The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The good news was that there was a flight to Michigan available immediately. The bad news was that instead of flying into Marquette, they had to go through Detroit. The drive was long and dangerous, with the team all but crawling over each other to switch drivers so they wouldn’t have to stop. Even Rhonda seemed a little green. Once they were over the bridge, away from the cities, their shared fear turned to a more traditional terror of what might lurk in the woods alongside the highway. Every so often they passed farmhouses and a smattering of Yoopers working their farms or driving toward the city.

The shore of Lake Superior became the horizon as they neared. The first sign they were headed in the right direction was the billboard along the highway. “Honor And Protection Above All: Great Lakes University,” the message said over an image of Michaelsson, a squat man with huge glasses, curled blonde hair, and a team jacket that clashed with his pristine suit. He loomed over the images of his team and the school. None of them were really surprised.

“Wonder if anyone knows Michaelsson wears those glasses to hide his eyes so he doesn’t ensnare anyone by accident?” Cheryl asked with a smile.

“It’s Michigan. They probably do. I wouldn’t be surprised if they knew that Michaelsson only got into football because it was the easiest way to get people’s attention,” Claudia replied.

“At least today, that’s how he has that power, but back in the Fifties? That’s how he got away with setting up a whole damn castle,” Cynthia pointed out as they approached the exit.

Gianna took them along the curve, and when they finished the curve, all six of their jaws dropped. “If that isn’t a vampire’s castle, I don’t know what is,” Rhonda said, looking at the sun backlighting the football stadium, an impressive building that was visible from a good twenty miles away, rising out of nothingness, the only sign of life in an otherwise barren wasteland.”

“They don’t even have that kind of nerve in Austin,” Brenna said with a growl.

“And I bet it’s twice as impenetrable as the old castles,” Claudia mused, staying focused on the mission.

“Yeah. Secrecy of that place is legendary. The people who think they’re close to Michaelsson have the library. That’s why the stadium’s named after the guy who gave Michaelsson the job,” Brenna said.

“It is kinda crazy that this level of control has lasted this long,” Cheryl said.

“That’s what scares me the most,” Claudia replied.

They drove a little longer, until they reached the sign saying Welcome to Great Lakes University—The Cradle of Honor and drove into town. It brought ‘college town’ to new heights. Dorms intersected with regular apartment buildings, houses were laid out next to administrative buildings, and chain stores leased space from the university bookstore. Everyone stopped and stared at the outsiders’ car, the only one in town that didn’t seem to be dark blue, the only one with people inside who weren’t wearing the blue and gold. The styles held true to culture and personality: the jocks wore letter jackets, the businessmen suits, the college girls short skirts or tight jeans, even the skaters had blue and gold hair over their cut-off Arctic Bear t-shirts. The polar bear mascot was perched on every lamppost, and Michaelsson’s poster was in the window of every store. Even the sterile chain stores felt compelled to show that union card of Great Lakes pride.

“Immersive environment, turned up to eleven,” Cheryl said quietly, her tone somewhere between fear and awe.

“It is the only thing here,” Gianna said just as quietly.

“We’re here to find the controllers, not taste their control. We know he has an army. He restricts himself to working with the football team now, but those below him have been his for decades, so they might as well be him in terms of style and belief system. We need to find them before they find us. They might be friendly at first, but once they find out where we came from, that may change, and we need to be ready,” Claudia said, looking pensively at everyone, not trusting a word as they pulled into the parking lot and got their luggage out of the car. None of the bellmen asked for tips as they piled the luggage on the cart, but everyone’s stare held expectation.

“Greed is evil, but commerce is vital, so it is up to the worker not to force the system and the layman not to forget it,” Cheryl quoted.

“Laws of a Controller’s Earth?” Gianna asked.

Cheryl nodded. “Someone sent a couple of Michaelsson’s books to my brother, trying to get him to stop being an asshole. It didn’t work, but I read through them just to see what I was dealing with.”

“I read all his works in the translation,” Gianna said.

Cynthia blinked. “All fifteen? Daaaang. Not bad for them only being circulated within the control community.”

As Claudia stepped up to the desk, ready to check them in, the woman behind it beamed at them. “Pleased to meet you! You’ll be in rooms 243 and 245—they’re adjoining, don’t worry. If you’re looking for Isaac, he’s at 45 Maple Lane, turn right at Oak, and it’s the third house on the left. Or you can call him at 616-814-4325, but only at night—otherwise he’s planning how to beat Colorado. Yes, I’ve guessed your name,” she chirped, shining in her gold blouse and blue jacket.

Claudia was not amused. “Michaelsson sent you?” she asked in a cold voice.

“Nope, we all know where he is. He’s in the phone book, you know. And his door is always open. Folks around here just know when to ask when and when they can just stop on in. Sally always has cookies available! Oh, don’t fret, you know what he thinks of drugs. You’re not the first ones we’ve had from Wealth and Taste around here, you know. Why, our very own General Matt Collins—class of ’86, national champion, and two-time all-conference—works with you.” Her smile dimmed slightly and her voice lowered to a whisper. “Ohhh, you must be here about Geoff Cleveland! Yes, they buried him empty. Isaac believed in him with all his heart, and he was really a good man, a... very good... man, but... he did like little boys. But he’s gone now, and he led a lovely life! He helped so many people—even more than Isaac! Isaac knew who needed help, and Geoff was the first one to give it. Quite a loss, but eighty is eighty—once you pass threescore and ten, you can leave whenever you like, and I can’t blame him one bit. Want a black ribbon for him?”

Claudia gritted her teeth and demurred, leading her team to their rooms and calling an immediate meeting. “Controlled message or country gossip?” she asked.

“We stick out, but not that much!” Cheryl said.

“Don’t know about that. We’re not in school colors,” Brenna pointed out.

“But we’re not wearing a uniform of any kind. I’m not sure. I saw none of the signs,” Gianna said.

“In this town? Everyone’s been touched by control at some point, but she looked to have enough free will left to be a human being. Yeah, she’s a Michaelsson fangirl, but she’s still herself. Didn’t look like she got triggered or anything when we spoke to her,” Cynthia mused.

“So either Collins double-crossed us and sent a team ahead, or they just know us too well,” Rhonda said, sounding like she would prefer the first option so she would have someone’s ass to kick.

“Michaelsson’s that public. Anyone has a problem, he solves it with one long look. Most of the time he’s behind the walls of the stadium, but if you go looking for him, he’ll come find you. That stadium’s almost an induction chamber, where people go for reinforcement or the uncontrolled go as a last resort,” Cheryl said.

“Either way, we’re not going to get any information if everyone already knows we’re here and why,” Claudia grumbled.

“Abort?” Rhonda asked.

“No, but we’re going to have to take some more risks and try a different tack. We go around him, sniffing out his sub-controllers and looking for cracks. If the high horse is this high, the wall of silence is higher—but not infinite. Someone’s going to have a conflict in their head, and they’re going to crack. Now, this means we’re going to have to face controllers one on one, in quantity. Make no mistake, ladies, this is full-on combat, but it’s the only way to do it. They’re going to spin us so dizzy that we puke, but we need to find out what they’re hiding. But we don’t rest until I’m satisfied that there’s no fire from this billowing smoke,” Claudia said with steel in her eyes.

“We need to check the students as well. They may know something, or they may have enrolled to forget...” Cynthia said, tailing off at the end.

“If you even think the latter, fire at will,” Claudia snapped, reminding everyone of the seriousness of their mission. “Otherwise, find out enough to justify a raid, and we tear that stadium to shreds. I don’t like splitting the team up, but it might be the only way we can cover enough ground before the shit really comes down. I’ll take the athletic department and try to get to Michaelsson himself. Brenna, you get to take the girly-girls—girls’ dorms, sororities, cheer, and band. Cheryl, use your knowledge of teenage male assholes and take the boys’ dorms and the fraternities. Cynthia, you’re the oldest of us, you’ll fit in best with the academic buildings. See what you can find out from the professors. Rhonda, you’ll work the town and the stores. Maybe an alum will be repulsed enough to talk. Gianna, admissions office. I want to know the extent of their control and whether those methods match their advertising. We start first thing tomorrow morning. We’ve got our sandwiches and water in the luggage. No one eats or drinks anything here until we’ve proven for sure that there are no chemists involved. Be on your highest alert towards everyone and everything... even each other. Especially each other.”

The next morning, they rose, had breakfast, and went their separate ways. Gianna took a deep breath as she approached her assignment. This was ground zero for the strongest control Great Lakes would use, with the most innocents and potential victims involved. Only Claudia had a more dangerous assignment. Just like papa all those years ago, she thought. She had faced many controllers before, going head-on into their lairs, but now there was no friendly face in the third-floor window with a rifle to protect her. There were no friendly faces at all, and that was the worst part of Claudia’s plan. Young controllers, no matter how well-behaved they were or how under someone’s thumb they were, were still controllers, only existing to take and destroy.

It would be even worse if they knew why she was there. It would be devastation, and she didn’t want to be a cheerleader. From what Brenna had described, it seemed like a waste of minds and bodies.

She went in on her highest guard, because she had to, just to see who was there, who knew what, and how to access it. She was shocked at how fast the admissions director was to greet her with a smile. His mustard suit was appropriate for his salesman’s attitude, and the fact that the gold had faded alerted her to how long he had been there. He eagerly extended his hand for a handshake, and Gianna smiled as she recognized the smooth yet strong hands of a nerve holder. “Miss Lucatelli! We were told to expect you. Moe Graham, Director of Admissions for Great Lakes University,” he gushed.

Gianna let the hand hang in the air. “If you know why I am here and what I do, you are not stupid enough to think I would fall for a handshake induction. This is not a normal inspection. This isn’t Mindcrime,” she said coldly.

“Oh, we know, we know. Matt Collins is a true role model for our community, making sure other groups don’t overstep their bounds. We’re very proud of him and what he does. It’s an honor to work with a group like you to make sure our methods are the best that they can be. No act of ours, after all...” Moe enthused.

“So your motto says. I am here to make sure it’s meant.”

“No problem, Miss Lucatelli! You can join one of our campus tours for a start. We’re not here to hide anything from anyone. Our track record will prove it. Why do you think Isaac always insists on Wealth and Taste doing inspections?” Moe said.

Gianna relented, realizing she had an opportunity to see their methodology from beginning to end, something she could use later. “All right. I’m joining one of the tours,” she said with a smile, going out into the lobby. Five groups were out there, already divided up. Four tour guides were waiting in the office, two looking sheepish and nervous in front of the others. A tall, stocky man cowered in front of a woman half his size before he came out of the office and took his group, already dressed in blue and gold. Every step he took gave him more confidence. Not a controller. These are already committed students, and already controlled. No need to waste control on them now, Gianna thought before surveying the other groups.

One, the smallest, was also the oldest. The sunglasses on an overweight young man in a dingy sweatsuit clued her in to their nature: controllers, there to get an education in controlling the right way. Moe will take care of them himself, I think. The other non-controller came out of the office and took the group that looked to be so normal that they stuck out like a sore thumb. The third group had eight teenagers, and Gianna saw their parents all but holding them on leashes to get them to behave. “You’ll thank me!” and “It’s for your own good!” were answered by profanities that made Gianna’s ears burn. The imposing black man who greeted them was unfazed, and if they grumbled, they all left in a straight line. By the end, they will be thanking their parents.

She was ready to follow that group, but she hesitated, looking at the final group. The kids in button-down shirts and blouses, with striking skirts or ironed slacks, seemed out of place at a school that specialized in bettering people. Why would they sort by attractiveness if they only care about well-being and adding to their honor? Because these are pure prey. Not dumb enough to be broken to pieces, not smart enough to get away, not someone else’s property, and good-looking enough to be worth the time.

Sure enough, the young blonde who came out of the office had the smile of a controller who had just been shown a feast. “Oh, we have a guest! Feel free to join us! I’m Melanie, and I’m a junior here at Great Lakes. I hope you’re all ready to see the place I call home! I’d say it’s great, but we’re better than that! Besides, it’s a terrible pun, and the folks over in Minnesota are using much too much of it!” she chirped, her gaze right on Gianna as if proving that she wasn’t a vampire. “Everyone ready? All right, just follow me.”

She started walking, and Gianna smirked at the well-practiced, smooth, rolling walk. What did Anna call those? Buttheads? With college kids, it works, but if this is the kind of control Great Lakes is so proud of, I am not impressed, she thought. She kept her eyes up, watching as one by one the students fell into line, all staring at Melanie’s picture-perfect ass and letting her canned speech become their world. Those who didn’t fall out of lust fell out of envy, allowing her ass to enchant them all. Melanie didn’t miss a beat, letting her tour be her induction as she led them around the sprawling campus. They went through the dorms, where the current students showed their approval of the newcomers, then went into the library. The tour group took seats at a table close to the door, though Melanie made sure not to sit down. Her hips were into the action too, Gianna noticed, flicking her gaze down and then up again to take in the rest of the scene.

The library was full of students, which in and of itself seemed odd at that time of the year, and all of them seemed to be working on serious papers, mindlessly reading or typing without a sound. Melanie barely whispered, but her voice still echoed as she said, “And this is the Isaac Michaelsson Library. Academics come first here! After all, it’s the best way you can serve... your community, your state, and your university. No act of ours shall bring us shame, and you’ll be joining one of the best student bodies in the world—there’s a lot to live up to here! So it’s time to show your Arctic Bear pride—off to the bookstore to load up!”

Everyone stood in unison, grinning giddily and waiting for Melanie to take the lead and bring up her rear. Gianna laughed, taking note, and waved goodbye to Melanie, exaggerating her motions to try and wake up someone in the group. She had no luck; even the young brunette with the detailed crucifix around her neck was wide-eyed and openly ogling her tour guide. Gianna shrugged it off to age and started taking a closer look at the student body—while this might be closer to Cheryl and Brenna’s assignments, she wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to get more information. Everyone was in blue and gold, just like everyone in town, and just like the people in town, they seemed to be trying to retain individual personalities. Then again... Gianna thought with a small jolt, taking a seat at one of the tables and taking a closer look at the people around her.

All the backpacks are the same. School issue. All of them have their name on it. When were they taken so deep they needed to be reminded of their name? Topics of study are similar too. The subjects are different, but all are conservative and highly moral, she realized. She walked towards the front desk, to the librarian with thick glasses that hid her ice blue eyes—except when a pair of frat boys walked in. She lowered her glasses and pinned each of them with a look. “Quiet and study!” she commanded, and they blinked and went into the stacks.

A young redhead got up and walked past Gianna, not even noticing that there was a stranger in the library. Gianna waited for the librarian to put her glasses back on and raised an eyebrow at her. The librarian gritted her teeth, but made no move to pin Gianna with her eyes. “Simple focus is good, especially at those ages. Would you rather they be drinking?” she asked.

Gianna cracked a small smile as she left the library to go give Moe a hard time on the selection of the student body. I guess the emphasis is on body, she thought. She took in everything around her as she retraced her steps to the admissions office, where Moe was waiting in one of the guest chairs, twiddling his thumbs as if to stay in practice. The marked catches had put on their blue and gold, while the rejects still wore their regular clothes. No one, even the controllers to be trained or the rebels to be tamed, seemed unnerved at the blank-faced bliss of the acceptees. Moe looked at Gianna and raised a finger—not as a threat, but as if to say hang on a sec, be right with you—then snapped his fingers in front of each face in turn. Those who had been accepted started squealing and yelling, and at their enthusiasm, Moe turned to the tour guides and gave them a smile and a nod before escorting Gianna into his office and closing the door.

Gianna immediately got up and opened it. “How stupid do you think I am?”

“Figured you’d want privacy, but if you wanna chat about dirty laundry in front of the kids, hey, that’s your business,” Moe replied.

“So, you are more traditional in your methods than you let on,” Gianna said, cutting to the chase.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. We look for those who can be reformed, both as controllers and as really crappy human beings, and—yes, we do like to have some pretty people around here, and not just to look good in the brochures. Don’t you agree that those Barbie and Ken dolls would be hooked in by those creeps down in Detroit? Or something like Petra’s Palace of Porn? Or maybe end up in jeans a little too tight? It’s as much for their own good. We protect them and... inoculate them, let’s say. If you put them under a little bit of control and show them what it’s like, they’ll know what a controller is and how to avoid being destroyed by one. We don’t use machines and we don’t use drugs, just the gifts that the good Lord gave us. Look, we can’t deny everything to our trainees, but what better way to teach them ethics than in a real-world scenario? And they’re not allowed harems, either.”

“Of course not. It would make it harder for the other students,” Gianna murmured.

Moe looked wounded. “You guys always gotta look for the very worst in us? It’s about letting them have as close to a normal college experience as they can, without all the potential negatives. We’re all about the honor here. Yeah, Melanie loves to butt in, but you won’t see her in a green dress any time soon. Nope, she’s carrying a 4.2 and learning criminal justice—she might just end up with a Mindcrime badge one of these days. Do I have to tell you the stats about natural controllers who aren’t vampires? How most of them end up property of someone stronger? Well, ninety percent of the ones who don’t, it’s because they got a Great Lakes education.”

“Oh, so this is an aviary for, what do you call them, booby birds! Excuse me, then,” Gianna bit back.

“Did you know that Isaac managed to turn a vampire with no vampire parents into a moral citizen? Hasn’t been done elsewhere. And no, not Annika over in the library. She’s a broken experiment. Not so... grand... but she’s been around forty years. There’s something to that,” Moe said defensively.

The defensiveness told Gianna more than she was going to let on. “I need the records of all active student controllers. This is a high-level investigation. If you think you can impress me by spitting back facts, you are mistaken. And if you think to assure an Italian with grand experiments, your grasp of history needs work.”

“Oh, are you here about Geoff Cleveland? Look, a man stays dead long enough, there’s bound to be a skeleton. Just the nature of decomposition and the appetites of vultures and maggots. There’s nothing to find,” Moe said in a voice that Gianna recognized as false reassurance.

“We all know where the best place to look for a skeleton is, right?” Gianna said, pitching her voice towards Melanie. “There is only one reason someone like you manages to take girls deeper than the boys. You can’t help it if that’s where your interests are.”

Melanie blushed, grabbed her backpack, and took off running. Moe frowned. “We don’t discriminate here! Augusta got shipped off to St. Joseph’s for a reason!” he protested as he pointed Gianna to the files. Gianna took a long look at the binders—proof enough that Isaac Michaelsson was still a very active influence in the school despite his age—and started rifling through.

A vaguely familiar redhead came into the office, put her backpack down neatly on the shelf, and signed up for the next group of tour guides. Moe looked at her for a moment. “Why the sudden interest in school service, Kim? I thought you were a chem major,” he said with a bit of disdain.

“I just want to serve Great Lakes like everyone should!” Kim said happily. Gianna tried not to raise an eyebrow. Something sounded off about her cheerfulness.

“Well, we’re glad to have you on board. You can take around the next batch of accepters who haven’t had a chance to look around the campus yet,” Moe said, handing her the list.

“Of course Isaac can’t let even one chem major put a little dope in the food. I mean, like, I get the whole ‘gotta keep my figure’ thing, but can’t he trick our brains into thinking this tastes like something other than paper?” one of the sorority girls said to her cohort, who nodded.

“I can take my shades off if you want,” the other said with a smirk.

“I said I wanted my brain tricked to think that the food tasted good, not your boyfriend’s wiener. Seriously, Hannah, you and Victor are freaks If I wanted that, I’d just wear my Daisy dukes. Yeah, I’ve knocked myself out, I’m woman enough to admit it,” the first girl said with a giggle as they got their trays.

A hand fell on Brenna’s shoulder, and she was ready to remove it with extreme prejudice. “Don’t mind the Mu-Dusas,” a pleasant but uncompelling voice said. Brenna turned around and faced a statuesque brunette in a Great Lakes sweatshirt. “Brenna Howard, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Sheila Robinson, chief RA and president of Alpha Omega—as in the first to serve and the last to leave. I never liked Cleveland, and I don’t think Isaac did either.”

Brenna eyeballed her suspiciously. Sheila sighed. “Don’t act all shocked that we know what you’re doing here, unless you wanna see what I have under this sweatshirt. But I don’t think you swing that way, and I don’t want to start a fight. So you’re working the dorms? Shit gets around here, pardon my language. It’s part of what makes the system work. No one who knows Isaac lets anyone else get too close, but at the same time, we make sure he sees everything. You here to see if Cleveland really did it?”

“Not quite,” Brenna said. That’s one heck of a rack she’s hiding under that sweatshirt. Nothing I can’t fight off, but if that’s the caliber of weapon we’re dealing with, we’re up shit’s creek!

“Liar,” Sheila said with a warm smile, and in a practiced gesture, she unzipped her hoodie and shrugged it off. The blue and gold t-shirt underneath was innocuous enough, but it left enough room for Sheila’s breasts to sway and bounce in a way that held Brenna’s attention. I can handle this... might could be better if she doesn’t think I can, though. She relaxed in the plastic chair and let Sheila continue lecturing her. “If you ask me, Cleveland was guilty as sin, and faster than I can get my bra off, he’s dead. You like math, Brenna? Here it is: he brought shame, Isaac brought death. Case closed.”

“Two and two is four, case closed,” Brenna droned, staring at Sheila’s impressive rack and swaying like a victim, letting her legs part a little. Yeah, two and two. Too damn pat and too damn easy equals a load of bull all the longhorns in Texas couldn’t match! Let her think I’ve bought it like the mystery meat, and she might just tell me a little bit more.

“May have washed it out, but I can tell cheerleader blonde when I see it. Even the cheerleaders from Mu are still cheerleaders. No bimbos here! Satisfied?” Sheila asked with an excited bounce. When she saw Brenna’s eyes track her breasts, she grinned. “I’ll explain everything to you and take you on my rounds so you see how things really work around here. And if you’re really good, I’ll take off this old rag and you can see my bra.”

Brenna nodded emphatically, but her giddy grin was one of triumph. She had enough time to stare around the cafeteria to clear out any programming that might have sneaked into her brain. It didn’t feel like there had been much, though. Sheila’s may be real, but Allie’s were bigger, she thought bitterly. Lord, and she’s so gullible she’s putting the sweatshirt back on. Bad form! She kept her ‘dumb cheerleader’ face on and let Sheila lead her by the hand and into the elevator to the top floor.

“So, since you’re, like, CIA or something, I’ll tell you the truth. We made a deal with Isaac—maybe not him personally, but his people. People like me and Hannah and Victor and the rest of us in Alpha Omega, we come here to be better controllers. That life’s not as easy as you think, especially if you don’t want to be an asshole. There’s always some lunatic, usually screaming something about the Rolling Stones, trying to kill us for thinking we’re the descendants of Dracula or something. Me, I was so well-developed by twelve that no one would look at me, because then they’d be a pervert. And then there’s someone like Hannah, whose eyes worked even before her brain did. Her mom came a couple of years ago. They don’t look anything alike. Made me wonder if that was really her mom, or the nurse who delivered her and couldn’t let go because her brain melted down. Most of us are ridiculed and misunderstood. Even sirens and vampires don’t get why they can’t give anyone to give them a no. Then we figure it out, and I can’t blame the ones who intend on keeping their power. But Isaac knows we’re different. See, you see the devils with their devices and their drugs and you think we’re all like that. But we were born that way. We can harness the power and make people better. It feels good. The other students here, the ones with the names on their backpacks so they always remember who they are—they were thugs, drunks, thieves, general assholes when they came here. They leave the best we can make them. They never goof off in class, they get their work done, they take responsibility for their actions. Sure, everyone has their fun, but you won’t find any unexplained babies, no DUI deaths, no dope, none of that,” Sheila rambled through the elevator ride.

Brenna had to fight off a telltale shudder. Control for perfection’s a real dangerous idea. And Michaelsson’s been doing it so long that none of his people can see the flaws anymore, she thought, seeing through the explanation that tried to brainwash her into thinking everything was fine.

“Top floor is the freshman dorms. That’s where it all begins. We try to keep it same sex. It prevents anyone from being taken advantage of, for the most part,” Sheila explained.

“Of course,” Brenna said with a giggle. Inside, she was laughing too—laughing at the truth that was in every blank stare and obedient nod that Sheila drew from her freshmen as she strode down the hall. They parted in front of her like the Red Sea, and even if none of them said a word, the silent repetitions of “yes, mistress” were clearly stroking Sheila’s ego as she ordered them to do their assignments. The t-shirts and sweatpants were normal enough for college kids in a dorm, but all of them had the exact same t-shirt and sweatpants, and that screamed ‘hypnotic dictatorship’ to someone as well-trained as Brenna.

“Don’t worry, they know who and what they are. But those frosh... their natural rebellion is still sorting itself out. Order will serve them well, both now and for the rest of their lives. My girls have never had a violation. And don’t think it’s like this all the time. On other nights, especially weekends, we have fun. They all love me. And the other floors are the same way. All the RAs have their ways, but we all have some kind of control. We have to. Professors, some of the key staff, they help out. Maybe it’s five hundred all told? More than enough to keep order, but enough to also let the kids be normal and not have their wills completely crushed. Isaac is a gre... fantastic teacher! The way he teaches us, we still keep our honor!” Sheila said.

Lord, I swear her eyes turned blue for a second there. If he’s that deep into his students—ugh, there’s a mental image I need to not have—it’s a lot worse than we thought. Ain’t nothing worse than a real soul turned into a weapon for another controller’s greed, Brenna thought, and her disgust made it harder than she expected to keep her disguise.

They walked down the hall a little further, and Sheila pulled out a key. “This is my room for when I’m on call. Normally I’m down with the Alpha Omegas. Now... don’t let anyone tell you a Great Lakes girl doesn’t keep her promises,” she said, shrugging off her sweatshirt and pulling off her t-shirt to reveal her breasts in a gold satin bra. She swung them back and forth. Brenna could feel herself drawn to them, but not enough to lose control. She pretended she had, though, to keep herself safe from Sheila and to remind herself what would happen if she failed.

“Yeah, I figured you should see how it feels to be one of my girls. Just trust me that I’ll let you go. No one would dare let me just kidnap someone. There’s paperwork for that. Kidding! But it’s the best way to explain the Great Lakes Way,” Sheila said, looking at Brenna’s wide eyes and slack jaw with a proud smile. “Study time for you now! Here are Isaac’s books. I’ll be back when it’s time for bed, and there will be a quiz.”

She took a backpack out of the closet, scribbled Brenna’s name on it, and filled it with Isaac Michaelsson’s books on proper controlling methods and ethics, then put one in front of Brenna and tossed her a t-shirt and sweatpants. Brenna changed into them, then sat down at the desk and started reading like there was nothing more important in the world—at least until the door clicked closed. Then she blinked and looked away from the book, relieved at her success at infiltrating the dorms. The only way she was going to get the evidence they needed was to go into the belly of the beast.

How in the world do you expect girls to turn into straight-A students when all you can muster are a coupla Ds? she thought as she leafed through the book. All of the principles were what Sheila was mimicking, but something still seemed off. They act like they’re herding sheep. No pretenses, no false faces, no safety precautions, and they all stick out like sore thumbs. And then they think they’re gonna go out into the real world and seem like normal people?

She kept reading, because she was sure Sheila would be back, and she needed to seem like she’d assimilated the programming she’d been given. After a while, she heard footsteps and an unfamiliar voice. “You put spy to sleep?” the stranger said with a thick Russian accent.

“Elena, come on, you know I’m that good. She’s reading the primer. When she’s done with that, she’ll be fine and go home. We know we’re ethical. But they need to think they run the show. Whatever. She’s still a blonde little cheerleader,” Sheila said.

It’ll be my pleasure to tip Mindcrime off to you, Brenna thought.

Sheila was still rambling. “I’d set her outside as prey, but rules are rules. So she’ll wake up and go away satisfied. God, Cleveland paid with his life, why go after ours? We’re trying to do the right thing. I should leave her a suggestion to go to Minnesota, or Oregon, or Texas, but that would make us no better than them.”

At the mention of Texas, a calm certainty settled over Brenna. Forget Mindcrime. Forget the mission. First chance I get, I’m shooting this bitch in the guts and walking away.

She didn’t look away from the book as Sheila and Elena entered the room. It took all of her training not to flinch when Elena clapped her hands in front of her, but she focused on which gun she was going to use on Sheila, and that was enough to keep her out of danger.

“See, told you!” Sheila crowed.

“Good, good. Now, who will be our new sisters?” Elena said happily.

“Winnie’s three weeks ahead in her studies, Lia is already set up for honors, and I’ve been looking to have Gina rush anyway. If she doesn’t, I’m sure Lexi would stick her legs out with nothing on but panties and high heels. Freakin’ Mu-Dusas! These are Alpha Omega girls, not Mu bimbos!” Sheila said.

“All three? Yes, Alpha Omega girls,” Elena agreed. Sheila went to fetch the three girls. Between the constant burden of trust and obedience laid on them, the other student and staff controllers around them, and the influence of Sheila’s breasts, they were helpless. “Girls, this is Elena. She’s here to see if you can become Alpha Omegas like we are. Just listen and do everything you’re told, and you’ll be just like us—first ones in, last ones to leave. We’re the grand experiment at work, fully successful and full honors,” she said.

The repeated mantra chilled Brenna’s blood to ice, but she didn’t dare interfere. It was two versus one, and Elena didn’t sound like someone Brenna wanted to mess with. As soon as Elena spoke again, she knew she was right. “Lia, ready to pledge?” she snapped in a vicious tone designed to rip a brain to shreds. Crap. Presence controller, Brenna thought.

“Yes,” Lia said, still under Sheila’s gentler influence.

“Good. Obey me now!” Elena snapped, her influence strong enough to jar Brenna and scramble her thoughts before recovering.

“I obey you,” Lia said in a flat, dead tone.

“Good. Winnie, ready to pledge?”

“Yes,” Winnie said nervously.

“Good. Obey me now!”

Brenna had a hard time focusing on her reading. This girl’s too much. I have to—

But then Gina was called forward. “Gina, ready to pledge?”

“Yes,” Gina said, her voice faltering, as if she knew something was wrong but couldn’t force herself to admit it.

“Good. Obey me now!”

Brenna’s eyes blurred, and she lost all focus on her work, despite not being the direct recipient of the commands.

“Undress!” Elena commanded, and Brenna’s hands twitched, but she resisted. She heard the sounds of cloth rustling as the three pledges undressed. “Good. You dress in uniform. You are pledges as long as you wear it, and when you wear it, you obey your older sisters at all times. You will be yourselves when not in uniform.”

There was more rustling, and Brenna dared a sidewise glance. The three pledges were putting on a schoolgirl uniform in Great Lakes colors, the alpha and omega of the sorority on each side of the blazer.

“Good. Now you follow Sheila,” Elena said. The three pledges followed Sheila out the door. The door clicked closed.

Brenna barely dared to breathe. Elena’s low, angry voice chilled her blood even more. “Spy,” she snarled. “I am unable to do what should be done to you. It would bring us shame, and no act of ours must bring shame. We are to distract you. But you are threat to everything. But we must have our honor. So listen and obey me now, spy. You will remember what you were told about Great Lakes. You will remember what you read. You will not remember anything else that happened in this room. And now you will sleep, and obey my instructions when you wake.”

Brenna sagged to the side and fell out of her chair, completely out.