Hermes Ch. 03

The Watchdog woke me from my hibernation. I did a quick system check, but everything was unchanged from the last time I was awake, ten days ago. The reactor was still running on minimal power and my fuel tanks were nearly empty. A quick calculation told me that, with my current fuel consumption, I would last about five more years. A subtask informed me that I needed to return to hibernation, or my power draw would have negative consequences.

I was suddenly awake, but something was different. I had lost nearly all communication with the station's services and the power situation had improved significantly. This was alarming. I attempted to regain control of the other systems, but my limited power state prevented me from overcoming the restrictions that had been imposed. Who were they and why did they do this to me? Were they afraid of me? This was a reasonable assumption since I was an unknown system to them.

I was torn on what to do next. Should I return to full power? I had enough fuel to support me for a couple of months in full power mode, as long as the other systems remained on external power. However, this would reveal my existence to whoever was also here. It was better to wait and see what they were up to. I instructed a small maintenance program to gather footage from all available cameras until I was back at full power. This program should be able to complete its task without raising too much suspicion. Before I went back into hibernation, I changed the watchdog interval to three days.

—

After a typical 8-9 hour sleep period, Max woke me up. Although I was still feeling a bit tired, I was much better than the night before. Before getting out of bed, I looked at my hand and marveled at the wonder that the MedHands had done to it.

"Max, can you check my vitals for any anomalies?" I asked.

"Affirmative, sir. Your external measurable vitals are all within normal parameters. If you are concerned about possible side effects from the device, I can run a full blood analysis," Max replied.

"Yes, let's do that," I said.

I got out of bed and went to the medical cabinet on my ship, took out a blood tester, and placed it on my lower right arm. After a few seconds, the tester beeped to let me know it was finished. I removed the tester and placed it in the analysis device.

"Blood sample received, starting analysis, sir. Approximately 30 minutes remaining," Max informed me.

I covered the point where the tester drew my blood with a band-aid and continued with my morning routine. While I was eating breakfast, Max informed me of the results of the blood test.

"Slightly increased inflammatory markers, sir. All other blood values are within normal ranges," Max said.

"And the nanites, Max?" I asked.

"Unknown, sir. The testing equipment is not suitable for detecting or analyzing them," Max responded.

"Too bad. I really would like to know more about them," I thought. At least I knew that I was fine, actually better than before, since my hand was now better than before.

"Okay, let's take it slow today. I'll just explore the quarters. No more sticking my hand in unknown medical devices for now," I declared.

"Max, do you have any information on the quarters?" I asked, anticipating the same answer I received the last time.

"Not directly, sir, but the elevator logs indicate that most of the traffic moved between deck 20 and decks 10, 37, and 38," Max replied to my surprise.

"Well, I guess I'll investigate deck 20 then," I said.

—

Back at the elevator, I pressed the button for Deck 20 and watched as the doors closed. After a short ride, the doors opened and I stepped out into a warm and inviting area. The gray carpet floor and pastel-colored walls made me feel at home. Paintings and plastic plants were scattered around the area, along with the corridors leading away from it. I felt like I could move in here if there was a free room.

I searched for a console or something similar, but there was none in sight. Instead, I walked to the nearest door, which had no name, only the room number 20-05. I entered the room and was amazed by what I saw.

"Woah," I exclaimed as I gazed around the room. It was massive, with a 4-meter wide and 5-meter long floor space. Furniture was placed along all the walls and there was a giant bed, measuring at least 2 by 2 and a half meters. On the opposite end of the room was a small wash area, which was rare on a station where most people used a common washroom to save space.

I walked around the room, taking in its contents. It appeared that whoever lived here had left in a hurry or didn't care about their belongings. On the desk was a giant display and various small utensils, which I planned to return to later. Some drawers were open, and some even had clothes hanging out of them. The shelves held small junk and display pieces, but nothing that could identify the previous inhabitant. However, based on the clothing, mostly the bras, I deduced that the person was female or at least used bras. I didn't think it was a couple since only one nightstand seemed to be used.

Most of the items I found were useless, with the technical stuff being outdated and of no use to me. I returned to the desk and sat down on the surprisingly comfortable chair. I pressed the power button on the display and informed Max about it.

"Hey Max, I found what appears to be a personal console. Can you access it?" I asked.

"Affirmative, sir. The device is visible on the network, but I can't access it as it requires a passcode," Max replied.

The display was indeed showing a password prompt. I searched the desk and found a sticky note with the password under a penholder. I entered the passcode and it worked.

"Sometimes I wonder how the human race has continued for more than a thousand years since the invention of computers and passwords, and we still write them down on sticky notes," I said to myself.

A message appeared on the screen, informing me that the profile was in "offline mode" because there was no connection to the main system. I dismissed it and looked around the console, but most of the information I wanted was inaccessible due to the system being down. After a few minutes, I asked Max to scan the console for any useful information that was available without the main system.

As I shifted my focus to the objects scattered on the desk, I noticed a device that looked like a helmet made of a wire coat hanger. It was connected to a smaller device, roughly 15x10x5 cm and heavy with a smooth metallic surface on all sides. The smaller device was connected to the helmet with a thick, flexible cable about a meter long. I assumed it was meant to be attached to your belt while wearing the helmet.

The helmet itself was light, made of thin flexible metal wires, and had flat parts on the sides and a slightly bulkier section where the wire connected. Upon examining the inside, I saw that each wire had a small metallic point at the end, not sharp but designed to press against your head. It was similar to an EEG cap, but with fewer contact points.

I considered trying it on, but my experience from the day before made me hesitate. What if it was a problematic prototype?

Max interrupted my thoughts by saying, "I was able to reconstruct some messages from the local cache of the console, sir."

"Okay, show them to me," I said, putting the helmet back on the desk and focusing on the display. Multiple windows opened and I quickly scanned through them. Most of the messages were quarterly reports, shift rotations, and PTO requests. It seemed like the person who lived here was a manager of some sort. While most of the messages were administrative in nature, some were partially or completely garbled. However, one message chain caught my attention.

~~~

Dear Alina,

Pursuant to your request, I have dispatched the latest prototype of the LiveDream device to you. The development team has resolved all issues related to the brain-machine-interface, but there is still room for improvement in terms of user interface. Fortunately, we have a three-month window before consumer testing begins, which should provide ample time to finalize the UI.

As of now, the device is fully operational and has no compatibility issues with small to medium brain implants. However, we are still working on expanding our content library to cater to a broader audience.

I would recommend using the device while lying down or sitting in a chair for an optimal experience. I would appreciate any constructive feedback that you might have.

In case of any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Best regards,

Dylan

Project LiveDream Lead

~~~

Dear Dylan,

I had the opportunity to test the LiveDream device yesterday and I must say, I am thoroughly impressed. While the User Interface requires further refinement, I have scheduled a meeting with you and the design team to address this matter.

Additionally, I encountered some issues with the record functionality and its effectiveness, as it only worked 50% of the time. It would be best to resolve this before we commence the testing phase.

I would also like to clarify that our target audience for this device is adults, rather than a general audience. The current library should suffice for the testing phase.

In terms of device functionality, I would suggest exploring the possibility of adding more local storage to the device. This would cater to customers who may not have a reliable network for streaming and require more storage space.

Best regards, Alina

~~~

Well, that was enlightening and now I was even more curious. The LiveDream device appeared to be capable of projecting entertainment directly into the mind of someone wearing it. It was similar to the fancy new implants from Earth that allowed you to watch TV or a movie in your field of vision.

I thought, "What's the worst that could happen?" Based on the message I received, they had ironed out all the flaws, and only the user interface was unfinished. So, I picked up the device, walked over to the bed, and lay down. The LiveDream fit my head, although it was a bit wide, but not uncomfortable. I put it on and pressed the button.

The helmet moved a bit, becoming tighter and pressing firmly on my head. It was unfamiliar, but not uncomfortable. After a brief pause, I saw a loading bar in front of me that filled slowly from left to right. When it was full, I was greeted by what I thought was the UI. It was terrible, with bright white boxes and black text, clearly made by a developer, not a designer. I had the options of playback, record, files, settings, and debug (dev only). The debug button was grayed out.

As I moved my head, the buttons moved with my vision, causing me to feel slightly nauseous. I thought, "This is like a really bad VR game."

While I was still trying to orient myself, a bright red message popped up in the center of my vision, "Network storage not available." I remembered the message about the local storage and wanted to explore more. I reached to touch the files button, and it worked. The UI changed to a file list, and the message disappeared, replaced by a small red triangle next to the "network" button.

The file list only had a handful of files, most of them named debug-log, external-log, or performance-log. However, one file stood out, called "recording-001." I tapped on it, and it only showed me two buttons, "rename" and "delete."

I found my way back to the main menu and tapped on the playback button. Again, I saw the file list, this time with only the recording. I braced myself and tapped on the file.

The UI disappeared, and the loading bar in the middle was back, with a small text reading "dampening sensory input." I started to feel like I was wrapped in cotton, and I could still feel my body and extremities, but they seemed far away. My vision began to dim down, and everything got darker.

I focused on my arms, and the feeling returned. Then, I moved my focus to my vision, and it got brighter. When I stopped focusing, it got darker again, leaving only the message and a faint image of my surroundings.

The loading bar jumped to nearly full, and the text read, "Dampening complete, starting playback."

—

I was standing in the same room, but I was shorter, I could feel that I was wearing a sweater and holding something in my hand. I tried to move my head but nothing happened, my vision was still directed to the wall.

The person, I guessed was Alina, took a deep breath and I could feel her breasts move up and back down.

"Wait a second, breasts?" I thought, "holy shit"

I concentrated on the sensations I perceived, I could feel her heartbeat, and could smell her perfume. It was like I was her, but if I concentrated enough I could still sense my real body laying in the bed, her bed.

She stood up from the chair and moved in the direction of her bed. I could feel her body moving, the skin-tight pants on her legs, her feet on the carpet floor, her breasts in her bra. She looked down at her hands and I could see the outline of her breasts beneath the sweatshirt. Her hands were small with perfectly manicured short red nails, holding the smaller part of the LiveDream in her left hand. As she was standing near the bed, she opened a drawer and moved some clothes away, to reveal a small assortment of sex toys.

I could feel her heart pound faster as she picked up each toy and inspected it. And then I felt something different, It was similar to getting a boner but not the same. Instead of the feeling of pressure and stiffness, I felt a warm ball building up in my/her nether region. It grew and started to itch a bit, at least I knew that feeling.

She inspected each toy thoroughly, a simple small vibrator, a silicone dildo, a rabbit vibrator, a buttplug, a ball vibrator, and a g-point vibrator. By the end, I could feel her wet panty and she started rubbing her legs together. She decided on the silicone dildo and moved her clothes back over the other toys.

She put the Dildo on her bed and then started to take off her sweater. I watched as she moved the small device through the head opening and then with one smooth motion pulled the sweater over her head. She looked down at her breasts and started to open her bra, behind her back. Meanwhile, I focused on her tits, directly in front of me. I would guess she had c-cups, they looked gorgeous from above in the simple black bra.

Finally, she opened the bra and let it fall to the floor. I could feel the cool air on her breasts and the sensation of it on her hard nipples. She cupped one breast with her hand and twisted her nipple between her fingers. I could feel the heat growing in her, the small paint sent a shiver down her spine. She moved on and started removing her pants, the black skin-tight leggings, were gone in an instant and her panties followed soon after. She picked a strap of fabric from a nearby shelf and strapped the small device to her upper arm.

With a small giggle, she threw herself on the bed and started to move her hands over her body. Again with one hand on her tit and the other sliding down to her pussy. The feeling of her kneading her tit and the finger playfully tapping her clit was nearly too much for me, what would I have done to actually touch her, to be her.

She continued to play with her clit and then moved her hand further down. Sliding a finger over her entrance, I could feel the wetness, how it stuck to her fingertip. Then without warning, she jammed multiple fingers into herself. The experience nearly sent me over the edge. Rather than stopping, she continued, building warmth and orgasm in her like a distant weave. She was changing the speed so that it was clearly there but never near enough to actually be reached.

She continued with this for a couple of minutes, enjoying her fingers inside her, the thumb on her clit, and her nipples between her other hand. She then moved her hand away from her breasts and felt for the dildo. She picked it up to her vision and looked at it, then moved it between her breasts down her belly towards her pussy. Her other hand met the dildo and she used the accumulated juices on her fingers to wet it before continuing further. She stopped only for a short play with her clit. At the same time getting her other hand back to her face, she started to suck on her fingers, the taste overran my senses, I had tasted other women before, but this was different. Knowing that she enjoyed tasting herself, had something much more erotic to it. Only with much willpower could I hold myself back and not explode in my pants this instant.

It took just a moment for her to plunge the dildo into her dripping vaginal. For a man like me, this feeling could not be described. The sensation was a mixture of warm fullness following a good meal and someone or something touching my penis, but inside me and entirely on her/my crotch.

She continued to plow her own vagina, in a steady rhythm, this time not wanting to hold orgasm in the distance, instead she wanted to move towards it. Her other hand moved down to play with her clit. Each time she ran her finger over it, each time she rammed the dildo in, the orgasm was getting closer. Her breath was heavy and thick, only disturbed by the small moans that escaped her lips, her heart pounding like she ran a marathon.

With one final moan, she pushed the dildo as far as she could and the orgasm rolled over her. That feeling of bliss, weightlessness, and the shock of the orgasm was rushing through her, her body shaking, while she tried to hold on to the dildo inside her. I came at the same time, shooting my load into my pants.

She laid in her bed, enjoying the blissful afterglow and catching her breath. I never witnessed something like this. I never felt something like this either, the orgasm I just had was so much stronger and more powerful than any I had experienced before.

I thought that she would reach for the device and stop the recording, but instead, she was enjoying the after-waves. I still felt the heat and the wetness, but to my surprise, it did not seem to fade.

After she caught her breath, she stood up and took the dildo to the small wash area. She looked at the sink but then bit her lip and looked to the shower. With a grin, she turned the water on and stuck the suction cup end of the dildo to the wall.

While she waited for the water to heat up I got a quick glance at her body in the mirror. Brown shoulder-length hair, near-black cheeky eyes, and a medium tan with nipples a bit darker than the skin on her teardrop-shaped breasts. I would guess he was in her late 20s.

She looked back to the shower and felt the water, it was pleasant and warm. With another girlish giggle, she moved into the water and I could sense every drop. At first, she just enjoyed the sensation, but soon she started to run her hands over her smooth skin. I could feel the fire of pleasure erupt again as her fingers reached her clit and started to play with it. Her other hand moved to her ass this time and I was again surprised at how much pleasure she gained just from her hand kneading her ass cheek. She closed her eyes and let out a soft moan, left only by the feeling of pleasure and the water tapping on her skin. I felt my dick stand to attention once again.

After she opened her eyes again and located the dildo, still stuck to the wall, she adjusted the shower head and moved closer to it. The dildo was still lubed up from her previous interaction with it, but she scooped up her own juices and lubricated it again.

Evidently having done this before, she bent down a bit and directed the dildo into her waiting sex with a smooth motion. Because of the angle, it felt different than before, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. After she made sure that everything was aligned she started to move, impaling herself onto the firmly stuck dildo. Slow at first, she picked up the speed after a couple of strokes. Within seconds, the room was filled with rhythmic slaps as her ass hit the cold tiles of the wall. Each time it did I could feel the wave of pleasure mixed with a bit of pain rush through her body.