Chapter 6: Upgrade

Jan 28 2016:

<The True Master>

Slowing the car I inched it forward until we were just past the tree line and the building was in full view. Turning in my seat to face Kate I smiled.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"It's nice?" She said as if unsure exactly what to say. "A little big."

"Well I got the money so why not? Only cost about 750K. It's got fast internet and I can fit a few servers in the basement, and with the solar panels on the roof we won't light up like a marijuana grower on the electrical grid." I said.

"I thought we only had 5 million or so Master? Why spend almost a fifth of it on this?" asked Kate. She turned to glare at me.

I scratched my nose, "Well we started with 5 million, and that Bastard and his Father haven't noticed I'm still siphoning off whatever cash I can from their accounts."

Kate swatted my arm and I grinned. "Master that is illegal!" said Kate.

I shrugged. "At this point I don't think legality is our biggest issue." I said.

Kate nodded in agreement and shifting the car out of park and hit the accelerator jolting us forward, and chewing into the gravel we shot up the small road to the garage and I parked inside. Kate and I along with the two Dolls had been in half a dozen motels and another half dozen cars in the past week as I drove us from the East coast of the United States to the West.

Every few states or so I would ditch the car we were in and drawing on my now considerable sums of money buy another cheap clunker and continue driving, promising to get proper plates at the dealership. I had considered stealing cars but that would just attract more attention. Sleazy car salesmen were willing to ignore the lack of paperwork if you were paying the asking price up front in cash.

We were now up in northern Washington on the damn other side of the Country from the Company and the City they controlled. The cabin had been a hurried purchase and done in cash much to the agent's delight. I needed a place to work and get at cracking at fixing Dolls, for that reason I had already ordered several massive computer servers for raw data processing and other tasks and they were on rush shipping to be here tomorrow. I had let Kate pick out and order furniture for the cabin from my laptop while I had been driving figuring that a woman's touch even if she was enslaved to me would be better at color coordination than my own. I had never actually purchased any furniture new always getting it from yard sales or craigslist and neither had Kate to her knowledge still she had fun picking it all out.

It had been just the two of us on our flight across the country, the Dolls of Tracy and the other woman in my back seat sitting passively in them as I drove. I knew I should have fixed them as soon as possible to be like Kate but I wanted to do it in a more controlled environment and be able to explain what was going on to them in case they had no memories of what had happened to them.

Stepping out of the car I opened the back door of the car, both Dolls were still sitting ramrod straight in their seats starring straight forward.

"Both of you out, follow Kate inside." I instructed them.

"Yes Master." They chorused in exact sync with one another.

"Take them to the kitchen." I told Kate as I stepped back and they got out of the car. I could hear joints popping as they moved, Dolls they might have been but their bodies were as human as my own and they were not supposed to sit in a car all day long.

"Yes Master." Said Kate and she went over to the Dolls who fell into step behind her.

She led the two from the garage and moving around the car I went and popped the trunk and pulled out my laptop. Opening and turning it on I absentmindedly walked into what was my new home while I looked over the programming again. The script I had used to flip Kate out of Doll Mode and put her into permanent diagnostics mode should work, but like Kate their personalities would be merged with the Doll protocols. I had no way of turning off the chips entirely without killing them and as far as I could see emptying the chip of anything but the basic programming was a good way to lobotomize someone.

Kate had come to me in that mixed personality but these women had not and I was having a difficult time reconciling if I should do it to them. Mixing the Doll programming with their personalities would most likely result in something like Kate.

The two Dolls were standing at attention in the kitchen and Kate was absentmindedly looking around inside the different cupboards and drawers when I walked into the room.

"I think this is better than your apartment Master." Said Kate as she pulled out the silverware set from the drawer to look at it. As opposed to my original mismatched and dented cutlery this set was pristine and without character.

"I liked that apartment." I said.

"Well I think your learn to love this place." Said Kate. She stretched her arms up and sighed. "I can actually move in here!"

I nodded and set the laptop down on the counter. "Kate, I'm not sure I should do this." I said.

"Do what?" asked Kate.

"Put them in the middle, lock these women into an existence where they know they should be something else but can't remember and still have the Doll programming rattling around in their heads." I said.

Kate shook her head. "No Master! They are in their! I was floating in the darkness when I was like them. I was aware of what was happening and it was like a nightmare! They are not sleeping behind the masks of the Doll! They are floating alone in a void!" She said.

I swallowed and nodded. "You're right." I said. Sighing I looked at Tracy, it was perhaps a little biased to fix her first but I figured she would be the easiest to deal with already knowing something about her from Beth.

"Come over here." I said to the Doll Tracy.

The Doll walked over and stood in front of the counter. I considered this for a moment,

"Sit down." I told her. Kate had come close to collapsing each time we had messed with her implant and Tracy falling over and getting a concussion wasn't something that would do her any good what with her head already being messed with.

I plugged the cable into the back of her head and went back to my laptop. Checking the modified programs again I glanced down at her and then back at Kate.

"Here we go." I said.

Kate nodded and hesitantly I hit enter. The program was going to set the chip in Tracy's brain into a permanent diagnostic mode merging her identity with that of the Doll like Kate.

Like with Kate it took a moment for the program to load into the chip and then run. Tracy twitched and fell backwards onto the floor. The cable popped out of the socket and she went limp.

I looked down at her concerned. "Tracy?" I asked.

The woman blinked and slowly pushed herself up to her elbows.

"Fucking hell!" she gasped and she remained still for a moment her eyes widening.

She leapt up to her feet and continuing the momentum from the jump swung her fist catching me squarely in the jaw sending me sprawling onto the tiled floor.

"That's for leaving Beth behind!" she said.

I groaned and got up to me hands and knees trying to pick myself up despite my dizziness.

"You remember her?" I slowly asked.

"I remember everything, including what that creep did to me." Said Tracy shuddering.

"Your memories from before?" I asked.

Tracy frowned. "I remember everything!" she said.

I glanced back at Kate, further evidence that she was a unique case. Whatever she had done to escape the Company had scrambled her brain. It also meant that her memories might be unrecoverable. For the moment though I pushed those thoughts aside.

Getting to my feet I extended my hand. "Marcus." I said.

"Tracy." She said reaching out to take my hand and shaking it.

"So Master, what next." Said Tracy. She blinked and then looked back at the laptop.

"So it's not all fixed then?" she asked.

I nodded. "I can't remove the chips or deactivate them without turning you into a vegetable."

She nodded. "Explains a lot." She said.

"Like?" I asked curious.

"I don't like guy's but you're hot all the sudden. Even though you're scrawny as hell and pale Master." Said Tracy.

I coughed. "Very polite." I deadpanned.

She shrugged. "You had better be planning on getting Beth back." She said.

"I'm working on it." I said.

"Good."

Turning away from me Tracy walked over to Kate and surprising my slave scooped her up into a hug.

"It's nice to finally be able to do this Mistress!" said Tracy.

I blinked as dumbfounded as Kate was at the title.

"Mistress?" I asked.

Tracy frowned. "I was listening to you explain things in the car ride in case we were conscious Mistress when she was stuck in Doll mode. The chip," Tracy paused apparently trying to sort out her thoughts and then continued. "The chip is prompting me to address her with seniority Mistress being your first Slave, me the second." She said.

"Sit down." Said Kate.

Tracy collapsed onto the floor in front of Kate a look of bemused annoyance quickly crossing her face. Kate giggled. "Sorry you can get up." She said. "I just wanted to try that out, I haven't gotten to give orders."

Tracy got back to her feet and gave Kate a slight shove.

"Don't let it get to your head." She said.

Kate swallowed and nodded.

"We need to wake her up then." I said pointing at the other Doll. "If she's sitting in their listening she's probably a little pissed. That we haven't yet." I said.

"Yeah, I don't even know her name which is weird considering what that Bastard made us do." Said Tracy.

"Come her and sit down." I said to the other Doll directing her to the same spot that Tracy had been in.

The Doll sat and I plugged her in like Tracy and ran the program again, and this time I moved to catch her before she fell backwards onto the hard floor. Catching her I watched the transformation take place in her eyes as they went from glassy and unfocused to alert and aware.

The woman groaned and looked up at me.

"Thanks." She said.

"So you were hearing everything too?" I asked.

She nodded and slowly I helped her get up to her feet.

"I'm going to have to ask for your name." I said.

"Helen." She said.

"And you remember everything, from before you were a Doll and while you were one?" I asked.

"Yes Master." She frowned at the title.

"But it's still not over is it?" She asked.

"No, sorry. Did you hear what I told you during the drive?" I asked.

"Kate got away and you've been trying to figure out how to fix her you stole all of Kent's stuff and the data you needed to try and fix her, then you stole his money and us that close enough?" She asked.

"Yeah that's about it."

Helen glanced over at the other two and then back at me. "We're going to stop the people who did this right?" she asked.

"Hopefully."

"Good."

And with that I had two more Slaves.

January 31 2016:

Looking up from the computer I spun around to face the two former Dolls and my Slave, the basement was still a mess and there were boxes everywhere from the different computer equipment I had ordered and I had only managed to set up the first server's hardware the configuration was taking a lot longer.

"Yes?" I asked.

Kate hesitantly stepped forward. "Master, we have a problem." She said.

"A problem?" I asked wary of the way the three of them were looking at me.

"We, Helen and I." Tracy paused and took a breather. "We need a Master." She said.

"Ah."

"We know you're with Kate and she's your slave, we call you Master but it doesn't mean anything the chips making us do that. The chips though, it's clawing at every thought and all I can think about is you using me Master. I need you to use me." Said Tracy.

She blushed. "If it weren't for this chip I wouldn't even consider it, you're scrawny and pale as hell Master. Even before this damn thing I was bisexual but I liked girls more, I was going to marry Beth!" She said.

"But with this stupid chip I'm hardly even thinking of her which just makes it feel worse when I do think of her! I need you to be my Master like you are with Kate!" said Tracy.

I turned to Helen.

"Helen?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I was a model, I had half a dozen boyfriends. With these tattoos and the fact I went missing months ago I couldn't go back to my normal life if I wanted too, and like Tracy said I feel the same. It's like a constant pounding in the back of my head and its only been getting worse. I need a Master too." She said.

I put my head down in my hands. "I really should be happy, what guy wouldn't like three beautiful women throwing themselves at him. And to be honest I am actually am despite everything." I said.

Helen smiled. "Well that's good so you will be our Master like you are with Kate?" she asked.

I nodded. "It's not like making arguing will change anything even if I believed the arguments I used at this point. If I knew I was going to be able to fix you in a day or so I wouldn't." I gestured back at the half assembled computer and server behind me. My old laptop was sitting in the center of the mess the Doll programming up on its screen like it had been for the past week.

"But like I told Kate it will take at least a few months. Maybe even years to figure this all out."

Kate came over and pushing me back in my chair sat down on my lap and hooked her legs up over the armrests. She was in skinny jeans and a shirt so thin it was almost see through and barely long enough to cover her chest most of her toned midriff left bare.

"You're not arguing about this as much as you did with me." She said a pout on her face.

I rolled my eyes. "I've got a woman who doesn't have any memories and another two who I technically kidnapped. All three have chips in their heads that make them subservient to me and all three are begging to be dominated by me. At this point I'm not even going to bother pretending to do the right thing and refuse. I don't want too and when I fix all of you I'll hand you the axe to chop me to bits for being misogynistic enough to go through with this." I said.

Kate rolled her own eyes. "And when you do fix us I think you'll be surprised what we think of you Master." She said.

"We want to make it special so can you wait a few days to make us your slaves?" Asked Tracy.

"I'm not going to order you to sleep with me, not yet anyway. If you come to your senses and tell me to fuck off I will." I said.

Lazily I let my hands wander over Kate's front and my hand brushed against her nipples that were hidden only by the very thin layer of cotton. Kate shuddered and arched up in her seat into my touch grinding herself into my hand.

"Afterwards though, you're mine." I said as I gave the two newest Slaves my best impression of a dominating Master.

Tracy and Helen were staring at Kate watching as she writhed on top of me.

"You two might want to leave now considering what I'm about to do to her, if you want to wait to make the first night special." I said.

The two glanced at one another and quickly scampered out of the room shooting up the stairs to the top of the Lodge.

"Was that too much at the end?" I asked Kate as I pushed her off of my lap and up to her feet.

She pouted as I put her down but quickly collected herself. "No, a little direct but they need a Master. You keep acting like that and they're going to jump you before we get everything together." She said.

"You're incorrigible, how many more women are you going to try to add into my life." I asked.

Kate giggled. "As many as you deserve Master." She said.

"Why do I have the feeling that the number you and I would agree on for that would be very different?" I asked her.

Kate smiled.

"Your awfully cheeky for a slave you know that?" I said.

"What you want me all robotic? Yes sir! No sir!" she snapped to a mock salute waving her hand at each word.

I chuckled. "No."

"I'm what you need me to be Master, and right now you need someone to tell you that you're doing the right thing." Said Kate.

I turned back around to look at my laptop and the half assembled server. "It might be the right thing, but we're not going to take down or expose the Company without doing some things the wrong way. I can try to stay as" I paused and chuckled. "As good as possible but sooner or later I'm going to have to do something bad." I said.

"The world is made of shades of gray Master, good and evil are hardly words that apply to anything but fiction and feel good movies." She said.

"And how many movies do you actually remember seeing?" I asked.

Kate frowned. "None Master."

"We'll have to watch some then. Sometimes it's nice to pretend the world is black and white."

February 8 2016:

<The True Master>

"Master?"

I heard Kate coming down the stairs and I quickly extracted myself from the innards of the server and stood up.

"Helen has frozen again." She said.

I stood up and grabbed my laptop disentangling it from everything else on my desk I followed Beth back upstairs.

"What happened? Any common factors to the previous incidents?" I asked Kate.

"Not that I could see Master but like last time she had a few seconds of warning and managed to get away from the stove just in time, dinner is burned though." Said Kate.

"Frozen pizza again then." I said.

Kate harrumphed but didn't say anything else.

Reaching the top of the stairs I looked around the kitchen to see Helen on the floor with Tracy leaning over her. The woman was still breathing, the rapid and rather noticeable rise and fall of her chest evidence enough of that. This was an issue that Helen and Tracy were experiencing, and the four of us had taken to calling them crashes. I still didn't know why it was exclusive to the two newest Dolls but the fix was simple.

"Sit her up." I said as crouched down on the floor behind Helen. Tracy and Kate both gently lifted her up and I deftly plugged her into my laptop and downloading the logs to see what had gone wrong I executed the commands to reboot her system.

Helen gasped and her hands flew to her chest, from what she and Tracy had described the sensation of a reboot under these conditions was like being splashed with ice and pierced with needles all at once.

"You alright?" I asked Helen.

She nodded. "I am Master." She breathed. I helped her to her feet and she grimaced.

"You ok?" I asked.

"We're having pizza again aren't we?" she said and following her gaze I saw the saucepan on the stove billowing black smoke.

"Unless you want to try cooking again." I said.

"How is it out of four people here none of us actually know how to cook?" Complained Tracy.

"I can cook!" said Helen indignant.

"Obviously not." Said Tracy as she went over and pulled the pan off of the stove and threw it into the sink before turning on the oven.

I rolled my eyes but didn't interject. I was an absolute horrible cook, Tracy and Kate had almost set the house on fire, Helen cooked most but even then it was a tossup on if the food was going to be burned or raw.

Helen bristled. "At least I didn't set the dish towels on fire!" she said.

The two continued to argue with one another as I put the pizza in the oven and somehow managed to drag Kate into their argument.

If there was one thing I had learned in the week since I moved into the Lodge with my slave and two Dolls who wanted to be my slaves it was that women even women with mind control chips stuck in their heads it was not a good idea to get in the middle of an argument between them.

The arguing suddenly stopped and I glanced back. The three women were looking at me and despite the fact I could order any of them to instantly grovel at my feet I was nervous.

"Yes?" I asked as I glanced back to check I had set the time right for the pizza.

"We've got everything ready Master." Said Kate.

"For?"

"For you to be out True Master." Said Helen.

For the past week shipments of things had been coming to the Lodge as they got ready. The girls with Kate in charge had been putting together the Master bedroom a room that in the Lodge was going to be a double entendre.

I hadn't been allowed to see it and although I usually would have cheated and looked inside by this point on anything else I had been too busy sorting through the Doll programming. It was still a mess and I couldn't tell if I was making any headway, every time I thought I had something figured out and ran a simulation the program invariably failed. Kate was sleeping in the guest room of the Lodge and when I made it to bed I joined her there, Tracy and Helen had been sleeping in the Master bedroom as they finished constructing it.

I swallowed and looked over at the two newest women in my life.

"Are you sure you want to? I'm not ordering you to do anything and-"

"Master." The three of them chorused plainly and very pointedly telling me to shut up.

I sighed and shook my head. "I have a harem. I wish the guys in high school could see me now." I said.

Kate sniggered. "You were a nerd back then too?" she asked.

"You get any more snarky and you're going to regret it but yes glasses, pimples and the lunchbox the whole shebang. I never thought I was going to get laid." I said.

"Aww poor Master." Said Tracy.

I ignored her, usually the best policy with her because god damn could that woman shout. The shouting match on how soon we could save Beth had gone on several times already.

"It just feels wrong, none of you are yourselves." I said.

"We're more ourselves then when that Bastard had us." Said Helen.

"Not what I meant." I said.

"I know but at least you're nice enough to be a little guilty. Still you had better enjoy it tonight." She said.

I rolled my eyes.

"It's not like I don't have lot of work to do." I said.

"Yeah and if we didn't tear you away from that computer you would never leave. I'm surprised your eyes aren't shriveled up at this point staring at the computer screen all day." Said Tracy.

"When do you want me upstairs?" I asked.

The three looked at one another and nodded. I wasn't sure if this communication was because they all had the chips in their heads or because they were women but they could communicate with one another without saying a word.

"Two hours or so after dinner. We need to get ready." Said Helen.

"Alright.

"Good that means you get the dishes after dinner Master." Said Kate.

I glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow Kate continued to pointedly look away from me her face full of innocence. Sometimes I wondered who was really in charge here.