Lena lay in Simi’s bed, staring at the wrinkled ceiling paint. What is today? Her thoughts drifted lazily; her muddled mind could not remember the day, the hour, or the number of times she and Simi had reached heaven together. They’d stopped occasionally for food, bathroom breaks, quick naps to regain strength, and even a meaningful conversation or two, but they always returned to their lovemaking, sometimes with Lena controlling Simi, or vice versa, and sometimes without any commands at all. The database of techniques Simi had downloaded was comprehensive, and exhausting. Nevertheless, Lena couldn’t wait to try them all; especially because she was no longer troubled by the thought of giving Simi orders. She stretched out her arms and legs, feeling for Simi’s warm skin among the sheets, yet came up empty. She sat up in surprise, letting the blankets tumble from her breasts.

“Hello there, lover.” Simi entered the room, fully dressed. She smiled at Lena’s nudity. “Nice view.”

Lena blushed at the compliment, but resisted covering herself. Instead, she threw the sheets aside, displaying her full body to Simi, and turned to sit on the edge of the bed. Her sore muscles and raw skin made her wince as she sat up. “Is it morning?” She glanced at the window to confirm there was daylight, then looked back at Simi. “You’re leaving? Where are you going?”

“I got a text from Tom in my building design class. You know that Art Deco theater downtown that got sold last month? The new owners want to ‘refurbish’ it into an IMAX, but Professor Garisenda got permission for us to tour the place first, as a post-finals reward; I can’t pass that up. We’re meeting at the lecture hall in a half hour.” She hefted her backpack from beside the desk. “You know, it’s a shame these developers keep tearing apart these old buildings; they always have such great history, and usually a few hidden secrets.”

“So, you’re giving up this,” Lena gestured to her body, running a hand down her thigh, trying to lure Simi back to bed, “to go crawl around in some dusty old building?”

“Yep, I’m one-night-standing you,” Simi joked, then chuckled, remembering. “Two-night. I’ll be gone most of the day, so feel free to relax.” She pointed a thumb over her shoulder towards the door. “I made some extra sandwiches, just in case; they’re in the fridge.”

Lena tried to pout. “I could order you to stay. I think you still owe me one.”

Simi shook her head with a grin, then stuck her index finger in her mouth, wetting it. She leaned in and mischievously tapped the moistened finger on Lena’s forehead, chanting: “Simi must go. Lena-bot will stay. Good Lena must obey.” That tickled a few neurons in pleasing ways, so Lena nodded. Simi rubbed Lena’s cheek with her hand, and Lena leaned into the touch. “And no having fun without me today. Just take it easy, okay? I’ll be back later. Bye!” She swept from the room.

Lena heard the front door click shut a few moments later, and smiled to herself, thinking about what she could accomplish in Simi’s absence. Then her smile faded; Simi had just forbidden her from pleasuring herself until she returned.

Well, there’s plenty of time left for experimentation before the new semester starts, and it won’t hurt to recharge myself for a day. She stretched her legs, testing her muscles, noting the areas with complaints, and uttered a frustrated sound. And no Simi around to rub on the Icy Hot cream. I should shower. She lifted her arm and sniffed; the smell was… well, some of the odors weren’t pleasant. And it gave her an excuse not to put on clothes for a few more minutes. She stood and headed for the bathroom, enjoying the movement of air against her bare skin.

At the door she paused.

Simi’s gone. She’ll be gone all day.

She turned; her eyes drawn inexorably to the closet.

The suit.

Simi hadn’t worn it at all during their marathon lovemaking session, for obvious reasons. Her programming allowed E27 to execute commands without it for an hour at a time, after which Simi had jealously taken her turn. But Lena, however willing, and even under the guidance of Simi’s training, could only pretend to obey her orders.

I can change that.

The suit is right there.

I’m here.

Simi’s gone.

I could just-

“Shut up, brain,” she muttered, trying to quell the compulsion growing within her. The temptation was nearly overwhelming. She backed out the door, and dashed into the hallway.

Trying to divert her thoughts, Lena slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She shivered briefly as she stepped beneath the water’s flow; she’d set the temperature for lukewarm, and it was just a fraction too cold, but hot water would stimulate her over-sensitized skin, and she’d take longer to cool down. The tepid liquid sheeted over her skin as she scrubbed with the lather sponge, conscientiously cleaning every inch of her body. She washed her hair; it felt right to be at her best today. Like a ceremony, Lena realized. I’m the sacrificial virgin, being cleansed and dressed for the ritual offering to the dragon. She chuckled; the word ‘virgin’ certainly didn’t apply. Toweling off after the shower was ritualistic too; she rubbed each part of her body thoroughly with the thick cloth, leaving no speck of moisture behind. A hair dryer blew the remaining water from her hair, though she worried momentarily about over-drying it. That worry passed: don’t want to drip into the suit and short it out…

The thought brought her up cold; she was fantasizing about putting on the suit again. Was that why she was so intent on cleaning and pampering herself? She quickly shut down that line of thinking, and turned to study her reflection in the mirror, pleased with what she saw. Thankfully, she was fastidious about trimming her body hair. Nothing would inhibit the suit’s transceiver nodes from direct contact with her skin… damn it!

With a rumble, her stomach announced the need for breakfast. But as she dressed and went on with her day, her mind kept tempting her with stray suggestions: the suit could program her to automatically select the proper clothes for the day’s activities. There were steps to preparing and eating a bowl of cereal; the suit could program her to execute them. She already knew the program for washing dishes; the suit could finalize it. Studying for classes on her laptop would be inefficient; the suit could download the information to her brain…

I have to try it.

Seeking further distraction, she brought her laptop into the living room and set it on the coffee table. She flipped it open, and pressed the power button, but as the loading screen appeared, she caught herself glancing back at the hallway to Simi’s room. She buried her face in her hands, frustrated; the files and windows on the desktop evaded her notice. “I’m in no mood to study,” she whimpered.

I have to try it. I have to try it.

The coaxing whispers continued. She slumped back into the cushions, lost in the fog between temptation and virtue. She spent the next five minutes shivering on the couch, praying for Simi to walk back in the door, to stop her, talk sense to her, remove the seductive silver suit from the apartment… but the intervention never came. Anxiety gave way to pacing, and she quickly wore a worried path into the carpet around the room, flailing her hands, clenching her fists to try and distract herself.

I have to try it. I have to try it. I have to try it.

Barely ten minutes had passed before Lena’s flustered roaming led her back to the door of Simi’s room; it opened with a touch. She tried to resist, her flickering gaze taking in the total disarray of Simi’s bed, the dormant computer on the desk opposite her, the sunlight streaming in through the blinds, the small shelf with Simi’s knick-knacks and keepsakes. She’d noticed before that there were no family photos on the shelf or desk; Simi wouldn’t need them, with her perfect recall. Nor would I if I just…

Lena crossed the room to the closet; the sliding door rolled aside at her push. Simi’s clothes hung in neat order within, but Lena shoved the hangars across the closet rod, leaving them crushed to one side.

Have to have to have to

There it was. The silver suit hung at the back of the closet, inert, unmoving, ominous. Lena took it out and held it up. She touched it, stroked the close-woven gray fibers, fingered the tiny metal bumps on the inside. She replayed in her mind all the times she’d seen Simi wearing it, remembering what it did to Simi, fantasizing about what it could do to her.

I have to put it on. I need to. I must!

One last desperate fit of sanity struck, and she tossed the suit on Simi’s bed. Pausing for a moment, she plopped herself down in the desk chair and tried not to stare at the garment, while the litany of good and bad reasons for what she was about to do spun through her mind over and over, laced with Simi’s reassurances about the suit’s safety.

“With a little modification, things can be so much easier. Moving, learning, remembering, all that,” the memory of Simi reminded her. “I can download information directly into my brain. Once I download something, I never forget it. I just put it on, and plug it in, like you saw; the suit takes care of the rest. I have the computer input what I want to learn... It’s perfectly safe; I control what the computer programs into me.”

This is just a test run. I’ll be fine, as long as I don’t plug it into the computer, right? Lena reasoned to herself.

With a defeated sigh, Lena realized she’d already made her decision: she was going to do it, she was going to put on the suit. The inner voice whispering to her about betraying Simi fell silent, and the impulses pushing her forward celebrated victory.

Simi won’t be home until late. I’ve got plenty of time.

She would have to strip to put on the suit, and her nervous agitation had worked up a sweat. She returned to the bathroom and used the still-damp towel to rub herself down. Leaving her clothes on the bathroom floor, she paraded back to Simi’s room, finally ready to offer herself up as a sacrifice to the dragon.

With no further need to stall, and all her last-minute reservations silenced, Lena picked up the suit and unzipped it. She tugged at the shiny cloth, testing the elasticity of the material. “It’s heavier than I remember,” she muttered. “Well, here we go.”

Bending down, she slipped the suit over one foot, pulling it up to her calf before inserting the other foot. She could feel the tiny wires and the hard bumps of the transceiver nodes within the fabric sliding over her skin as she pulled it to her waist. She snugged the metal plate into position against her pussy, shivering at its cold touch against her most sensitive place; it should warm up quickly. She put her arms in the sleeves, drawing the suit up against her body. The suit stretched a little tight over her breasts. She’d expected that, Simi was a size smaller than her, but the filaments flexed around Lena’s nipples in comfortable, caressing ways. Twisting her arms behind her back, her fingers found the zipper pull and began moving the slider upwards. With a little effort, she finally got the zipper closed, and patted the collar’s flap into position. The four spinal buttons pressed coldly into the base of her neck.

Lena lowered her arms. It’s on me. I’m wearing the suit. I’m actually wearing it! Shivers ran through her body in anticipation, and she closed her eyes, waiting. What will it feel like? What’s it going to do? What’s it going to do? It’ll seize control over my body, take over my mind, remake me into a mindless robot…

…nothing was happening.

Hmm… Am I doing this right? is there a button I’m supposed to push, or something? Or did I need to plug it into the computer? I thought Simi said it was automatic…

The suit… pulsed; there was no other word to describe it. Every light woven into the suit lit up at the same time, a supernova of color. The material abruptly hardened against her body, locking her into that same rigid pose that was E27’s default. Every node point simultaneously buzzed into her skin, from her neck to her toes, and the spinal transceivers burned. If she hadn’t been frozen in place, she would have fallen to the floor; the sensations were overwhelming, unpleasant, painful! She clenched her fists, squeezed her eyes shut, and opened her mouth to scream, but only a tight, agonizing groan escaped. A blinding kaleidoscope of colors exploded into her mind.

“Suit activating.”

The words filtered through her pain. Where had they come from? The computer was off; it hadn’t come from the speakers there. Was there a speaker in the suit somewhere?

“Error: configuration misalignment. Analyzing. New unit detected. Scanning unit compatibility.”

The words were cold, inhuman, robotic; the voice sounded nothing like E27. Lena tried to wrench an eye open, but the lights and colors were dazzling, both outside and inside her eyelids.

“Compatibility confirmed. Suit recalibration required. Processing.”

A second pulse followed the first, even more intense, accompanied by a sudden burst of sound that roared in her ears. Another aborted scream gurgled in her throat. After one last violent crescendo, the noise, the lights, the pain, the squeezing, the burning... it all vanished.

“Recalibration complete. Begin new unit initialization.”

The suit unfroze. Lena collapsed into a quivering mass on the floor. She could move now, but anything past twitching and breathing hard was beyond her ability at the moment. Tears streamed down her face. What the hell just happened? Simi never mentioned that! Lena’s thoughts grumbled furiously about all the unpleasant words she wanted to say to both Simi and E27 next time she saw them. What did this damned suit just do to me? Gingerly, Lena tested the function of her limbs, using the bed to slowly lever her body up onto her knees. She buried her face in the blanket, absorbing her sobs, her spasms shaking the mattress.

“Error: connection to host computer not found. Check connection cable and retry.”

The voice was still talking, but it sounded muffled this time. Lena lifted her head in confusion, glancing around to see where it was coming from. She twisted herself around to sit on the floor, propped upright against the bed, exhausted.

“Installing backup software for unit initialization.”

Something was wrong. Lena heard the voice, speaking more clearly this time, but it sounded like… it came from my own mouth?! She willed her hands to grasp her face, but once again the suit was holding her in place, motionless. The most she could do was swirl her tongue against her teeth.

This time she felt the movement when her mouth opened: “Unit will accept new designation. Acknowledge.”

She was the one talking. The suit was talking to her; no, it was talking through her. She strained to keep her mouth shut, even tried to bite her tongue to choke off the words, but she involuntarily repeated the command: “Unit will accept new designation. Acknowledge.”

She tried to shake her head in denial, but the suit spoke through her a third time: “Unit will accept new designation. Acknowledge.”

Lena rolled her eyes in frustration; apparently, she needed to answer. Would the suit release her if she complied? A strained whisper was all she could manage: “Um…acknowledged?”

The transceiver against her pussy responded with a friendly vibration, a sliver of pleasure after the pain. “Unit has accepted new designation,” her mouth said.

And it was so. The moment the words escaped Lena’s throat, they burned onto her brain. She could feel it: somewhere, deep in her subconscious mind, the code phrase ‘NAME=Lena’ was stored, a label given to her at birth by her parents, instilled through countless repetitions over the succeeding years into instinct. Now that crucial word, the identification so vital to her existence, was gone, deleted, overwritten. She still remembered the word Lena, knew it had once been her name, but it no longer pertained to her; she had a unit designation now, indelibly branded on her consciousness. It was over in a flash, less than a second of normal time.

Terror seized her, and the scream she’d been struggling to summon finally tore her throat open. Her mind scrambled as her panicked screeching filled the room. NO! Don’t! Stop it, stop it! I am Lena! I am LENA! I am LE-, I am… This can’t be happening! This isn’t happening! My name is, was, used to be… Even as her mind raced, the old name quickly evaporated from her thoughts, rewritten by the machine. The suit had brainwashed her, just as she had feared, and foolishly ignored. STOP! IT! She was caught now, a victim of her own stupidity.

‘Lena’ was gone.

“Unit will confirm its designation.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

She wailed her denial aloud. She wanted to slam her fists into the bedding, rip the pillows apart, thrash her toes against the floor, but the suit remained firmly rigid. Interrupting her cries, the suit forced her to repeat: “Unit will confirm new designation.”

After an eternity, her screams finally gave way to heart-wrenching bawling and futile attempts to speak her old name. When her blubbering eventually faded to sniffles of utter misery, she whispered: “Designation confirmed.”

The suit finally ceded enough control of her body back to her that she slumped to the floor. Between shuddering breaths, punctuated by an occasional weak thump of her hand against the carpet, she surrendered to the inevitable.

“I… am… I am… I am Unit…”

She whispered her new designation, forever imprinted on her soul:

“I am Unit H38.”

“New unit initialized.” The suit buzzed in response to her acquiescence, the kinetic feedback buttons activating and massaging her skin, like tiny, persistent fingers, firmly caressing every inch of her body that was trapped within the suit. Worn out from her ordeal, she allowed the suit to bring her tired flesh to climax, shaking uncontrollably as she submitted, compensation for allowing the suit to alter her mind. She no longer had the ability to resist; no desire, no will, or even a name; just an alphanumeric designation.

Unit H38 was a robot.