Jeri arrived just before 7 PM, late enough for the main staff to be gone but early enough that she could pass as one of the maintenance crew. Her fake ID got him through security, and a quick glance at the map and directory in the lobby confirmed that her target was exactly where her source said it was.

She moved through the corridors, carrying herself like someone who had every right to be there while carefully avoiding contact with anyone else. It was a knack she had that rarely failed her.

It didn’t fail her this time. Before long, she was at the door to the secure server room. After a quick glance up and down the hallway, she got out her lockpicking tools. It only took her a few seconds to open the door.

She stepped into a room containing several workstations. She sat down at a terminal with a prominent sign warning that proper clearance and authorization were required.

She had neither, of course, but she did have considerable hacking skills and an assortment of counter-security utilities. She took one of her “master keys” out of a belt pouch, inserted it into a data port, and began probing the system’s defenses.

A few minutes later, she was inside, with no sign that any intrusion alarms had been triggered. She located the “Project Spinnerclaw” data files she’d been hired to obtain. She typed a command to transfer them to her storage card, staring intently at the monitor to verify that she’d succeeded.

The screen lit up with a blazing jumble of colorful lights as strange wavering sounds poured from the speakers. Jeri tried to look away, but her eyes remained fixed on the dancing colors. She tried to close her eyes and couldn’t do that either. Her arms and legs also refused to obey when she tried to put her hands over her ears and get away.

She struggled against the compulsion to stare and listen. Just as she managed to squeeze her eyes shut and stagger to her feet, she felt something pressed to the back of her neck.

Jeri made it almost all the way to the door before her knees buckled under her. She growled a few angry curses before she blacked out.

-----

Alexis Mandor was feeling quite pleased with herself. The trap had worked perfectly.

Jeri Kerrison, freelance thief, spy, saboteur, and general nuisance, had taken the bait and come to steal the nonexistent “Project Spinnerclaw” right on schedule. She had instead triggered one of Mandotek’s real experimental projects -- a fast-acting hypnotic trance induction protocol. It only worked if the target was caught by surprise and wore off within fifteen seconds, but that was enough. Protected by earplugs and goggles, she’d been able to slap a tranq patch onto the intruder before she could recover.

Now, she was well and truly captured, secured to a padded platform by wrist and ankle cuffs. The helmet strapped to her head would soon deliver a more sophisticated and permanent induction.

Alexis watched and waited. The control helmet she wore provided a steady stream of telemetry, confirming that the preliminary stages of the process were proceeding smoothly. It would be a few minutes before she needed to pay close attention and take an active part in the proceedings.

She let herself daydream, remembering how she’d chosen her quarry. Street hackers tended to be loners, but most of them had at least a few close personal connections. Jeri, as far as anyone could tell, had none. She’d party when she got bored, she’d pick up a guy when she got horny, she’d contact the usual suspects for job leads when she needed money, but nobody really knew her personally. That made her a perfect subject. Nobody would notice her disappearing for a few days, and nobody would be concerned if her habits and preferences had changed when she reappeared.

She grinned as she admitted to herself that wasn’t the only reason for her selection. Out of the half-dozen candidates she’d considered, Jeri was one who pushed her buttons the hardest. She was just Alexis’s type, with a trim and athletic figure accentuated by petite but well-defined curves.

It occurred to her that she could have some fun with the contrast between Jeri’s tough girl look and the obedient mindset that was about to be imprinted onto her brain. She could train her new pet to present an assertive façade that would melt into meek docility on command. It would be like capturing and conquering her all over again every time she summoned her to bed....

Alexis’s train of thought was interrupted as her helmet signaled that Jeri was ready to receive her mental conditioning.

It was the moment of truth. She did a final double-check, then flipped the activation switch.

In a few moments, Jeri and Alexis would share a dream. Alexis would be in control, directing every action and scene and sensation. Jeri would be deeply immersed, every aspect of the experience enhanced by sensory amplification feedback.

Jeri would know that she was dreaming, but that knowledge would only lead her deeper into Alexis’s trap. She would believe that the dream was an expression of her own deepest desires, a perception that would be reinforced by strategically applied pleasure stimulation. Thus primed, she would not resist as those desires were imprinted onto her mind.

She would awaken with an irresistible longing to live the life she had dreamed about... the life of Alexis Mandor’s lesbian love slave.