surprise, as her sexual inhibitor and some other sensation restrictions were deactivated. By now she retained this setting permanently. Robert still only deactivated it sporadically. To him, sexual desires and arousal were an unwelcome distraction throughout the day. When they got hold of him and he had no opportunity to act upon those feelings, he got frustrated and moody. His sexuality was kind of like a hunger, a need to be satisfied. Standing in the shower with plenty of nude women might be appealing to him at first, but it would quickly become unbearable if he didn't get a release for his cravings.

For Lisa it was different. She could admire and appreciate the beauty of a human body without an intense need for anything more. Just watching the other Workers she was fully content with the situation. To the reason for this difference between her and Robert she was oblivious; it might have been a small variation in their configurations, the result of their individual personalities, a physiological cause or a combination of those factors. The only thing she could deduce was that obviously sexuality wasn't exactly the same for every human.

Lisa pondered this matter while she observed the unfamiliar man who had just occupied the space next to her. He was quite an imposing figure, tall and muscular with long limbs and a confident posture. Workers with this kind of physique were usually assigned to a job with a high proportion of manual labor in the factory. In Lisa's position she had few opportunities to interact with that type of employee. During shifts their paths rarely crossed and the CERS didn't facilitate relations which didn't provide any job-related benefits.

She couldn't help but take a glance at the man's groin. Befitting his body size, his penis was relatively large as well. It was distinctly above average and a bit larger than Robert's, at least in a flaccid state. It had Lisa wondering if the growth was strictly proportional to the basic measurements and if the dimensions had any influence on sexual capabilities and pleasure. These thoughts did spark some sexual sentiments. Still, studying his attractive body did not cause a strong desire to engage in sexual activities with the stranger. No matter his looks, in her mind the guy was just another random Worker. It was not the same she felt for Robert. Apparently there was more to this attraction than appearance and the fulfillment of physical needs.

Once the man Lisa had been inspecting finished and left, she decided it was time to do the same. She completed her routine and hurried to get to the office. Robert arrived more than an hour later. He made a distracted and lethargic impression, his mind apparently not fully in the present. Involuntarily, Lisa glanced in his direction every now and then, assessing his behavior. Their colleagues wouldn't notice anything unusual as long as he kept doing his job, but she knew the man well enough to know that his mind was somewhere else entirely. It seemed like he hadn't put his CERS into a state which was appropriate for work. That decision didn't really make sense to her. Without the emotional encouragements and rewards from his implants, the shift would just be hours of tedious labor; she had learned that during her own experiments. Robert knew that as well of course, probably better than her. Usually he had no reservations when it came to temporary changes of his mental state. His current condition just seemed irrational.

During lunch break Lisa confronted him about it. "You seem distracted," she began carefully, rousing Robert from absently poking his nutrient paste. "Haven't you adapted your settings?"

He shook his head. "No, I played around with my configuration a bit and just left it the way it was."

"That doesn't sound reasonable," she commented with a frown. Robert just shrugged.

"Is everything alright?" she pushed further. "Your behavior seems more and more erratic lately."

"Yeah, I'm fine." He sighed. "I think; I'm not sure. I just feel kind of... trapped; it's hard to explain."

"We could go to the commercial district again after our shift," Lisa proposed, hoping to cheer him up. The pair had made the trip to the surface two more times after their initial adventure on Mars. During the second one they had run out of money though. Without currency the place was a lot less entertaining so they hadn't been there since.

Robert shook his head. "It's not about being trapped on the station, more like being trapped in my own mind. Whatever settings I try, nothing really seems to fit, nothing feels right. This probably sounds crazy. I don't really understand it myself."

"Is there anything I can do?" Lisa asked with earnest concern in her voice.

Again he shook his head. "Thank you, but I'm afraid I will have to figure this out myself."

They spent the rest of their lunch in silence, left to their individual ponderings.

Approximately two hours after the break, Lisa first noticed the difference. It was very subtle, hardly recognizable at first; faint enough not to worry about. Over time the impression grew in intensity, becoming increasingly hard to ignore. What started as a mild distraction soon became an undeniable change in her mood as well as her thoughts. Suddenly she found it hard to concentrate on the work before her; that usually didn't happen. While practicing her occupation, she was always completely focused.

At first the nature of this alteration in her state of mind was unclear. Eventually she identified it as a feeling of desire, a longing for the satisfaction of physical needs. When bodily symptoms were added to the psychological ones there was no doubt anymore: She was experiencing arousal and a craving for gratification of sexual nature. This was not a new sensation anymore, but never before had it shown in the middle of her shift, so sudden and without any external stimulus. Neither had it ever been this prominent. It seemed to gain in intensity by the second, without any indication of stopping. A potent heat spread throughout her body, her breathing came slightly irregular and she even got a little dizzy. She felt moistness spreading in her underpants. The urge to touch herself or rub against something became almost irresistible.

Before her sexual urges threatened to overwhelm her, the strange condition of inexplicable arousal abruptly faded. With her mind clearing up almost immediately, the occurrence became a lot less mysterious. She looked over to Robert's workstation. The grin with which her colleague peered at her, confirmed the suspicion. A moment later the desire returned, even stronger than before. Now there was also some additional stimulation which almost felt like fingers softly brushing over her skin. Those touches were only in her mind, she was sure, but they were driving her crazy nonetheless.

"Robert!" she called, struggling to keep her voice steady. "Could you come over here for a moment, I need your assistance." The last word almost came out as a moan.

Robert complied but exhibited no semblance of haste. He strolled over to her workstation, broadly smiling from a face which was a mask of mock innocence. "How can I be of help?" he asked cheerfully. All of a sudden he was a completely different person, compared to the solemn, brooding character he had shown earlier. Obviously he had made some significant changes to his configuration.

"Could you have a look at this test script?" Lisa quickly came up with some pretext to make him come closer. "I think I am getting some false positives here and I can't seem to find the cause."

Clearly amused by the situation, Robert stepped next to her and pretended to look at the monitor.

"What are you doing to me?" Lisa demanded in a whisper when he was right next to her.

"Remember the CERS software plugin I installed two days ago?" he whispered.

She did. Robert had mentioned that he wanted to try out some CERS software he had acquired while on Venus. He had installed it on his CERS first and wanted to add it to hers as well. When she asked what it was, he had said it was a surprise and that he had to experiment with it a little before showing it to her. Having no reason to distrust him, she had given her consent. Now she regretted not being more persistent in her enquiry.

"I need a distraction right now, something fun. Trying out this new feature seems like an entertaining thing to do. It's quite amazing," Robert advertised the technological gimmick. "I can create a wireless connection between my UID and your CERS. Over this connection I can send commands to your implants. It cannot change your configuration, it just triggers some temporary functionality creating artificial sensations and influencing various body functions. Amazingly the hardware for all of this was already there; only the software had to be added in order to access those features. You wouldn't believe half the things this can be used for. It can even simulate physical contact."

"I noticed," Lisa commented.

"Oh that was just a small teaser of the full potential. It can get very specific." To prove the truth of his statement, Robert typed something on his UID. A moment later Lisa felt a powerful simulated touch which was very clearly located at her clitoris. A sudden wave of pleasure made her whole body shiver and she grabbed the workstation in front of her in an effort to stay upright. As abruptly as the sensation had taken a hold of her it was gone again, leaving only a faint afterglow of the satisfaction which had just washed over her.