Chapter 7: Jim Thinks Things Over

The next day Jim woke up with what felt like a hangover. His mind was still full of the way his time with Lisa had ended. He needed to do something to make things right for her. He had some cognitive dissonance about what he had done, even though in a technical sense what he’d done to Cheri and Sam had been worse.

A quick shower and Jim was dressed and out the door. Arriving at his office he shut his door and retrieved the Master PC disc from his cabinet. Then he fired up his laptop, disabled the wireless port, and started the program. First, he called up an image of Lisa’s husband on the screen. He made a few adjustments -- the most important of which was that he would no longer be interested in any woman but Lisa until she died. Pamela Anderson could walk up to him, strip naked, and he would not even notice. He planted the suggestion that Lisa needed more from him in the sex department and that he should be more attentive to her needs. He also made him forget that he’d ever strayed. And, as a last thought, he gave the guy a bigger dick. Second, he called up the image of the home wrecker who was banging Lisa’s husband and made a few changes there. She would be looking for another job soon and Jim would help her find it. She would forget about the affair with Lisa’s hubby, would not be interested in him at all in a sexual way and they would part friends.

Finally, he put Lisa’s image on the screen. For a while, he did not move. Then he acted quickly before he had a chance to repent. He erased her memory of having had sex with him and her memory of her husband’s infidelity. He reinforced her love and devotion and added the desire for some kinky sex that her husband wanted. She would keep her boobs and the other physical improvements he’d made.

“OK, I guess I’ve done all I can on that front,” Jim said, exiting the program and shutting down the laptop. He went to work on his real job while his mind continued to mull over the implications of yesterday’s visit from the feds. It was clear to Jim that the Master PC program was going to cause him more problems than it solved. Using the program meant detection. Not using it meant an end to being able to “fix” things.

“Well,” he thought, “I’ve made about as many improvements to my mind and body as I can think of. My wife and kids are healthy and safe, not to mention happy. I’ve made the changes irreversible by anyone but me. Maybe I should just dump the program altogether and walk away clean.”

But he didn’t do it. The lure of that kind of power is a drug and it is very difficult to walk away. Jim continued to review his options. As usual, when he had a decision to make these days, he worked on something else and let the problem stew in another part of his brain for a while. He opened the Master PC software again and put Sam’s image on the screen for a bit, typed in some commands, and then did the same for her husband.

Picking up the phone he punched in Samantha’s number.

“This is Samantha, how may I help you today?”

“Sam, this is Jim, your next door neighbor. I’m calling for Lt. Good Body.”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“Jim? Who told you about that?”

“You did. We’ve been chatting on Yahoo Instant Messenger for most of the past year, neither of us realizing that we were neighbors for the past six months.”

Jim heard a gasp from the other end of the line.

“Sam?”

“My God.”

Silence.

“Sam? It’s me. We’re friends, remember? What was it you said once about wanting a virtual glory hole?”

This time there was a moan from the other end of the telephone.

“Sam, c’mon,” Jim said. This time he also sent a little mental nudge along with his voice to settle Samantha down a bit.

“How long have you known who I am?”

“About six months.”

“Oh my god.”

“Have I acted in any inappropriate way around you or Dave?”

“No. No, it’s not that. It’s just, well, I’ve guarded my online identity so carefully, and now this. It’s just a shock is all. Yes, you’ve been a perfect gentleman.”

Jim almost laughed at this.

“We need to talk, Samantha.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea Jim.”

“Listen, Sam, I’ve seen nearly naked pics of you and sent them back as tributes. What harm can a little conversation do? I just want to talk to you, that’s all (for now, he added in his head).”

“Oh my god. The pictures.”

“For crying out loud, Sam, we met on Flickr. You liked my stories, remember? And then you started emailing me? Remember? And then we started chatting? Remember? And some of those chats resulted in more stories? Remember?”

“Yes, yes, I remember!” Sam said, slightly exasperated.

“I thought we were friends, Sam,” Jim said with a slightly (very slightly) hurt tone in his voice.

“Well, yes, we are friends. And neighbors, I guess.”

There was a pause that Jim refused to fill. This was the turning point in the conversation and Jim knew that whoever spoke first here would lose.

There was a sigh from the other end of the line.

“All right. When and where?” Jim was tempted to say “room 208 Pinecrest Motel” but instead he said, “You know that little café over on Oak Street?”

“Yes, I know it.”

“When can you meet me there? Afternoon coffee; say around three?”

“Hang on a sec, let me check my calendar ... Yes, three will work. I’ll see you there.”

“OK, so long Sam, see ya later.”

“Yes. See you later, Jim,” Samantha said with resignation in her voice.

The line went dead.

“Well, THAT could have gone better,” Jim said shaking his head. Maybe it had been a mistake. He could have just used Master PC or even his new mental abilities to make everything go his way, but he was getting tired of playing God. He wanted to try to make this happen as much on his own as he could. He’d already planted the potential in her brain. He just needed to get it to blossom. If necessary, he’d give her a little push. Dave wouldn’t be a problem because what Jim wanted was actually more his fantasy than Sam’s, but she secretly wanted it to happen as well. Jim would help them both get what they were after.

“Now, what do I do about Cheri?”

Jim could have just abandoned the young coed. But he didn’t want to give her up. She had a sweet mouth and a tight pussy. He still had to break her into anal but that could be done gradually over time. And, she was hot for Samantha, which Samantha liked. Not to mention the fact that Jim had started the wheels in motion for Cheri to become his new assistant.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive,” Jim said to himself, quoting Sir Walter Scott.

“Christ, now I’m quoting dead poets. What’s next? Shakespeare? ‘Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more! Or close the wall up with our English dead.’” Jim intoned in a mock theatrical voice, rolling his “r’s” like Basil Rathbone.

“Shit. I think I’m going nuckin’ futs.” Jim put his coat on and tossed “I’m going out for a walk,” over his shoulder on the way out the door. Jim walked for quite a while not paying much attention to where he was heading. His head was down, his mind preoccupied with his circumstances and all the complex plots he’d put into motion with the miraculous software he’d found in that Madison hotel room on a cold February morning.

When he finally looked up there were two men in front of him and he sensed another behind. One of them had said something to him.

“What did you say?”

“I said where ya think yer goin’?”

“For a walk. It’s a free city.” Jim started to push past the two men in front of him when he heard the unmistakable sound of a pistol being cocked. Jim stopped and employed his senses to tell him where the gun was and how likely the shooter was to pull the trigger before he could do something about it.

“Are you threatening me with deadly force?”

“Oooo ... listen to the fancy talk,” one of the toughs said.

“No, mister, we’re not threatenin’ you with anything. We’re just gonna kill ya and take all yer money.”

Jim had determined which one of them had the gun. Two were unarmed except for knives, which, while formidable, were manageable by conventional means.

“I would suggest you reconsider your position.” Jim was getting angry. His frustration at his own mistakes, the way things ended with Lisa, his guilt about how he’d treated people; all of this was adding up. Ridding the streets of his city of a few low life hoods might be just the tonic he needed.