Terri’s Training—Crossing Over
Part One
It had been about two hours since Terri had, somehow, appeared on this tiny island. She could remember Kylie being mercilessly fucked on stage until her mind broke. She could remember the whole group being returned back into the well-decorated corridor. She could remember the two idiotic anchormen babbling around manipulating reality or whatever. She could remember Kylie getting a grip and overcompensating for the humiliation by intimidating them. But then...As they were thinking about the whole situation, wham! She was suddenly alone on deserted, tropical island. Sure, let’s play Terri Crusoe. Why the hell not.
At that time, Terri was sitting on one of the beaches, alone. For all the good times she had as a Pretty, there was one thing she always did regret. The sea. She loved swimming. No, she did not love it, not really. It just...relaxed her. But in the golden cage that was the Coppelia, she had to make do with a pool. She had dreamed of being bought by a millionaire and becoming a live-in sex doll in a seaside villa. Well, she had her sea, now. Every bit the shimmering field of wonder she remembered observing with placid eyes.
So why did she stay on the shore?
“Come on, you know the answer to that one.” She muttered. “You’re anything but passionnate...And there’s no way that’s real anyway.”
“I shall not...delay my...invitation any longer, then...”
Click.
Terri violently turns around. The island is gone. Around her is a victorian-style office. Intricate floor and wall designs. Posh furniture of well-kept noble wood. A quiet, tasteful place. And on a gorgeous leather sofa, a man.
“Hello, Terri. Glad you could...accept.”
A wispy man, clad in a simple but sharp suit, indicating he probably wasn’t the best bet for a quarterback. Indeed, his emaciated face alone reminded Terri of a scarecrow. It was only after a few seconds of looking that she realized.
“You’re not wearing a mask, Sir.”
“Quite correct. Please...Sit down...”
He extended a hand with thin fingers towards another sofa. His voice was sweet, calm, but strangely labored.
“First. Sir. I want to know what in the name of fuck is happening.”
“Could you please...elaborate?”
“BrainTrust buying us. Turning Emily into a sadistic manager. Turning Kylie hyper-sensitive and fucking her brains out until she becomes sex-crazed. Then back to normal. And now...me in an office, seeing the only guy without a mask for days. What the fuck is happening? I get that they want us to go bonkers. But how? And most pressingly, why?”
The man stares into her eyes. His are pale blue, inquisitive, scanning. But her remains silent. Actually, it seems like he doesn’t even entertain the thought of answering.
“You’re their boss, aren’t you, Sir?”
“I do happen to...own them, in a variety of ways. If...you are...referring to BrainTrust, naturally.”
“What are you after? Why do this to us?”
“Rest assured, I did not...invite you here to leave you...without answers. But I insist...please sit down.”
After the spastic presentation of Shawn and Ricky, and the callous sadism of Manager-Emily, the politeness of BrainTrust’s boss, if he really was their boss, was nothing short of disarming. Terri couldn’t sense any hostility from him. Confused, she figured she might as well profit from the high-class upholstery, and sat down.
“So...How do I call you, Sir?”
“Well...If you really do need a name...I guess Jonas Weller will do...”
“It is not your real name, is it.”
The man shrugged dismissively.
“Thought so...I guess I’m just going to call you “That Man” then. So, anyway, why do this to us? Especially Kylie...”
“Kylie, yes, Kylie...I must confess I loathe her character, and I suspect you...would too, were you not...blinded by love. But I understand...it hurts to see her get her just desserts. That...harrowing reality you were forced to witness was...well...she needed a shock. She’s far too committed to her own madness...And sometimes, you can only cure by...first...hurting.”
“She doesn’t need to be cured. She is who she wants to be.”
“No.” Replied the strange man without a hint of hesitation.
“...You know nothing about her.”
“Really.” He answers, his question lacking any inflection, as if disappointed. “Would you reconsider...if I called you Sarah McGinnis?”
“Wh...What?”
“Loathe her as I do, I agree...Kylie should not have been subjected to such a treatment. I am but...a voice...however, and there was a...number of people who believe...retribution to be an important part of...justice.”
“No. Hold on. Why the hell do you know my human name?! Not even my sisters know it, and I know the Foundation doesn’t keep records, it’s against their principles!”
That Man smiled.
“As you can see, questions...beget questions. And I have answers...but you ask wrong. You assume...BrainTrust and I have perfectly...convergent interests. You are mistaken, Terri...I finance them, set things...in motion, but I have little control. In fact...Among all the experiments to which the...Coppelia Pretties will be...subjected...I will have a hand in only one. You.”
“Me? But...Why?”
“Because you are the only one I can...readily change, my dear.”
“Change? Change how?”
Terri tensed up. With That Man’s affable manners, she had almost forgotten that she was still in the clutches of a nefarious, mind controlling organization.
“Well...You...all are my valuable dolls. You are intelligent...souls, and I assure you I dare not dream to underestimate...your worth.” He stated, in a disarmingly honest tone. “Yet, I am your owner now, and I’d love nothing but to own every inch of...you. Know your...deepest secrets, control every impulse, make you know...you are mine. Yet...my psychology skills...do not lie in changing minds.”
The sporty Pretty raised an eyebrow. Well, what was he good at, then? But just as she thought that, he once again spoke in that slow, cautious voice of his...
“Well, what am I good at, then?”
Her heart sank.
“Oh...shit.” He continued, calmly. “Read minds? No, no way...it’s got to be a trick...somehow...I have got to be kidding you. Oh...you’re thinking of something random now...Rest assured, I am not that skilled.” He said, smiling wider and waving his hand. “Though I’d wager something about...” He cocked his head to the side. “Swimming?”
“Holy shit...”
Terri was dumbfounded. She had thought of the sea, which was just far enough from what he had thought to rule out some kind of telepathic McGuffin, but close enough to be incredibly creepy. That Man just looked at her...and read her.
“Indeed, I am not psychic, Terri...and I certainly can’t read everything...But I do have enough...innate understanding of the mind to have...a fairly accurate idea of...important thoughts you might have.”
“Stop it. Please.”
“Back to...your change.” He said, though it was unclear whether or not he did it to grant Terri’s request. “As I said, I cannot change your thoughts...Well, yes, I can, if...I were to commandeer BrainTrust technology...It will take care of your sisters after all...But you...”
His pale eyes drilled into her. There was a slight, delicate, but very real hunger to them.
“You...Terri...Sarah...I can change you myself.”
“Well, screw you!” She exclaimed, equal parts terrified and angry. “Just reading my mind won’t make me crawl before you! You’re just a delusional creep!”
“Quite...right...But I said you were the only...one...Why? Because...your mind...will allow me.”
“Say what?”
“The others...they would just close up. Only technology can make their mind bloom against...their will. Not so with you...You are special. Your mind is so smooth and unremarkable, it’s actually...a wonder. You know what I am...talking about, don’t you? You don’t want to admit it, but you know...Fret not...I will not drug you. I will not...harm you. We are just going...to sit there, in this nice...office. We are going...to talk. And when we are done...You are going...to call me...Master. As simple...as that.”
Part 2
Grace frowned. The thing in her hands—on the surface, a modest pair of glasses—was as impressive as it was disturbing. To bring the human psyche on the surface like that...Part of her still believed it had to be an illusion. But it checked out. What this device showed was in adequacy with her own conclusions.
At the other side of the white-walled office, a door opened, and she turned around. In the door frame stood BrainTrust’s “owner”, and her current employer.
“Doctor...Rivers.” He said in his strangely frail voice. “As agreed upon, I...bring Miss McGinnis.”
“Please do not call her this way.” Sharply said Grace. “We both know her human name is a source of great trauma.”
“Of...course. I merely wanted you...to say it. After all, she is going to be...your student. Come...Terri my dear.”
“Yes, Master.”
Terri obediently stepped into view. She looked at the woman her new Master wanted her to meet. Him aside, she was the only person in the whole of BrainTrust not wearing a mask. She had...white hair? The sporty Pretty couldn’t help but look surprised. The woman didn’t seem to take offense, though. With a smile, she addressed That Man.
“I’ll take it from here, sir.”
“Of course. Good...day.”
With a twinge in her heart, Terri watched her Master leave. She had only met him two hours ago, yet he already was so important to her...
“So...nice to meet you, Terri.” Said the white-haired woman. “I’m Grace Rivers. Please call me Grace. I know what you’re here for, but I’d like to hear it from you.”
“Yes ma’am...” Replied Terri, bowing her head. “Master has...shown me what I truly want. I couldn’t believe it, but...I realized it was the truth. I want to work for BrainTrust, and learn how to reeducate people. But for their own good. From what I understand, you’re the expert who’s going to teach me.”
“That’s right.”
“But...I want to know you weren’t behind what happened to Kylie. Please. I want to become a programmer, but not for this.”
Terri closed her eyes. She had done it now. Admitted the repressed feelings she harbored all those years. But she wanted to know that, at least, it was for the greater good.
“Absolutely. I had nothing to do with...this thing.” Replied Grace, dead serious. “Although they did use my devices, this group of people largely took upon themselves to pervert their intended use. It was entirely the initiative of the...well, the other branch of the company. You and I will modify your sisters for their own good.”
“Okay...I’m glad. I’ll be in your care, then, ma’am.” Solemnly says Terri.
An awkward silence filled the room. Grace clearly struggled to pick her next words. Terri took it as an opportunity to look at her new teacher in detail. Her white hair definitely was the most striking thing about her, but once you got past that, you could see an incredibly beautiful woman. Her face was a bit strange, but in a charming way. Her traits were so delicate, she could star in a CGI Disney movie. An upturned nose, prominent cheekbones, a skin as smooth as a doll’s...When she was teenage, Terri thought, she must have looked like a perfect little princess.
“Well then, my apprentice”, Grace began by saying, “Could you tell me why you want to become a mind-controller? I looked at your file, and I understood the trauma that reigned over your human life, but unlike...well, the man you called Master, I don’t see how it leads to you being a domme.”
“Truth to be told,” Terri chuckled, “I didn’t thought myself as a domme at all. But when Master revealed he knew every inch of my life story, and then told me that everything I did, or rather didn’t do, as a Pretty was all in the sake of being hired by Mr.setton...It was like...An epiphany. I don’t know why...But he’s right. I want to work for the PWF. I guess it’s because I was saved by becoming a Pretty, so I see mind control as a benevolent force.”
“I see. I hope BrainTrust is an acceptable substitute to your surrogate mother of a company.”
“Well...You condemning Kylie’s rape is a good start.”
“Oh, trust me, I do condemn it.” Said Grace rather hastily. “I’m an independant contractor, and the treatment I’m giving to Kylie is most gentle. I care for my patients, and though her crimes make my blood boil, I am reshaping her into her true, repressed self.”
Terri smirked. Kylie, repressed? She didn’t want to belittle Grace, but...she just found the idea preposterous. The strange doctor gave the Pretty a knowing look.
“The first and most fundamental lesson a...shall we say, coercitive psychiatrist can learn is that people don’t like being happy nearly as much as they like being right. In this matter, Kylie is something of a textbook case.”
“They...put teenage assassins in textbooks now?” Asked Terri, puzzled.
“Not exactly. I’ll explain her troubles in great detail later. But for now...could you describe how you perceive her?”
The question gave the Pretty pause. How would she describe Kylie? She had known her for a year, and though it was only two days a week, those days were meaningful. Talking with the customers was one thing—Pretties were designed to be able to hold normal conversations while still being subservient sex dolls. But Kylie was their equal. She didn’t trigger the submissive feelings the way humans did, and by talking about her adventures all over the world, she made them feel human again. She was like a boastful older sister who could actually back her claims up. She was a real-life gritty action hero...With the body of a supermodel. For Terri, there was no way she was anything else than genuine.
“She’s...proud. She knows she is a monster but owns up to it. At heart, I know she’s appalled by her own darkness...But she knows she’s broken. She doesn’t run from it. So when she’s not compelled to shed blood, she basks in our love. She gave up everything to follow us here. That’s commitment. That’s...being a true lover, despite the other part of her personality.”
“I see.”
Grace toyed a bit with the pair of glasses she had in her hands. She seemed dubitative...and not only at Terri’s take on the mercenary. After a few seconds, she raised her eyes back to the Pretty.
“Let us compare your analysis with the facts, shall we?”
She got up and walked out of the room. Terri followed, and a short walk in the empty corridors later, they arrived at a row of metal doors. The place gave the Pretty a strange sense of déja vu, but she didn’t have the time to think about it before she noticed something right next to the first door. It was a small LCD screen, on which Kylie’s picture could be seen. Next to the mugshot were the words “Scan in progress—Treatment pending”. Scan? She wondered. Scan for what? But she quickly figured that she would be given the answer momentarily—after all, she was now working with the people transforming Kylie. Right as she thought that, an intense feeling of shame came crashing down on Terri. Was it really what she was like? A traitor and a sadist out for her sisters’ sanity? No...she had to believe in her Master and Doctor Rivers. They wanted to experiment on their minds, yes, but to an happy end. Still...until she saw BrainTrust’s good intentions with her own eyes, the inner conflict wouldn’t be quelled.
The white-haired woman whipped out a keycard and opened the metal door. Terri’s inner turmoil peaked when she looked through the opening, and caught a glimpse of Kylie. She turned her head away, afraid of being seen by her sister.
“Do not fret, Terri.” Said Rivers in a reassuring voice. “She’s cut off from reality. She won’t see you. Or more accurately, she won’t care.”
Terri wasn’t entirely convinced. She had no reason to doubt her words, but at some level, she imagined Kylie breaking free of the control solely to smack her traitorous ass. Still, she opened her eyes, peered inside the room...and saw Kylie standing still, a far-off expression on her face. She wore a hospital gown, and her spiky hair, normally perfectly sculpted by gel, looked dishevelled. It looked like the mercenary had just gotten out of bed. Terri, both curious and worried, approached her, eliciting no reaction whatsoever.
“Ky...Kylie? Are you...”
But the question crashed in mid air when Terri noticed something on the back of her sister’s neck. Some sort of black, oblong thing attached to the skin.
“What...is that thing? Is this why she looks so...”
“Out of it? Yes. This is a mind-machine interface of my creation. It has complete mastery of everything the patient perceives. I only recently discovered it could be compared to key technology in a certain movie...One “Matrix”, I think?”
Terri chuckled, surprised. What sort of person didn’t know about the Matrix, let alone someone engineering a real-life version of it?
“Yes...So...perfect virtual reality then?”
“Quite. But right now, I’ve merely put her into a passive state, as the device scans and records all her memories into a computer a few rooms away. Yes, it’s wireless.”
“I see...” She waved a hand in front of Kylie’s indifferent eyes. “What does she feel? And...why copy her memories, anyway?”
“Eager to ask questions, are you? You really are getting into this...” Mused the mind controller. “She’s sleeping. Completely unconscious. And I’m going to cure her of her beast via memories...Among other things. But for now...I’d like you to put these on.”
Confused, Terri looked at Grace’s hands. She was presenting her a pair of glasses.
“Huh...Why, ma’am? I have perfect vision.”
“The lenses aren’t corrective. The temples are the interesting part.”
The temples? The Pretty took the spectacles and turned them around. Indeed, the inner sides of the temples were actually circuitry. Was it some sort of device?
“Put them on, and look at Kylie again.”
Although she was seriously reserved on the thing’s potential usefulness, Terri shrugged and complied. As soon as the temples were snugly resting on her ears, she felt a slight shock, and a distinctive dizziness. Well, she couldn’t say it was totally unexpected, but still...Her head cleared up quickly, though, and she looked at Kylie as instructed.
What she saw caused her to yelp in surprise, and stagger backwards. She felt Grace’s hands on her back, and was thankful for the support. She really felt like falling on her ass at any moment.
“Wh...Wha...What the HELL is this?!”
In front of her wasn’t Kylie. It wasn’t even a monster. It was...a surrealist, terrifying sight.
“Those glasses were invented by your Master. He claims them to be able to automate his gift for mind reading. I haven’t tried them myself, but reportedly, it makes the user see a person’s distortions as an allegorical figure.”
“Are you saying...That...that thing is an allegory for Kylie’s mind?”
“If your Master’s claims are true, yes. What do you see?”
Terri stammered. Where could she even begin?
“I...huh...In Ky’s place is a...huh...sort of metal statue...Surrounded by some, huh, pretty hardcore barbed wire. The barbs are way too long, and the wire seems like it floats in midair. This is freaky shit, ma’am!”
“I imagine.”
“Those glasses are messing with my brain, aren’t they?” Whined the Pretty, afraid.
“The way I understand it, they stimulate the area of your brain responsible for sensing and analyzing subtle body language clues, and makes you visualize problems the person has as an interpretable figure. By the way, I’d appreciate if you didn’t look at me. Keep your eyes on Kylie.”
Grace’s hands grabbed Terri’s shoulder, driving the point home. And to be honest, Terri wasn’t ready to handle seeing a new monster. She swallowed her saliva and nodded.
“Now, I’d like to verify this device’s accuracy.” Coldly continued Rivers. “I have already established Kylie’s psychological profile. I’d be curious to see if you can reach the same conclusions solely on looking at the allegory those glasses show you. Plus, this will be a good opportunity to evaluate your psychology skills. Oh, by the way. The analysis of Kylie you gave me earlier? Forget it. Start from scratch. Look at the monster. What do you see?”
The Pretty couldn’t believe it. Based on what she knew about her mercenary sister, the monster should have been something like a rabid werewolf or something. Maybe a two-faced thing. But the statue...The freaky barbed wire...She failed to see how it related to Kylie at all. In fact, in the midst of all the confusion, Terri felt genuine curiosity and excitement. The glasses were showing a part of Kylie that she didn’t know at all. Or maybe...a fundamentally different understanding of her character. She focused, and inspected the immobile figure.
“Okay, ma’am...So...The metallic statue...it’s perfectly shiny, it should reflect the room, but there’s only this chrome-y color. The statue itself doesn’t even remotely look like her. It’s sort of a neutral, genderless figure. Okay, so that accounts for her tomboyishness, this one’s easy enough.”
“Hmm hmm?” Drably muttered Rivers, refraining from passing any judgment on Terri’s analysis.
“But it’s weird. Kylie’s all about power. She’s the only Pretty ever to stay dominant when triggered. Yet...I don’t see anything related to power. The barbed wire is agressive, I guess, but...not in a powerful way.”
“What if you try triggering her? You know she’s a Pretty again. She’s passive right now, but should still react in some way.”
Oh, yeah, Terri thought. Before that whole slut affair, they did re-Prettified her.
“Kylie?” She tentatively said to the woman behind the monster. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever...”
The reaction was instantaneous. On the statue’s surface, the image of a face appeared. A demonic, black-eyed face screaming with a terrifyingly contorted mouth.
“Oh, SHIT!” Yelled Terri in surprise. “Okay, huh...scary face appeared on the statue. There’s the Beast. And I guess the barbed wire is her constant struggle against it. It’s a weird way to represent it, but...it works. There, that’s my take on it.”
Terri fell silent, waiting for the Doctor to grade her performance. The horror movie demon face, thankfully, faded away from the statue.
“You interpreted the allegory to fit your pre-existing opinion of Kylie.” Matter-of-factly said Rivers. “But I understand, it is hard to do away with our preconceptions.”
“Oh...So...I don’t pass.”
“It’s not about passing. You’ll learn. But yes, you are wrong. I wouldn’t take it too badly, though, because that’s the entire point of Kylie’s outward personality. She pathologically needs to fool people.”
“What? No! Kylie’s a monster but I told you, she’s straight as an arrow...And just as pointy.”
“I assure you, Terri. Kylie’s no monster.”
Kylie’s no monster? Yeah, right. Terri was getting to seriously doubt the white-haired shrink’s abilities now. She knew Kylie. She definitely was a psycho.
“Either way,” continued Rivers, “the glasses show promise, but as I suspected, it cannot possibly make you visualize all the complexity of a case. Still, the androgynous statue showing scary imagery is pretty accurate...You just oversimplified its meaning.”
Terri felt the Doctor’s hands removing the glasses. A short dizzying spell later, Kylie was back. Terri turned around to look at her teacher.
“Oversimplified?”
“Yes. This monster was a symbol, and like all symbols, it can be interpreted in different ways. Yours was a reasonable analysis, but incomplete and inaccurate. That is no coincidence, though. As I told you, Kylie’s distorsion aims to be perceived as radically different to what it really is.”
“Then what is her distorsion?” Asked Terri, both curious and annoyed. “This is my Sister. I want to know.”
Grace smiled.
“Of course.” She looked at the pacified mercenary. “Kylie isn’t “all about power” at all. She is no monster. She doesn’t crave for blood. It’s all a lie. A carefully fabricated image to cover up her self-loathing. She is so frightened at the idea of being herself that she’d rather turn herself into the worst person in the world than face it.”
Terri felt like she’d been hit with a giant frying pan. That last sentence...somehow, it rang true. It didn’t seem possible, and yet...it explained so much. Why she would look like the happiest girl in the world one day before her Streamlining, yet bail out of it and make her free life ten times as inhuman as before. Terri knew the Beast, if it even existed, was completely subdued when Kylie stood at the edge of Streamlining. Revenge should have been the last thing on her mind. That’s why it was so odd—and felt so much like a betrayal—when she chose freedom. But with Rivers’ explanation...It made so much more sense. She didn’t set herself free. She didn’t want revenge. The moment she found out she had a choice...She was compelled to throw herself back into the battlefield.
“In terms of the allegory you saw...The statue, of course, is the central piece. It encases her true self, protecting her from the barbed wire of outlooker scrutiny, and it displays intimidating imagery. She is genuinely agressive, but the fact that it only shows up as an image on a non-reflective surface indicates how hollow it is—it may have real life, horrid consequences, but she isn’t feeling it. The real feeling she experiences when she lashes out isn’t power, as she herself believes. It’s concealement. By being a scary murderer, she protects her secret. She feels safe. That’s the real reason she does it. Mere smoke and mirrors.”
“But...Why? What kind of super-skeleton does she have in her closet to be worth becoming a murderer over?!”
“Astonishingly, nothing special...And certainly nothing worth that cost. Kylie is a mountain of consequences built upon a simple distorsion. That is why I called her a textbook case, Terri. She may appear like the nutcase of the century, but the heart of her distorsion is, in fact, disarmingly straightforward.”
What was it? Terri wondered, looking worryingly at her poor Sister. What did she dread so much she’d become a criminal mastermind’s wife and living weapon to cover up? But Grace’s next words weren’t the much desired, if not needed, answer.
“You have all the necessary elements at your disposition to find out what it is. You saw the allegory of her damaged psyche. You heard about her life story. Kylie would probably prefer you make it out by yourself.”
“Yes...I guess she would.”
Looking at her now, passive and helpless, controlled by such a small device on her neck, Kylie was plenty miserable as is. But Terri had just heard deep, dark secrets of her mind—secrets she repressed. The aspiring domme did want to get to the bottom of it...But not as much as she wanted to set Kylie free of this turmoil.
“So...We’re going to set her free from that...distorsion, right?”
“Of course. I have a plan that should work like a charm.” Declared the white-haired woman with a bright smile. “I was just waiting for the memory scan to complete...And a certain something to be delivered. And if the footsteps I hear are what I think they are...”
Grace walked out of the room just as a masked woman was walking to meet them.
“Ah, Mrs. Rivers! The BioHack injector is all primed and ready.” She said, all chipper, while presenting a small package.
“Many thanks, Miss.”
She then took the package, and the BrainTrust employee left. Terri looked at the package.
“So that’s the famous transformation juice...” She marvelled.
“Yes. Chet Blazinsky’s claim to posterity. The formula that broke down the definition of human. One shudders to imagine the consequences if it went public. This is an affront on nature...And Kylie’s salvation.”
“What...is this particular mutagen going to do? Is it a standard sexiness thing or...huh, one of those kinky special orders?”
“Oh, something in the middle...”
The package was quickly opened, and the fabled injector revealed. It was every bit the newfangled injection gun you could see on a sci-fi-ish TV show, complete with a little vial of clear liquid. One little vial that could completely change a human body. Terri was so entranced in its implications that it took her ten seconds to realize that Grace was handing it to her. When she finally took it, Grace took out her smartphone, and started fiddling with it. The immobile Kylie twitched and moaned, her eyes looking somewhat more alive, but remained upright.
“I’ve put her in half-consciousness.” She explained to the Pretty. “She believes she’s floating in liquid in the foetal position. Not very creative for a rebirth, I’ll admit, but fitting.”
Grace then approached Kylie, carressed her hair as if she was a dear daughter, and softly spoke into her ear.
“Hello, Kylie. I’m Grace, and I’m going to be your doctor. I’ve been hired to cure you from your...what do you call it? Beast. Yes...You’re a really bad person, Kylie, and we have to change you deeply. Soon, you will experience the memories of your teenage years...But we are going to make one change. You’re going to become a very special girl, Kylie...and from that particularity, everything you are will change. No more violence...no more being a tomboy. You will grow into a so delicate and loving girl...And everyone will be better off. Including you. No...especially you.”
Her message delivered, Doctor Rivers used her smartphone again, and Kylie went back into her dead-eyed, immobile state.
“You can inject her now, Terri. And shed any concerns you might have. I assure you she will thank us when we’re finished.”
“Alright, ma’am.”
Terri still had a smidge of doubt in her heart, but she had seen with her own eyes how fucked-up Kylie was, and she couldn’t help but find the Doctor’s analysis consistent with what she knew, if surprising. Kylie needed the treatment, or she would be doomed to only find solace in violence.
Her Master had been right. She did believe that mind control could be benevolent. When she pressed the gun on Kylie’s neck, she knew in her heart that it was for the best. She pulled the trigger, and saw the mercenary flinch a little.
“How much time does the mutagen need?” Asked the Pretty, assuming Doctor Rivers had experience in this matter.
“No time at all. Look, it’s already starting.”
Indeed, under Terri’s amazed eyes, Kylie’s form was changing. Her well-toned muscles faded away, her lips became fuller, her nose smaller, and...her already pretty amazing breasts were growing. Before long, the mercenary looked like an adorable, utterly feminine doll.
“Wow...” Marvelled Terri. “She’s become so cute...And I think I get it. Kylie’s true desire...It’s just to be girly?”
“Yes.” Somberly replied Grace.
“But why?”
“That, I cannot say for certain. My most likely hypothesis, though, would be this.”
The white-haired mind controller breathed in before continuing.
“when she was little, Kylie was a perfectly normal girl. She learned karate from the tender age of four, but it was just a sport for her, and it didn’t affect her gender identity. Her father loved her, but nonetheless regretted not having a son. He took care not to coerce her into taking karate lessons, but it wasn’t enough. Kylie subconsciously felt her father’s repressed desire and, around the age of ten, began to see her own femininity as undesirable. She fashioned herself a tomboy, and her father couldn’t help but provide positive reinforcement for this change. Before long, she thought it normal to be androgynous. She grew to hate anything labeled as feminine, and when she was fourteen, it went too far.”
“The...the hobo thing, right?”
Terri could remember the day Alyssa told them the story. It was during the time when they didn’t know what had happened to Kylie, before she finally came back and announced she would spend every weekend with them. The story of how she became a murderer.
“Yes. One night, a cat howling in pain distracted her from her karate practice. She looked outside, and saw that a local lunatic had kicked the poor feline. She got out...and when she came back home, she was a killer.”
“Yes, I remember...She just decided the guy had to die, and didn’t care.”
Grace let out a dreary sigh.
“That is how she remembers it...Because she cannot face the pathetic truth.”
She walked up to Kylie, and talked softly to her ear.
“Kylie. You are now reliving your memories. You are in your room, practicing.”
“Yes...” Replied Kylie, clearly still asleep.
“You hear a cat howling in pain. Tell us exactly what you think.”
“I...go to the window.” Said Kylie, slurring every word. “Oh, this guy again. Did he...hurt a kitty? I have to see if the kitty’s alright...”
Terri frowned. She was thinking about the cat? Sure, it was a normal reaction...and that was exactly what was strange about it.
“I quietly go out...can’t wake up my folks...I see the kitty. It’s shivering against the wall of the next house...The nutjob is pissing under a lamppost...Poor kitty...But...if I help it, I’ll look like a girl...I’m a black belt, the normal thing is to kick that dickhead’s ass...But the kitty needs me...No, what’s wrong with you Ky, you kick ass, what if people hear you went to rescue a damn cat when you could waste an asshole...”
Kylie raised her hands, and grasped her own head, her now delicate face contorted in anguish. In turn, Terri’s heart dropped in sympathy for her Sister’s pain.
“But I’m a girl...nobody will laugh if I save the kitty...no, I’m a badass black belt before I am a girl...what’s...” She began to raise her monotone voice... “What’s WRONG with you Ky?! A poor kitty needs you and you think about your STREET CRED?!” Her voice was now wavering in a mix of anger and shame. “Save the kitty, come on, SAVE THE KITTY! WHO CARES IF THEY SEE YOU AS GIRLY? I care. I’m not a fragile flower, I’m badass...Come on, do it!! DO IT!” She yelled. “GODDAMIT, WHAT KIND OF A FUCKING PSYCHO ARE YOU?!!”
That last scream was the last straw. Terri couldn’t handle it anymore.
“STOP IT!” She pleaded. “Stop making her reliving it! Please!”
“Of course. Go to sleep, Kylie.”
“YOU’RE A FUCKING MONSTER, Ky...” The mercenary’s voice dropped, going back to a sleepy mumble. “lie...Sleep...Just...”
And just like that, she was back to her stationary, unconscious state. Terri wiped tears from under her eyes.
“I...Can’t believe it...” She cried. “She was so ashamed of even thinking about her image before the cat’s health...”
“She’d rather think it was because she was criminally insane, than because she was simply a self-conscious idiot irrationaly hating her own gender.”
“But...But...But...that’s...completely stupid!”
“Yes. Precisely.”
Grace walked to the door, patting Terri’s shoulder on the way.
“This is why we are going to replace her memories, and force her to get out of her tomboy phase before that fateful night. She will be alright. She won’t have to live with the burden of having killed people over gender issues.”
Terri followed her, giving one last glance to her conflicted Sister. She knew it was goodbye—next time they meet, Kylie’s mind would match her new body. She wondered what expression she would make...and hoped it would be a happy one.
Part 3
“Grace...I can’t believe it’s only been three days.”
Terri’s new mentor smiled. She could surmise what went through her mind, but thought preferable to let her express herself.
“How so?”
“Well, I’m calling you Grace, for one.”
“After repeated invitations to do so. Nothing peculiar here.”
“I know, I know, but...I’ve been a Pretty for five years. It’s enough time to get used to calling people Sir or Madam ten times over. For us, first-name basis doesn’t mean friendship, it means pillow talk.”
“Well, Lawrence Setton’s techniques are exclusively centered on manipulating emotions. Lose the enforced stimulus, and your mind goes back to its old habits.”
“Yeah...I know, it’s just that I never thought I still had habits to go back to.”
With a sigh, Terri looks at her reflection in the martini glass. Her face is still the same, but the glimmer in her eyes isn’t. She isn’t in the Coppelia, her peaceful coccoon. She’s in a fancy bar downtown. In the real world. Around her, couples chatter and laugh, completely oblivious to the pair of modern day enslavers in their midst.
“Five years a slave, three days a Mistress, and I feel so fucking at ease...” She squeezes her glass, translating the feeling in her heart. “It’s scary.”
“You don’t have to feel bad when you show happiness to people you care about.”
“Easy for you to say.” Chortled Terri. “You never had to do that to people you care for just like they are.”
“I suppose it’s true.”
The silver-haired woman sighed and, remaining perfectly upright, took another sip of her cosmopolitan. Terri was impressed at how she managed to make this simple act so refined. Grace was very particular about avoiding the topic of her past and what led her on the path of borderline supervillainy, but clearly, it had to do something with nobility. Oh well...time to change the subject.
“I’m glad we could cure Kylie at least.” Observed Terri. “I can’t wait for her to wake up, so I can hug her big time. She’s so adorable now!”
“She is, isn’t she...” Smiled Rivers. “But you know, her current state isn’t the goal of my therapy, per se.”
“What...What do you mean?” Asked the former Pretty, taken aback.
“Well, complete memory replacement is hardly therapy for the person herself, is it? As far as she is concerned, it was just a preliminary step. It aided Alyssa’s requested modification, however, which is now complete.”
“What? But...Alyssa wanted to be a dominatrix?”
“She isn’t the one who requested it, I’m afraid. I’d tell you more, but my contract stipulates I must keep you in the dark regarding certain things...and this is one of them.”
Terri’s jaw went slack. What exactly was going on here? She had been so busy learning the trade and brainwashing Selena and Christina, she hadn’t thought about Alyssa at all. But yes, this was strange, wasn’t it? Kylie’s descent into fluffy docility blinded Terri to Alyssa’s opposite dynamic. She knew her original persona, Chloe, was a bit of a bitch, but still...
“Are you telling me somebody purchased her under the condition that she become a dominatrix? I mean, it’s she didn’t choose herself, it’s the only explanation left...”
“It is, isn’t it? Well, what I can tell you is that while I was largely given free rein in handling your Sisters, you and Alyssa were the, let’s say...specific orders.”
“I see...So you’re curing Kylie, Selena and Christina, you’ve transformed Alyssa into a requested persona, and BrainTrust keeps Emily...I’m not sure I get it, but I’m fairly certain this “experiments” stuff they fed us was bullshit by now. If they hired you, they would damn well know you’d want to make my Sisters happier.”
“Quite right. It seems silly to me that they would want to hide that fact, but we are not dealing with rational people here.”
“No kidding.”
With another sigh, the former Pretty finished her Martini. Hell, if leisure time ended up in difficult conversations, she might as well just talk about work.
“So...What’s the final plan for Kylie, then?”
“Well, to be honest, I’ll be reusing an old prototype of mine, so everything is more or less already laid down for you. But the gist of it is forcing her to accept her new body. After that is done, since we’ve removed her main hurdle, her mind will naturally fall into balance, and she’ll, at last, be happy.”
“So there won’t be any need for me to intervene, then?”
“Not a need per se, but you’ll be able to fine-tune it.” smiles her new mentor. “Oh, and if you were perchance wondering, Selena should, barring unforeseen consequences, stay as is, and Christina will just have to readjust to reality with the...softened intellect we’ll give her tomorrow.”
“Okay, I see...” Terri’s hands flew to her forehead as sadness colors her face. “God, Christina...I still can’t believe she was under such duress all this time.”
The emotional weight kept Terri’s head down. She had thought of her tall, mature Sister as a perfectly happy woman. Someone who accepted her condition as a Pretty and used her tablet as a gateway to the outside world, to set her mind free. And, like for Kylie...Terri had been completely and utterly blind to her plight. There was no doubt her ever-growing intellectual prowess brought Christina some pride, but ultimately, it wasn’t what she wanted. If her owner, that despicable man, wasn’t busy emotionally torturing her, the Pretty would have just thrown herself into the happiness the Foundation could give her. It seemed strange, but that was Christina’s wish. Terri had seen it for herself.
She felt it in her jacket’s breast pocket. The incredible device that could reveal anyone’s heart. The glasses. Every time Terri put them on, she saw inner secrets laid bare. When she used it on Kylie, for lack of a better expression, it had been a shock, and she had found herself completely unable to interpret the vision. Who would have guessed that a statue surrounded by barb wire meant a profound desire to hide her own femininity? Fortunately for the budding mind controller, Selena and Christina had been...quite a bit more straightforward.
Especially Selena, but to be honest, there was hardly any challenge at all. Terri had been the first Pretty in the Coppelia, Selena the second. She probably was the single one person in the world who best knew the redhead’s inner turmoil. Technically, it was Emily who knew her best, but Terri knew her true self. Thalia. The genuine article. The girl who willingly turned herself into the sultry whore the Coppelia knew. Thalia was, in all honesty, a wreck of a human being. Pathologically shy, not particularly stunning physically...The Prettier World Foundation had abducted her for one reason only.
So that a single Pretty could break her in. A better adjusted human woman needed a whole sisterhood of Pretties to soften her into sexual servitude. But Thalia...a single friend could have, and indeed had, done the job. Yes...Terri had enslaved Thalia to the Foundation’s will all by her lonesome. It was probably, in hindsight, another sign she was cut out for being a dominatrix. Once that was done, the shy girl chose, like Alyssa years later, to change herself completely...and the rest was sexy, sexy history.
So how did the glasses interpret that? Fairly simply. A small Thalia, with her braided hair, floated, in foetal position, around Selena herself, given the smooth skin of a mannequin. Needless to say, Grace had no qualms whatsoever concerning Terri’s interpretation.
A bit less straightforward was Christina’s psych-allegory. Unlike Selena and Kylie, she wasn’t any kind of humanoid figure. She was...a stack of books, of all things. Not brainless bit lit, either. It was a treasure trove of scholarly knowledge. Mainly on economics and finances, which Terri knew to be the ladylike Pretty’s strong suit, but many other topics as well. The most surprising part, however, was a small aquarium laboriously supporting the weight of all those books. One side of the aquarium was clear, but the others were painted with threatening, dark imagery complete with two menacing red eyes. In the middle of it, floating in clear water, was a tiny mermaid. It was no doubt Christina, but she had short, childish blonde hair and a dopey expression, holding a rubber toy nearly as big as herself.
“A toy-sized mermaid crushed under a heap of knowledge...” She sighed, prompting Grace to nod. “I just can’t wrap my head around it. Christina was...she was one of the youngest Pretties, yet we all saw her as some kind of mentor.”
“And nonetheless, if she had gotten free of her Master’s grip at any point during the past few years, she’d have bought a bimbo personality makeover in a heartbeat.”
“Yeah...But how the hell did you get that asshole to let her go?” Asked Terri, leaning forward. “From what little she ever told me, Christina made it pretty clear he was pretty attached to toying with her.”
“About that...” Pensively replies the white-haired woman. “From what I understand, both her Master and the man who took care of...persuading him will be here to witness her final conversion.”
Terri blushed inconsciously. The man...could he be...?
“You don’t mean...My Master?”
“Hm? Oh, no, though he is connected to him.”
“I...see.”
“Do not despair. Christina is the last one. After that, all we be revealed.”
Rivers finished her cosmopolitan and smiled. Terri shivered. Her smile was...a bit disquieting. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint why, but...For just a moment, it felt like she was a Pretty again.
“Or at least I surmise.” Continued the lady after a pause.
“You’re...not sure?”
“I think they just don’t like the idea of me being truly in the loop. Bah, no matter...Tomorrow at this hour, my job will be done.”
“Yeah, but...”
Terri curled up her fists. Grace looked surprised as she delicately pushes her glass to the side.
“But?”
“I mean, my training isn’t anywhere near complete, right?”
“True, but still, the terms of my contract aren’t really all that concerned with you. A bit shameful on BrainTrust’s part, but it does mean you’ll be truly free in twenty-four hours.”
“I see.”
“What will you do, Terri dear?”
“I...actually don’t know, ma’am.”
Grace smirked. Terri was slipping back to old habits. She briefly considered pointing it out, but decided against it. Even after crossing an ocean and abandoning your home country, good manners and customs still meant a lot to her. Up to a point, of course, but still.
“I believe likely that you’ll stay with your Pretty sisters, and indeed I planned accordingly. You absolutely should do the follow-up work. But for what it’s worth, I would be delighted if you join my team someday. You have the makings of a great coercitive therapist.”
“Really?” Chuckled Terri. “You’re too kind. I was totally oblivious to two of my Sisters’ problem. Not to mention I suck with computers...I mean, you’re amazing at reading people, but let’s face it, you’re, first and foremost, an engineering genius. You built the goddamn Matrix!”
“Oh, please...I’m rubbish as a human being. Intent and empathy are the relevant matter here. Skills don’t mean anything when you’re a crazy psychopath. Not that I need to tell you that...do I, Sarah?”
The world seemed to freeze up. The bar’s patrons keep drinking and laughing, but Terri couldn’t hear them. Sarah. She hated that name so much. It was like deep, black hole
in her soul, pulling her inside her own mind. Sarah McGinnis. Her name, her curse...she grabbed her own head as the world grew cold, cruel, terrifying. The memory of the first day of BrainTrust experiments, when her whole self was laid bare by That Man’s inquisitive eyes came in her mind’s eye, vivid, compelling.
“Fret not...I will not drug you. I will not...harm you. We are just going...to sit there, in this nice...office. We are going...to talk. And when we are done...You are going...to call me...Master. As simple...as that.”
The sporty Pretty gulped, unable to get her eyes off the creepy man. Who was he? What was he after? Whatever it was...Terri felt afraid. Naked. Uncomfortable. The Foundation allowed her to be at peace. Simply happy...without having to question herself. She wanted to get back to the Coppelia. Back home. Safe...
“I am not anything special.”
“Funny, that...Your mind just retreated...curled onto itself and...this is the part of my...sentence you react to? Telling, isn’t it...”
“Telling? Seven billion humans...nobody’s special.”
“True...In a sense...But also false in nearly all...others.”
Terri frowned. His politeness had been refreshing, but now he was just starting to piss him off. That Man was clearly toying with her. She had to take the offensive.
“Alright. You know my human name...How much do you know?”
“That you have spent several years avoiding revealing to your sisters...Beginning with the fact that you were the second...Pretty the Foundation ever created.”
“Okay...” Terri grunted. “Now how the Hell can you possibly know that?”
“You’re really bad at this, aren’t you, Terri?” Said that man, as if making a casual observation. “I am...in the business of knowing. Just let me regal you with what this venture brought me. And...please do refrain on the...astonishment.”
Both irritated and apprehensive, Terri decided to swallow and take it. He obviously knew everything about the life she had been so relieved to push into the background upon her Streamlining.
“You were born Sarah, daughter of...Edwin McGinnis, the now sadly famous serial killer. Though you were mostly spared by...public witch hunts, you did carry that burden your whole life. Some due to other, narrow minded people, true, but mostly your own psyche just...couldn’t dissociate itself from your lineage. You grew...deathly afraid of...any kind of passion. You feared, mostly irrationally, that becoming...involved, in anything, would eventually lead you to your father’s path of madness.”
Grinding her teeth, damn well aware that her Pretty conditioning meant couldn’t shut That Man up by a right hook to the jaw, Terri felt her childhood rushing back to her. It wasn’t, to say the least, a pleasant experience. She had always been a specter, afraid of everything. Other people’s misguided sense of justice in general, but herself in particular. Broken by the actions of a man she had barely known at all.
“Of course a young girl with...such a burden would grow somewhat...apathetic. By the time you reached adulthood, all your social interaction had that...artificial quality to them. I wouldn’t say you quite...reached the level of personality disorder, but...definitely an odd young woman.”
“It...really is...incredibly uncomfortable, you know. Knowing my life to this extent...A life I was so happy to be torn away from...What the hell do you want from me?”
“To own you. Really, that’s it...I have...some obsessions myself. This is why knowledge is so...important to me.”
“Go sleep with someone...” Tried to admonish Terri, aware it would just bounce off this freak.
And indeed, That Man let out a soft, creepy laugh.
“Why not you, my dear? After all, sex servitude was your saving...grace.”
She elected to remain silent.
“Being a woman who seemed outwardly friendly, yet was avoiding any strong feelings, you became the typical college student who got dragged in every party, every social situation...You became a follower, living vicariously on the passions other people were allowed to have. Little did you know, this, coupled with the fact...that you were an orphan, made you a prime candidate for any budding...sex slave operation. Especially the PWF. They so...like their rationalizations, these ones...”
Terri smiled unconsciously. The Foundation. How she loved them...But her smile quickly faded when more recent memories came forward. How could they have sold her?!
“Of all your Sisters, you’re the...one their betrayal hurt the most, aren’t you? You were with them...since the beginning.”
“Yes...” Moaned Terri, on the verge of losing all control. “Unlike the others, I went through all three phases of the conversion in succession. I was a guinea pig. Shady investors from all over the country got to see me being brought in kicking and screaming, and turned into Terri the Pretty. Needless to say, I thanked them all personally for watching me be reborn as a sex doll.”
“Did you...enjoy it?”
“Of course I did. Because my programming forced me to, but, well...it was also the first time I felt truly accepted.”
“Truly, yes...But never completely, never...satisfyingly.”
“Yes...”
He knew that, too. Who the hell was this guy? For all these years since the Coppelia was built, she always took care of looking as happy and fulfilled as possible. Did the Foundation see through it? Did Setton mention it on a file somewhere, and it got shipped to BrainTrust during the transfer?
“During the few months after your transformation...you serviced the staff directly. You weren’t...an office slave, more like...everyone’s girlfriend. After all, being employed in an...illicit trade, many employees needed proof that Pretties would be happy.”
Indeed, Terri could remember the time was making the rounds, fully programmed and compliant. More so than the sex, it was the employees’ moods that had stuck with her. She was highly sensitive of others’ scrutiny to begin with, but the odd mix of curiosity, compassion and dominance she found in the humans really left its mark.
“So before the Coppelia and the...other gardens were finished,” continued That Man, “it was...only you and the first test subject, Cynthia. Was it...painful to get separated from her?”
“Not really, no...They hadn’t developped the pheromone bond yet when we were created. We liked each other well enough, I guess, but...nothing like our Sisters.”
“Which explains why you didn’t...remain in contact after the gardens were...finished...Selena was the first to join you, yes?”
“Yes.” Answered Terri, lost in the memories. “The first real generation of Pretties weren’t psychologically damaged like us two, and needed the week before the Streamlining. But they were selected for shyness and social anxiety so that only one Pretty could break them in. Then, Emily came. Then Christina. Then Alyssa...And finally, Kylie. Sort of.”
That Man got out of his sofa, and started turning around Terri’s.
“You were...among sisters. Your name, your curse, didn’t matter...anymore.”
“Yes.”
“And...yet, you were unsatisfied.”
“Yes.”
“...Why?”
“I...” Sobbed Terri. “Don’t...have a fucking clue...I should have been happy. I had no choice. Yet this heart. This...fucked up heart...”
She gripped her chest, tears flowing from her eyes.
“What’s wrong with me?! You...sob you know every damn thing about me, you freak! WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME?!“
“This...is the part where...I prove my ownership.” Came his answer in a chillingly sober tone. “Indeed, I know what is wrong with you...Terri. And I...know what...you need.”
“Tell me. Please.”
“I know more about you...than yourself. You cannot...do anything, think...anything I cannot predict. Please...who?”
That was it? Thought the Pretty. That was his plan? Ask her to call him Master in exchange for the answer to her turmoil? This was a trick...A cheap trick. Just a thorough background check...Maybe just interrogation under hypnosis. But...did it matter?
“P...”
He knew everything. She had been ravished by men countless times, abandoned herself as much as she could each time, to reignite passion within the heart her father killed by his mere existence. Never had she been so...connected. Terri understood. Finally. Ownership...Complete knowledge meant control. Mastery. And being thusly owned...felt...like
Faith.
That Man had all the answers. Without him, she was lost to at least some extent. With him, she knew. Yes, she thought. This feeling...this odd warmth...It is faith. There was no point in being afraid. Denying Him only meant going back to ignorance. Confidence rose within her, and, solemnly...
“Please, Master.”
“The Prettier World Foundation was the...answer. You came close...to plenitude. They only made a mistake, a mistake I do not make...my faithful...slave.”
“I am listening, Master.”
“They put you on the wrong side. What you always wished...was to be part of them.”
Slowly, subtly, her mouth went agape. She remembered every time she had hovered her finger on a full personality reprogramming. Every time she chose instead to remain as nondescript as possible. Because she wasn’t a doll. She was happy in the Foundation...But she only liked being a Pretty for the buried prospect of creating another one. Remaking another Selena. Making the world prettier.
That was the Truth. Her Master was wonderfully, resplendently right. Her faith had been well placed.
On her cheek rolled a tear of joy, as her eyes opened to the light.
“Thank you, oh, Master.”
Terri closed her eyes and smiled. She didn’t have to fear being Sarah McGinnis anymore. She wasn’t. She knew, at last, who she was. A shepherd. A kindred soul to Grace...and her Master’s eternally grateful servant.
“I hope I can see him again after tomorrow.”
“Oh, I have no doubt, Terri.”
“You can call me Sarah if you like.”
“I know.”
The former Pretty chuckled. Of course she would.
“Well...” Said Grace with a knowing smirk. “Shall we be off, then?”
“Alright. We have our work cut out for us tomorrow, boss.”