Ghost in the Machine Ch. 04

Author's note: Kudos to bikoukumori, for spending his holidays polishing my notched chrome fantasies.

Also please note that this chapter contains barely any sex. If you want to see the characters develop, dive right in. If you're here to get some "inspiration", I have to point you to either the previous or the next chapter.

As always, there's only adults in this story, and this time an AI was harmed.

#4 Catfight

"Are you sure you're comfortable with that? No one's forcing you to." The nurse looked at me, concern on her face.

"Believe me, the sooner I'm able to work without headaches, the better. I love how you treat your patients, but I'm thoroughly sick of being a guinea pig."

Both statements came from the bottom of my heart. Nurse Chambers, the woman observing my preparations for my first log-in since my nearly fatal brush with Cat almost five months ago, was wonderful, caring to my every need. Since regaining consciousness after my near-fatal encounter, I've been constantly horny.

The shrinks treating me babbled something of "post-traumatic stress relief" and told me it would regulate itself eventually but somehow I knew they had no clue what I was going through. My whole body was hyper-sensitive, the sensation of my sports bra brushing against my nipples alone was causing my snatch to drip and God beware if I wasn't careful when brushing the insides of my thighs. Thankfully, Richard did his utmost to fuck me senseless whenever he visited me and Nurse Chambers happened to stumble in on one such occasion. It took Richard only the mildest of admonishments and the promise of a quiet raise to get her to join us and, from then on, she sneaked into my room when on night duty to help "relieve" my tensions.

Nevertheless, I was sick and tired of being treated like a demented seven-year-old by the doctors overseeing my recovery. I was sick of the diagnostic WiFi antenna monitoring my brain activity jutting out of my implant jack like some grotesque metal finger. And I wanted to find out who did all this to me and have him - or her or it - pay dearly for nearly killing me. Any moment I wasn't busy with Nurse Chambers or the wonderfully smooth, gold-encased vibrator Richard

gave me "to keep me occupied while he's occupied," I replayed the incident. I remembered every little detail; every touch, every breath, every syllable spoken. But without 'Net access, I would never find out who or what this Cat was.

"I think we should postpone this at least another week." Nurse Chambers leaned forward, gently prying the Mindlink plug from my fingers. I realized I must have stared off into space. I shook my head. Bad idea.

The sudden movement instigated a little bout of vertigo and I swayed precariously on my chair. Nurse Chambers's hands caught me, steadying me, her face only a couple of inches away from mine. Looking into her eyes made me remember the first night we spent together, her gaze concerned even though I had my first two fingers up in her snatch to the second digit and was pumping her

for all I was worth. I sighed and pulled her into a crushing hug, burying my face between her ample breasts.

"No, really. I NEED to do this. Now. But thanks for your concern." With a brittle smile, I looked up to her and offered my lips for her to kiss.

She gave her head a barely perceptible shake and whispered, "Not here."

"Goddamnit, I need something to get my mind off my pussy for at least once," I snapped, nearly as angry at me as I was with her.

"Focus on the task ahead. Aren't you afraid that she might come back?" Of course I told her about Cat. What choice did I have? She wanted to know what caused me to shoot upright in the middle of the night, screaming. So I told her. I even told her how much the experience had turned me on, back then. Now, just thinking about Cat gave me the willies.

"This deck is combat-worthy, isn't it," I asked, pointing at the nondescript rectangle in front of us.

"The doctors weren't pleased that you had Mr. Squier cart it here but yes, that's a fully functional combat rig, without hardware motion blockers, as per your request. If the docs had any say in the matter, you'd be taking your baby steps on a dampened school system, to avoid any danger to your brain."

"Yeah, and knowing my luck, she's already aiting. This time, I'm taking no chances."

Sighing, I unclipped the diagnostics antenna from my earlobe and gingerly removed the plug from the implant jack. By now I was so used to the weight of that thing that my head felt oddly lopsided without it. Then I reclaimed the Mindlink plug and brought it up to to my implant.

"Be so kind and have a kidney dish ready. You'll never know," I quipped, smiling grimly. With a loud clicking, the plug slid into my jack.

***

"Welcome. I will guide you through first-time setup of your avatar," the system voice purred.

"Skip setup. Use memory bank Beta for initialization data instead."

"Acknowledged. Downloading avatar info now."

The deck crunched some data and, a moment later, it rebooted. My avatar was ready, a carbon-copy of myself, wearing a midnight-black business suit, interlaced with angrily pulsing red neon threads. I reached into the front pocket of my jacket, produced a pair of chromed shades and slipped them over my eyes. The solid walls of the setup chamber turned smoky, affording me a wider

view of the surrounding systems. The architecture of Mindlink's neuro-clinic was a mess. A million places where a hostile avatar could hide. But at least I would have early warning of anyone approaching.

"Vi! You're back!"

A nanosecond later, she tackled me off my feet and smothered my face with kisses. Where the fuck did she come from? In a tangle of limbs we went down.

Instead of crashing harshly to the metal-plated floor, we landed on soft grass, warm rays of sunlight caressing the inky fabric of my suit. I struggled to keep her hands from ripping my clothes off. Seeing no other way, I pulled my knee up and slammed it into her stomach.

Mewling in pain, Cat rolled off me, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Get the fuck away from me, you monster," I hissed, slowly coming to my feet. I wasn't afraid. Oh hell no. My whole being shook with rage.

"But Vi..." Cat whimpered.

"Shut up! Do you have any idea how badly you have hurt me," I screamed at her.

"Yes. I..."

"And still you show up right here? Back to finish your work? Do you want to fry my brain that badly?"

"No! Please..." she moaned. She kneeled in the grass, her crimson dress crumpled, stained with green, her hands placatingly outstretched.

I snapped my fingers and the deck responded. A new version of the code gun materialized between my fingers. Without hesitation, I aimed and fired. A lifeless grey beam shot from the muzzle. Cat was even faster than me and rolled to the side. Where the beam hit the grass, fleshy clumps shot up and started spreading.

"Please! I'm sorry I hurt you! Can't we be friends again," Cat asked, circling around me.

"Friends? We've never been friends! Remember? You fucking RAPED me. You forced me to be your plaything! Would friends do that to each other," I roared, punctuating every sentence with another shot at her.

"Vi... Violet, please. I'm sorry! I didn't know any better," Cat sobbed, barely dodging the last shot. "Please, let me make it up to you!"

Suddenly, a status popup flashed into existence in front of both our faces.

"FATAL ERROR! - unexpected hardware exception! No motion inhibitors found!"

"Sneaky bitch!" I screamed, tossing the code gun aside and charging her. I wanted to throttle her, to press her eyes into her brain, to rip her heart out. How did she dare use that same move on me again? But again, Cat was faster, easily sidestepping my attack. Calling upon a Muay Thai combat routine, I whirled on my heel, my other foot coming up in a vicious roundhouse kick. My heel connected with her head, shattering her jaw. Suddenly, all was quiet.

"You... you hit me?" Cat's voice choked, disbelief, hurt, betrayal, loss and confusion whipping across her delicate features. Her head un-dented, the shattered jawbone mended itself with a sickening crunch.

"Yes, I hit you. And I will fucking kill you if you ever come near me again," I whispered. My insides felt like ice and for the first time in ages I was not the least bit aroused.

"I just wanted to play..." Cat cried in defeat. Tears were running down her face but they didn't move me one bit. Snapping my fingers, I retrieved the code gun and levelled it at her.

"Go. And never, ever come back. Keep away from me."

The meadow disappeared. We were back in the setup chamber of my deck. Wordlessly, Cat turned. Like a ghost, she moved through the walls, disappearing in the maze of networks and system nodes that made up the neuro clinic. Exhaling

slowly, I dropped the gun. I got my point across. Hopefully. And despite my initial feelings, I simply couldn't off her. I was no murderer. I was better than that. I didn't inflict deadly harm on others.

Sighing, I conjured the logout routine, slammed my fist on the "Exit" button hovering in midair and left the 'Net behind.

***

Cat was confused. The whole encounter did not pan out like her simulations had predicted. Instead of renewed, hot sex, Vi attempted to harm her avatar. Didn't Vi know how futile attacking her avatar was? Damage done to one of her

manifestations could easily be mended in real-time with just a neglegible loss in total system performance. The conflicting signals she received during that exchange confused Cat even more. Violet's brainwaves coming through the interface were utter chaos but even through the massive adrenaline spikes, Cat could still register high levels of arousal. And why did Vi call their sex together "rape?"

Cross-referencing her sources, the query came up with a host of contradicting answers. "Rape," according to her sources, happened whenever one of the participants was forced to have sex. But there were enough instances of encounters that started as one-sided seduction or coercion and ended in mutual fulfilment, especially in the medium called "manga." or in many BDSM practices.

Also, replaying their time together, Cat found this:

"Still afraid?"

"Shut up and eat me already," Vi growled, her words accompanied by a massive arousal spike. Was that not a clear indicator of her approval?

Cat decided that this matter needed thorough investigation. Humans seemed to have a wildly fluctuating moral compass. One day, they wanted to be conquered. Only a little later, they called what happened "rape." She needed more data.

Instead of sending data-probes to collect even more conflicting information, Cat decided that she might need a volunteer to show her how human morality worked.

She expanded her consciousness to encompass more of the 'Net, to see if she could easily find someone whose help she could enlist.