DISCLAIMER: This book is fiction. Every name, place, character, and event are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is pure coincidence. All characters depicted in this work of fiction are 18 years of age or older.

* * *

The International League of Species had rescued Marcus from a planet taken over by slavers. None of his family survived, so he stayed on the ship and enrolled in the Galactic University System. It turned out that the brown haired young man was excellent with computers and creating virtual environments. He created them for crew members and, after they heaped praise on him, started selling them and earned enough credits to pay off his tuition. Marcus graduated from the University and wanted to begin his adult life, but there was just one issue that would change the direction of his life forever. That one thing was his best friend Grace.

Grace had been Marcus’ classmate all through university. She majored in Space Services, which did charity work, but they still spent a lot of time together. She was sweet, kind, and drop-dead gorgeous. In Marcus’ eyes, she gravitated to him because he was one of the few guys who never hit on her. They spent time together socially and, while she did date, he could act as a barrier to jerks.

The only problem for Marcus was that he was also in love with Grace. He had been fine with being “just friends” until now, but a recent discovery had changed everything. He had finally figured out the piece of equipment he had smuggled when being rescued. When rescued, he had been in a processing queue. In the chaos, he ended up alone in a large room where the slavers worked over, or so he thought, their captives before sending them away for assignments. A notebook sized piece of equipment was laying on a table and he grabbed it, tossed it in his bag, and it stayed there until he got on the ship. They left under fire, so his bag was never searched for anything.

Marcus had thought it was a hard drive. In his rage about what had happened to his parents, he thought the drive could be decrypted and whatever was on it used against the slavers. For a long time, he could not figure out how to access anything on the drive, but a week ago, he finally cracked their login algorithm.

He had been totally wrong about the device. It was not even a hard drive, but a part of what the slavers used to keep their prisoners under control. They were not “worked over,” as he had thought, but brainwashed into complacency. He could not believe what he had discovered. People’s minds, personalities, and beliefs could be altered to serve someone.

There is no denying he was corrupted pretty quickly by even the idea of this. Immediately, Marcus thought of Grace. He did not want to hurt her, or turn his best friend into some kind of sex-crazed bimbo, but did want Grace to love him. They would, he imagined, leave the station together and start a life as man and wife. They were close enough that no one would be terribly surprised when it happened. In fact, a few people had recently commented that they thought it was even possible that she could be attracted to him, which he had blown off as bluster.

Marcus began trying to figure out how to get Grace to hear the subliminal. There were far too many circumstances to take into when putting them into her music files or home system. He found the idea of psychically forcing her to listen to them absolutely repulsive. Eventually, he did reach a bit of a compromise that would keep his hands a bit “clean,” if you will. Marcus did not want to harm her in any way. This was in the best interest of both of them.

Grace did not really use the virtual environments her friend created, but she did enjoy popular romances and simulations. She often recounted how happy being a virtual princess, or living in a quiet simulation of an old Earth village from hundreds of years before, made her. Marcus had always given her a heads-up about new VRs when they came out, and she was always grateful. He had a hookup who got review copies and would pass them onto her. This would be his way to bring her under control.

Marcus spent a few weeks crafting an average-sized VR world. It was medieval in nature and starred a princess about to begin courtship with a few young men. Grace would love it. He avoided her a bit while working on it. If she was going to want to use the game, and thus take the bait, it had to fit what she liked about VR worlds.

He also tested it out on another young woman. When it worked flawlessly, he made her forget about it, so his focus could remain on Grace. Finally, he built an ideal scenario and sent her a message offering to show off his latest product.

Grace came by after dinner the next day. When Marcus opened the door to his quarters, her smile lit up his life. “Hey, stranger,” she said and gave him a hug.

“Um, sorry,” he began, awkwardly, “uh, I mean, sorry I haven’t been around lately. I was working really hard on this one.”

Grace was so trusting and believed in the good of people, so she just nodded and hugged him again. It was something Marcus would, for better or worse, use to his advantage. However, when he did violate that trust, he would make sure she thought it was for her own good.

They sat down on his living room couch. Grace looked absolutely stunning in a silver dress, dark gray stockings, and black high heels. Her blonde hair was tied in a long ponytail. He told her that he could just interface with her neuro-chip directly, so she would have to wear the VR eyepiece. She acquiesced, again trusting him, and inputted her personal ID code into his own system to add it to her chip.

The next thing she knew, a virtual world had formed around her. It was as he had described it, but also had some modern computer technology. He noticed how she looked around and reassured her that this was the right program.

“Okay, I trust you,” she replied with a smile. When Grace began trying to walk around the room, however, she found that herself unable to move. Marcus watched her body visibly tense a bit, which was upsetting. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” he began after a nervous moment. “I am trying something out in beta with this one, just let me guide you around the room.” Because Marcus had access to her neuro-chip, he could control her movements within the game. He had her walk across the room and sit down in a large chair. Steel bars snapped around her arms and quickly a metal helmet dropped on her head. Before Grace could even speak, the hypnotic lights the Slavers had used began to bring her under control. Her resistance was minimal, and he began flooding the helmet with the messages that would adjust her views.

Once satisfied with his work, he walked over to the couch and gently led Grace’s body down on the couch. Her breathing was slow and steady. Her pouty mouth was slightly ajar. He leaned down and gently kissed her and then went to sleep on the floor next to his computers in case something went wrong overnight.

By the next morning, if all went well, Grace would have been brainwashed into the ideal state he desired for her. What the Slavers had done to people over the years, what they had done to my own family, was deplorable. He knew the technology though, and Grace would never see him as anything other than a safe friend to ward off other men until the right one could be found. After her conditioning was complete, she would come around to seeing me as that man. “He was there all along,” she would, with some embarrassment, think before realizing how strong her feelings were for him.

Marcus was surprised by how easy he slept. He woke up about ten minutes before her brainwashing cycle was to be completed. It dawned on him suddenly, as he watched the count-down, that this might not work. What if he fried her brain? Maybe he should have waited and tried it out on a few others Grace had friends would be make quite a nice harem for them. His stubbornness had pushed him to conditioning Grace first and foremost. He said a silent prayer that it would not hurt her as the timer ticked down to zero. He never wanted to hurt her.

Gently, he took off her VR eyepiece. Grace stared, empty eyed, at nothing in particular. It was clear she had been deeply and rather thoroughly brainwashed, just like the Slavers would have done, and now waited for command. Marcus had left a command in her conditioning to wake up at the snap of his fingers. He stared at her for a moment and then snapped them loudly. The time before she reacted felt like 500 years. His heart raced; the hairs on his arms stood up.

Grace began blinking quickly. Her soft, feminine, sigh as she rolled her shoulders filled the uncomfortable silence. She looked up at Marcus and smiled with an incredible amount of cheer. “Hey,” the love of his life whispered, before sitting up and pulling him down for a kiss. They sat on the couch and made out for a minute. He could not believe it really worked.

Grace pulled away from him and still smiled. “I can’t believe I never noticed you before.” She leaned in and kissed him again. “I am going to make up for it now, okay?” Marcus nodded, unsure what else to do, and she hopped up and padded over to the kitchen so she could cook breakfast for them. Grace still wore her dress from last night and did not seem to notice anything wrong with that.

Marcus watched Grace for a moment. Even with her hair disheveled and unruly, she still looked incredible. An urge to test out his level of control came over her new Master. “Grace.” he began, calling out to her. Immediately, she ceased cooking and turned to face him. A look of devotion came over her face.

“Take off your dress. Until I tell you otherwise, you will only wear your underwear.” He thought for a moment. “Oh, and the shoes from last night.”

Grace obediently slid off her dress and put the heels back on. She had a toned body. Her backside looked quite firm. She swayed back into the kitchen and continued cooking as if it were not odd at all to be doing so in only underwear and high heels. Marcus’ fantasy woman was totally under his control!

When breakfast was finished, Grace served it to him and then stood next to his chair with a happy grin on her face. What Marcus did next was cruel, but he needed to test out how under control she truly had become. “Grace, kneel on the floor.” She immediately dropped and continued smiling at him. He fed her bits and pieces of his plate, which she ate with cheer.

The next command was just cruel, but, again, it was a test. “Bark for me. Down on all fours and bark for me.” With great enthusiasm, Grace’s “bark! bark! bark!” had the same kind of love that a pet would for their owner.

Sighing, and feeling like an asshole, Marcus commanded Grace to go back into the kitchen, get herself a plate of food, and that, unless he command otherwise, the barking part had been, he realized uncomfortably, kind of hot, she would always eat with him at the table. Again she swayed into the kitchen, made a plate, and came back over and sat down.

After breakfast, she insisted on cleaning up for them. Marcus enjoyed the domestic side of Grace, especially in those pumps and very snug, pink, underwear, and made a mental note to program her with some domestic VR programs. A good combo of real homemaking tutorials and some housewife erotica would suffice. She would be compliant, but also deeply loving and obedient, like he had longed for in a mate.

After cleaning up, she approached him and leaned in for a long kiss. “I love you. We have a lot of time to make up for.” Grace led her Master to the couch again and pushed his body down onto it. Her long, pink, nails ran against his neck, which made his arm hair, and cock, stand up. “I remember,” she breathed into my ear as she straddled my body, “brushing up against you a few times and seeing how you reacted to my manicure.” She kissed me again. “It felt so sexy to see you react to me like that.”

For a moment, Grace got serious and looked down at the floor. “Sometimes I don’t feel too confident in myself. But I know how you feel about me.” Her manicured hand ran up and down the bulge in Marcus’ pants. “That made me feel so much more confident about myself.” He just stared at her, not sure what to say. He had no idea; maybe Grace had kept him at a distance because she knew how he felt? That seemed odd, but women honestly make no sense! This is precisely why he needed to have the love of his life in such a conditioned state. He ended up nodding and finally saying out loud how much he was attracted, and in love, with her.

Whatever Marcus said probably came out real dorky, but Grace let out a happy giggle and slid down to the floor. She immediately began sucking his cock with such love and care that it was hard to not cum almost instantly. Her eyes drifted up to him a few times to see how he was doing. She realized her Master was having trouble, um, keeping it in, and, again, giggled. Her laugh drove him crazy. “It’s okay...we can work on that...it makes me so happy that you are so turned on...” She took him in her mouth again and let out a happy sigh after cumming in her mouth.

Grace remained kneeling before him. Marcus ordered her to clean herself up and then join him on the couch again. She moved to obey, ass looking so tight from the high heel induced sway, and then slid next to him on the couch. His obedient servant snuggled up and held on for dear life.

“I am,” she began, kissing him gently, “ready to further please you.” Describing how sexy she looked right now, sweaty, hair asunder, and intense docility mirrored in her eyes, was impossible.

Marcus was too tired to think of what to do or say. “I need you to always be honest with me. Always tell me the truth.”

She nodded with obedient understanding. ”I will always be honest with you.”

He leaned in and kissed her. She returned it and then pulled him into her arms. Marcus pulled away after a moment. “I have been thinking a lot about us.” The smile this statement arose in Grace made his heart, and cock, ache. “I think it would be for the best if we left the station. We could go to a planet, somewhere tropical, settle down, and live a life together.” She nodded along with each statement. Marcus felt that he did need to test her conditioning. “What do you think we should do, Grace?”

Grace blinked a few times. “I have been thinking about us too. I think it would be best if we left the station too. I would love to go to a tropical planet, settle down, and live our life together.” She smiled with cheerful obedience. It was like having the most beautiful puppet in the world, except it was Grace.

He kissed her again. “I love it when you agree with me.” Marcus also needed to test whether she realized why she was so acquiescent to his ideas.”

“Of course, I agree with you,” she said with a giggle. “I am always ready to please you.” Marcus’ beautiful thrall ran a pink nail over his arm. “Can you teach me how to please you further?”

Their fingers danced with each other for a moment before intertwining. Grace slid her head onto his chest. Marcus thought for a moment about what to say and arrived at something significant. “Grace, I know you are always ready to please me, but I also need you to tell me if something is wrong. You will please me the most if you are always honest and open with me. Do you understand?”

Grace let out a long, content, sigh. “I will please you most if I am always honest and open with you. That makes so much sense.” She pulled herself even tighter against his body. Marcus could have spent the rest of his life with her against it. However, they needed to get moving if they still planned to leave the station soon.

A very sinister idea came to his mind. Marcus sat up, causing Grace to pout, which was so cute, and took her hands in his own. “Hey, why don’t you invite over your friends Audrey and...” He thought for a second about another friend of hers who had no family on the ship. “...Betty...they can come over tonight and we can share with them the good news. In fact, we can also show them the new VR programming I showed you last night.”

Grace let out a very feminine, joyful, sound. “That is a great idea! They will love it.” She looked down for a moment as she sent off a message to both of them via her neuro-implant. Without Marcus even needing to command her, she also BCC’d him on it. Good girl. She then looked back up at her Master. “How can I please you? I am ready to please.”

Marcus needed to test something else, so he commanded her to wait there for a moment. He went over to the computer and activated root access to her neuro-implant. Grace let out a gasp and then froze in place, empty eyed, and mouth slightly ajar. He typed in a few more commands and took full control over her actions. Well, more than he already had! He typed in a command and watched with fascination as Grace robotically stripped out of her underwear. Her breasts were perky with rock hard nipples. Marcus needed to think about enhancing them, but can debate that later. She slid out of her panties, making sure to keep the heels on, which he had not commanded her to take off, and went back to work as I had programmed her to do.

As Marcus watched her dust one of his visual displays, he idly went through his notes. There was a text file of concepts for what he could do with Grace. The addition of her friends as potential harem members made him ponder a number of ideas. Audrey and Betty would make great servants. Both were pretty, but kind of vapid. He began typing out a program for them that would heighten that until they were basically sex dolls for their use. He also added bisexuality to Grace’s daily conditioning and a need to dominate our future thralls. Finally, he added a few fetishes for all three, but turned them ON for Audrey and Betty. These were not fetishes he shared, but would amuse him for sure.

At one point in the afternoon, Marcus sent Grace to her quarters to get a bag of things and a new outfit. Briefly he worried about the idea that she could come out of the conditioning, but soon after she returned as commanded. She came back in a “little black dress” with heavy eye makeup and the most pouty smile he had seen on a woman. He told her his plan and that it was important Audrey and Betty were as ready to please as she was now. Grace agreed, of course, and they set up for the trap.

Audrey showed up first. Grace let her in and Marcus came out from behind a wall to place the visor eyepiece on her. His beloved held on to her while she struggled, but it ceased after a few minutes, and she was easily led to the bedroom where she lay down for conditioning.

Marcus let Betty in, but she struggled a bit so Grace had to apprehend her. In heels. Which was so hot. She grabbed her best friend’s arms and held her while he attached the visor. Again, they led her to the bedroom and lay her down for conditioning.

Grace then aggressively hugged me. “They will be so happy. What do we do next? I am ready to please you.”

He thought for a moment. “Let’s go out for dinner,” Marcus offered to his slave as he went over to his computer and put her in a trance. Grace snapped to attention and waited, empty eyed and pouty mouthed, while he took a shower and got dressed. When he turned her back “on,” so to speak, she smiled and let out a feminine gasp at her Master’s sweater, blazer, and dressy pants. He kissed her gently on the forehead. “We can ‘come out’ to everyone as a couple and announce our impending departure.” He kissed her again. He could not stop himself.

Grace looked thoughtful for a moment. Marcus was glad she retained her intellect. He did NOT want some bubble-brained bimbo as a wife. “We need to plan for that. How will we travel? Where will we go?”

He was taken aback by the question. Marcus had to admit that part of the plan had not been really drawn out by him. “Um, well...”

Before he could continue, Grace grabbed my hands and held them tightly. “I have an idea.” She paused for a second and then brightened at my encouraging nod. “Could I spend the evening in VR looking at information? Would that work?”

“That,” Marcus began, trying to parse out his beloved Grace’s idea, “...I could put you in VR and then allow your subconscious to search for information. By the morning, you would have all the information prepared for us. Maybe?” He was unsure himself.

Grace gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “I will do my best. I am always ready to please you.” She took his hand and began to walk towards the door, but then she paused again. “What about Audrey and Betty?”

“Ah!” Marcus pulled a small, slim, black device out of his blazer’s pocket. “I can monitor them from afar.” He showed her the all green charts for both of them, which meant their conditioning was going very, very, well, if it is anything like what he had already accomplished with Grace. “They will be fine, and if something is wrong the eyepiece will immediately wake them and alert me.”

Grace leaned up on her high-heeled tippy-toes and kissed him. “You think of everything!”

Marcus and Grace then went to dinner in a very public restaurant that many people they knew would likely be at or nearby. There were many cheers and congrats to both of them. The station’s internal social media program lit up with the news, and many more congratulations came in from well-wishers. Marcus received a handful of private messages that amounted to “great work, man” and other silliness like that.

Grace was so happy as they chatted while eating their meal. She laughed and smiled so much. Both of them got a little tipsy, so Marcus got them out of there before dessert was sent out. They made out in the elevator heading back to his floor, and then began tearing each other’s clothes off when they got back to his quarters. The moment when Grace dropped her bra to the floor was burned into her Master’s brain in slow motion. She practically jumped into his arms and gave him a look that screamed, “please, please, fuck me right now.”

Marcus and Grace made their way towards the bedroom, but then realized that was where Audrey and Betty were being programmed. Whoops. “They look so peaceful.” Grace turned to him with love and delight mirrored in her eyes. “I am so glad we are bringing them with us. We will be a big family that is ready to please you.” She kissed him gently as an idea popped into his head.

He gently grabbed her hand and went back out into the living room. “Wait here,” He went over to the computers, turned Grace “off” for the moment, while typing additional programming into all three of their conditioning cycles. Audrey and Betty would get it as the night went on. It was still early enough that it would not matter. Thank the Gods he made so many macros to make adding programming so much easier. He spent about 10 minutes adding new conditioning to Grace’s nightly cycle. While she worked at the computer figuring out their travel itinerary, his angel would be further brainwashed to add a few personality traits that her remarks about Audrey and Betty had inspired.

After Marcus turned Grace “on” again, she smiled and gave him a massive hug. “I have an idea,” he said while motioning for her to put on some semblance of clothes. “What if we spent tonight in your quarters and then came to retrieve Audrey and Betty in the morning?” He tossed her a sweatshirt and a pair of track pants that were laying on the floor. “If there are any problems, I will be alerted.” He waved the monitor at her again before slipping it, and her eyepiece, into his pocket. “What do you think?”

Grace immediately replied. “I think we should spend tonight in my quarters and then come back for Audrey and Betty in the morning. If there are any problems, you will be alerted.” Eventually, Marcus would have to stop this, but for now, it was so hot having her parrot “her” ideas back at him.

In her quarters, Marcus and Grace made love for the first time. Neither of them were virgins, but they were not that experienced either. It was good, but they made a promise to each other to make sure each to make sure both of them get the maximum pleasure from sex that they could learn to do. He was still kind of hard, so she went down on him again before he put her eyepiece on and settled in for bed.

Inside the virtual reality simulation, Grace should have found herself in the same room as the night before. She should have been naked except a pair of platform heels. Sitting down at the computer, she would have begun to do research for their trip. How do they depart? His beloved found a transport they could rent and fly on their own. Both of them had been through basic training and could program it into either of their harem members if they really needed them to fly instead.

Grace figured out a direct travel itinerary that would take them to a tropical planet that was selling large plots of land. Hyper focused, she bid on a plot of land that overlooked a large valley with two trees that were described as nearly a thousand years old. The bid was accepted, and she built a quick budget for their trip and created a checklist of things they needed to do before leaving in a few days which included wrapping up Audrey and Betty’s lives on the station, a cover story for them, packing their stuff, getting it onto the shuttle, and then departing for their new lives.

Grace was so efficient at this because Marcus had added some hypnotic visuals to her screen while she worked, which put her in an even deeper state of trance that allowed the love of his life to focus completely on performing the tasks he created for her. Audrey and Betty would be getting the same treatment until their conditioning was complete and as permanent as Grace’s would be soon. There was one other thing he did, too. Marcus did something that would define their relationship for the rest of their lives.

Inspired by Grace’s remark about them being a family, Marcus added some additional imagery to Grace’s screen, which she continued to view as the night went on. It would reroute, even further, her views about not only him, but also her friends. Their relationships would never have been the same, and Audrey and Betty would also receive additional programming for it. Again, Marcus was so glad made a ton of macros while testing out different conditioning scripts before trying everything out on Grace.

In the morning, Grace woke him up with the best blowjob he had ever gotten up to that point in his life. She would break that “record,” so to speak, hundreds of times over their lifetime together. They showered together, something that would become a part of their daily routine, and then dressed in a haphazard assortment of gym clothing to return to his quarters, so they could check on Audrey and Betty. She showed him what the simulation had come up with, being able to recite it from memory, a side effect he had not thought about before this, and grinned proudly at his praise for her work. They scheduled her quarters to be cleaned and everything in it packed for their trip and then returned to his quarters.

When they arrived, Marcus checked the computers and made an offhand comment to Grace that she should plan for them to be packed up. If their...family...was going to grow on their new home planet, it would be needed. His lovely future wife began making a list on a tablet. She was so organized.

He checked on Audrey and Betty. Both were resting quietly with normal vitals. The readouts looked very similar to what he had seen from Grace, and he was confident their conditioning was happening without difficulty. Grace came around to the room and stood next to him. Her hand entangled in his. “They look so peaceful,” she opined after a moment.

Marcus leaned over and kissed her forehead. “They are members of our house.”

“Our family,” Grace confirmed and walked over and ran her hand over Audrey’s face. “I love her so much,” She added after a moment. Some of the conditioning had clearly seeped through before being properly “activated,” which he took note of for the future.

He put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s time to wake them up. they will do it one by one. Audrey is first.” Grace stepped back, and he slid the visor off Audrey’s face after turning it off. A moment passed before her brunette eyes opened, and she gently stretched out. What happened next was truly remarkable.

When she made eye contract with Grace, both of their expressions changed. “Mommy!” She yelled out and hopped up to jump into Grace’s arms. Audrey was actually a year older than her, but Marcus had conditioned her for this new...role. After a few seconds, Grace held on to her “daughter” for dear life. “My wonderful princess,” she whispered, which was the phrase he had slipped into her subliminal last night to confirm the new programming had worked.

After their warm embrace, Audrey saw Marcus standing behind them and padded over. “Daddy!” She spoke with a slight giggly up-pitch in her voice and hugged him tightly. He pulled her close; as he held on to his slave, Marcus made eye contact with Grace, who smiled proudly and then joined their embrace. They were truly a family.

That comment Grace had made the night before had really affected him. It was a whimsical decision to follow up on it, but Marcus would never regret what he did at any time in his life. Audrey would be the first member of their family that they took in and made their own. When she jumped into Grace’s arms, it activated the maternal instincts he had conditioned into her the night before. Eventually, Audrey would have a number of sisters, but for now, it would just be them.

After their embrace, Audrey hugged Grace again. The best friends now had a bond between them that amazed him. Grace leaned in and kissed Audrey, who returned it. That...was something they would certainly explore later. As soon as possible. Like immediately when they arrived at their new home.

Now that they were a complete family, it was time to wake up Betty as well. Marcus had always thought Betty was a bit rude to Grace, so he did something quite naughty to her. When he took her visor off, she sat up and then stood and snapped to attention. Both Grace and Audrey blinked a few times and then looked over at their Master.

“Oh,” Grace began as she hugged him, “a maid for us, what a wonderful present!” He could hear Audrey clapping behind them. She turned and faced their slave. “Do you want to turn her on?” Audrey nodded enthusiastically, padded over, and tapped Betty on the nose to “turn her on,” so to speak.

Betty blinked rapidly and then pivoted to face Marcus. “Master, Betty is ready to obey.”

He leaned into Audrey and whispered, “we need to make sure her programming is correct. Wouldn’t want to have to send her back to the store.” This got a giggle out of her, which deeply warmed his heart. He was taking to this “family” thing pretty quickly.”

He pointed to Grace and then Audrey. “Who are they?”

Betty nodded and turned to his beloved. “Grace is your future wife, Master. Betty serves her to serve you. Ma’am, please instruct Betty as needed.” Grace’s sly grin at that statement...was something they would explore a lot in the future.

She then turned to Audrey. “Miss, Betty will serve as your parents warrant. Please instruct her, Miss, but do remember her first loyalty is to Master.”

Audrey let out an adorable “aww,” and then hugged her former friend. She then turned to face her Daddy. “We all need to please daddy.” She came over and kissed him.

Speaking of that eventuality: he ordered Grace and Audrey to start packing up their things as well and to spread the word that her and Betty would be joining them for a “vacation” that would end up being permanent. Marcus stayed with Betty, who helped him clean up and get his own quarters organized.

* * *

They left the station a few days later. They stopped on a neutral planet to have a quiet wedding with Audrey as their witness. Betty never left the ship. She spent their entire trip being further programmed until she was basically a drone.

Upon arrival at the planet Grace had picked out for them a few weeks later, they settled in a hotel in the town below the plot of land they had purchased while their new home was built. Marcus might have used the VR devices to brainwash a few members of the town to get their work done quicker. They kept a low profile while there and, once their home was built, would only come down to the town for supplies. They mostly left them alone.

Their new home was built around a massive, many hundreds of years old, tree. Audrey loved it because it reminded her of tree from old Earth movies. Once a few more young women became part of their family, she spent her days having the time of her life with them. Grace cared for each of them deeply. She taught each of them and due to the VR devices, all of them had their minds modified to be incredibly docile and feminine, but also smart.

Grace and Marcus stayed together for the rest of their lives. He licensed the VR tech to a few companies, who themed it to make their holo programs significantly more immersive. The “secret” of it stayed with them. He worked hard during the day in a quiet part of the home doing code, He eventually hired others to do it for him, and he focused on customer service.

Marcus did not regret a single thing he did. Grace was the happiest person in the galaxy. Every morning, she woke up with a smile on her face. On warm summer evenings, they would sit outside while Audrey and the others swam in the pool they had put in. She would hold him tight and silently cry. “Thank you,” she would whisper to him with a gentle kiss on his ear, and he knew exactly what she meant.

The End

* * *

If you enjoyed this story please consider reading my author’s note for it, which can be found here. You can view my website.

You can follow me on Twitter as well.