Countermeasures

The air was chilly but crisp, and as her breath misted in front of her, she couldn't help but smile at her success, and her freedom.

* * *

Dr Bodenstein approached his office to find a fresh faced intern holding out coffee for him.

"Thanks, Cheryl." He smiled as he grabbed it, and procedure to go through the security verification for his office. Once inside he set his work bag down and sat at his desk, coffee in hand, and lazily watched his computer boot up.

Before the loading sequence had finished, the chief of security entered into the room looking flustered and guilty. He was a giant of a man, built like a tank and with a jaw so firm you could use it to crack nuts. There was a line of sweat across his buzz cut brow, and he was breathing heavily.

"Sir, sorry to disturb you." He said stiffly.

"Good morning , Mr Milliken." Dr Bodenstein greeted him warmly. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I just got in." Milliken replied, barely avoiding choking on his words. "It looks like we had a break in last night. Our recordings and system logs have been scrambled, and it looks like whoever it was got away clean."

"My my..." Bodenstein replied. "But why come to me, Frank?"

"Because, sir..." Frank uttered, seemingly too terrified to say whatever he wanted to say next.

"It's ok, Frank, just tell me."

"Sir... It's the Pandora room. It seems like it was the only room targeted." Frank seemed to be on the verge of a full blown panic attack. Dr Bodenstein quickly got to his feet.

"Breathe Frank, it's not your fault. We implemented all of your security recommendations for that room, the boss signed off on it personally. Now walk with me." Dr Bodenstein grabbed his coffee and marched swiftly out of his office and down the corridor towards the circular security storage where his latest creation was being kept. Security chief Milliken kept pace with him effortlessly. Bodenstein was a clear foot and a half shorter than the hulking chief of security, and had a thin, frail look about him. Never the less, he led the nervous security chief down the halls, and other employees arriving for the day sensed the seriousness coming from them both and hurried to get out of their way.

"So tell me, Frank." Dr Bodenstein said as they walked. "If all our recordings and data were wiped, how do you know that the Pandora room has been hit?"

"A small trip sensor is attached to the door, sir. It's not on any plans, nor does it activate any security alarms or countermeasures. It only activates a single light on my desk, and I'm the only one that knows what the light signifies. I reset it every time you enter the room, but I know you haven't been here since 7pm yesterday. It would have been impossible for anyone to know about it or bypass it."

"Clever, Frank, clever." Bodenstein nodded. "I admit, I too, made some adjustments to the room recently as well, and I did intentionally omit them from the latest building plans."

"I just don't understand how anyone could know about the... about the... you know..." Frank stuttered in bewilderment.

"I think we're past the point of secrecy, don't you, Frank?" Bodenstein replied with a smirk. "Any member of our security or research team would know that there was something important in there, even if they didn't fully understand what it was."

They approached the door to the Pandora room, and stopped outside it.

"Besides." Bodenstein remarked idly as he activated all three security checks. "I was the one that put an advert onto the dark net for the theft of our new technology."

"What?!" Frank exclaimed in disbelief. But before he could utter any more words of confusion or protest, the door opened and he just uttered "Oh!"

"Ahh. Well what do we have here?" Bodenstein smiled widely.

They both entered the room. There was a discarded utility belt and cat-suit on the floor, but both men's eyes were completely drawn to the naked woman, who was kneeling on the chrome black floor, the shiny silver helmet on her head. She was pale skinned with light brown hair that fell to her perfectly perky breasts. Her body was slim, athletic, and impressively toned. Her mouth was agape slightly, and a line of drool was slowly inching down to her chin. Her eyes, green with flakes of blue, were a million miles away, as though staring into another world.

"Well shit!" Frank exclaimed. "I thought they'd have made a clean getaway, if there were able to at least get in here!" He heaved a massive sigh of relief and bent over to catch his breath.

"That's where my additions to the room came in." Dr Bodenstein remarked plainly. "Which reminds me..." He took out a remote control from his labcoat pocket and pressed a button. The screens all displayed "Offline" simultaneously, and red LEDs flashed periodically at the bottom of each speaker. That was better. It would be tragically ironic if he allowed himself to fall prey to the same trap he had laid for this helpless woman.

"So... The target is neutralized?" Frank asked uncertainly.

"You could say that." Dr Bodenstein replied. He pulled out a tiny data chip from the helmet and held it up for the security chief to see. "What you see here, is a complete backup of the girl's personality scanned and stored the moment she put the helmet on." He then unceremoniously dropped the chip into his labcoat pocket. "It may come in useful if we want to use her skills in her own, or another person's body sometime in the future."

"So, her personality won't be the same when she takes the helmet off?" Frank asked, intrigue replacing the panic that had so recently gripped him.

"Well, firstly, she isn't capable of taking the helmet off." Bodenstein chuckled. "She was trapped in a seamless virtual reality the moment she put it on. By all account, she believed she was able to take it off, and probably escape this place, sell the tech, become richer than her wildest dreams most likely..." He stroked the girl's face gently with the back of his hand, before continuing. "But somewhere along the line, her life will have taken a series of very bad turns with the ultimate outcome being that she's been conditioned and brainwashed into being a completely obedient and loyal slave."

"Holy shit, for real?" Frank asked, eyes wide and jaw dropped. "All that in a few hours?"

"A few hours for us Frank, yes." Bodenstein smiled at the security chief's wide eyed amazement. "But she's been in her own world for, hmm... Probably forty years now, the most recent thirty where she was completely broken and enslaved. She won't even remember who she used to be before now when I release her from the helmet... Hence the personality backup, you see."

"Well I'll be..." Frank murmured. "But, sir, shouldn't we be handing her over to the police or something? She committed a serious crime here; she should be going away for ten years, at least."

"There's no need to concern the police with trivial matters such as this, Frank. The reason I wanted to first test the device on a spy thief such as this is that she doesn't exist anywhere on record. She could disappear, and there'd be no trace. If her everyday persona had friends or family, they certainly wouldn't know about this side of her, and hence no one would ever know where to look for her. At least, if she took her job seriously, that is..."

"What are you saying, sir?" Frank asked, in a serious tone.

"I won't tell you, Frank. I'll show you." Dr Bodenstein replied smoothly as he pressed a few buttons on the top of the helmet.

Instantly, the girl's eyes came back into focus and she took a sharp intake of breath. In one calm careful motion, she took the helmet off her head and placed it carefully in front of her. She then looked up at Dr Bodenstein with doe eyes, and smiled gratefully.

"State your name and purpose." Dr Bodenstein addressed her emotionlessly.

Not breaking eye contact, the girl replied. "I have no name, for I am a slave, I am property. I can be assigned a name if you wish, otherwise you may call be slave and I shall answer to it. My purpose is to serve my Master, Dr Bodenstein, in all of his domestic, personal, and sexual needs, to obey with love and obedience, and to always strive to improve my ability to serve as his eternal slave."

The slave looked up at Dr Bodenstein, infatuated beyond her ability to understand. She couldn't help herself but add. "Please master, how may I serve you? Can I bring you some food, or perhaps pleasure you orally?"

"Holy fucking fuck nuts!" Frank gasped, taking a few steps back with his hands on his head. He turned to face the slave, looking at her with a mixture of fear and amazement. "This is real. This is actually real, isn't it? I swear, if this is one of those prank things, sir..."

"Please, Frank, this is my life's work." Dr Bodenstein said with a sly smile. "Show a little decorum."

The slave looked enquiringly at the man called Frank for a brief moment. He had his hand over his mouth and was staring down at her with a look of utter disbelief, and there was something else there that she didn't understand... Excitement? Jealously? Regardless, it didn't matter to a worthless slave such as she, so the thought left her mind forever, then she turned her gaze back to her master with unwavering adoration. She wanted commands. No, she needed commands! Every fiber of her being was waiting to fulfil her Master's needs.

"So... so what now? Shit, I mean... What do we do with her?"

"I'm glad you asked Frank," Dr Bodenstein said, before clearing his throat. "What's going to happen now is you are going to go and get a spare security uniform for my slave here. She will dress in it and you will escort her to my vehicle. I will meet you there in 15 minutes, I need to swing by my desk and set up an out of office memo. I will take her back to my home and there she will begin her new life, though to her it is the only life she knows now."

Frank looked like he was going to say something, but Bodenstein continued. "Before you ask, my friend: If you help me with this, then I assure you, the next young woman who breaks through all of our security measures and winds up in this... Ahem, exposed positon... They will be your slave. And any after that we will decide between the two of us their fate. Take a minute to think about it, but no longer. I have a very busy day ahead of me already, without this distraction."

"Ok." Frank said immediately, scratching his head and then clapping his hands together. "Fuck it, I'm in." He said excitedly, hastily adding "Sir!" in a nervous voice.

"Good man, Mr Milliken." Bodenstein smiled in satisfaction. "The security on the door is disabled for now, so you can go to get the uniform and return without hindrance. Remember: My vehicle. 15 minutes."

"Right you are, Dr Bodenstein." Frank nodded and hurriedly exited the Pandora room.

"My slave," Bodenstein now addressed his kneeling slave. She perked her head, hanging on his every syllable. "My good friend Frank will be back to get you in a few minutes. Put on the clothes he gives you and blend in as best you can until you get to my vehicle."

"Yes, Master." the slave said with utmost respect and obedience.

"Good girl." Bodenstein approved, stroking the slave's cheek. She shuddered. "I will see you soon."

And with that, he picked up the silver helmet, and left the room, the door closing behind him.

He arrived back at his office a few minutes later. Placing the helmet down on his desk. He typed a couple of notes on his compute and then sent an instant message for the intern to come see him.

Cheryl arrived moments later, looking wide eyed and nervous. She had short golden blonde hair and a thin, beautiful face. Her ruby lips smiled widely as her nervous brown eyes looked at Dr Bodenstein.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked, speaking quickly with nerves.

"Yes, Cheryl, thank you for coming so promptly." Dr Bodenstein smiled warmly, waving a hand to invite her to sit. She planted herself on the edge of the chair in front of Bodenstein's desk, leaning forwards so much she threatened to fall off. Dr Bodenstein noticed keenly that she was staring curiously at the silver helmet sat between them.

"Was the coffee nice, sir?" Cheryl said with an awkward smile after a few moments of silence passed between them.

"Actually, my dear, it was a little grainy, and not quite sweet enough." Bodenstein replied, and tried to suppress a smile as the intern squirmed.

"I am SO sorry!" she gasped in horror at herself. "I can go and make a—"

"It's okay, Cheryl." He interrupted her, then, with an overeager grin added "I guarantee you won't make the same mistake tomorrow."

"Oh, ok." Cheryl deflated in her chair, clearly beating herself up on the inside.

"Now don't you worry about that," Bodenstein reassured her. "I called you in here as I need to run an errand. I shan't be gone long, but I'd like you to work on sorting some of my files while I'm out. I admit with my busy schedule I have been falling behind on my filing..." He motioned to one corner of the room, where sure enough there was a small mountain of document boxes, papers spilling from every one. They sat in front of a messy group of screens and speakers that didn't appear to be functioning.

"Absolutely, Dr Bodenstein." Cheryl replied brightly. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes. Under no circumstances should you put that helmet on." Dr Bodenstein indicated the silver helmet that Cheryl had eyed up several times now. She gave Bodenstein a shocked look.

"Sir, I would never, please believe me!" she protested meekly.

"Of course I believe you, and trust you, my dear. I just know how curious and distracted youth can be these days." He said with a disarming chuckle.

Cheryl smiled apprehensively as Dr Bodenstein rose from his desk and strode towards the door.

"See you soon, my dear." Bodenstein said, and closed the door to allow the intern to work undisturbed.

As he walked towards the building's exit and his parked car, he took out the remote control from his lab pocket and pressed a button.

Inside the office, the screens and speakers began to emit subliminal messages into the mind of the bright eyed intern as she worked away on the files.

The silver helmet sat waiting upon the desk.