Gradient Descent Ch. 04

Victoria walked into the laboratory to find a hot latte waiting at her desk. She had always been the first to arrive. "Shit, I hate mornings," Amya would say. However, starting two weeks ago, Victoria had arrived at the lab already occupied by her partner, eager to get into the Array. That pattern continued for several days, until Victoria decided to insert a new modification: a desire to please her. A day later, her desk was always decorated with the offering of a latte. And then she toyed with other minor modifications.

Victoria picked up the coffee. "Caffeinate and conquer, Mistress," Amya called out. Victoria stifled a moan. The new title was a fiction. Amya wasn't conditioned to truly regard her as "Mistress." Just a minor modification. When no one else was around, Amya substituted "Mistress" for "Victoria." And was programmed not to notice.

Victoria took her first sip of coffee and winced. She remembered the first attempt at this little adjustment, a week ago, when she hadn't thoroughly considered what she was doing. Amya emerged from her session and asked, "Well, I feel refreshed! Want me to grab you another cup of coffee, Master?"

Master. Amya was no chattel slave. Victoria was not so vulgar, not some crude slave owner. I will be the savior of women like Amya, she thought. "Amya, what I--what we are doing will improve the world. You will rise. Women will rise. Men will see what they have done with this world."

"OK..." Amya said. "I guess 'Beast Mode medium blend' brings out the revolutionary in you." She raised her fist. "Power to the people!"

Victoria took her second sip of coffee and tried to wash away the memory of that mistake.

Why change what Amya called her in the first place? Victoria wanted to test the Array, the limits and durability of its programming. Implant the alteration in one session, don't reinforce it in subsequent ones, and see if it persists. Observing Amya changing her behavior only when they were alone also tested the ability to code-switch. And while observing her subject, Victoria's pulse quickened each time she was addressed as "Mistress."

"So... do you think we can run the device on me again?" Two sips. Victoria had but two sips of coffee before the inevitable question. Just eight days ago, Amya exhibited the patience to let her finish the latte. Then half. Now, two sips.

"Not now. I need to chase down a bug in the functional test framework. Only a week before human trials," Victoria said. A whimper escaped her partner's lips. Another test. Today, she wanted to see how Amya responded to delayed gratification.

"Alright. We're pretty much ready for human trials. But. Sure. Uh. No problem at all! Let me know if you need help looking through all that spaghetti code." Amya shuffled back to her desk. She fiddled with the transistor radio she'd built as a teen.

Victoria slowly drank her coffee. She scrolled right past the functional tests to pull up Amya's program, initially cloned from the demonstration program. She considered what to add for today's run. The personality alteration had been a desire for more runs in the Array. Then an increased urge to please her, thus the lattes. Calling her "Mistress" demonstrated that modifications could escape the notice of the target.

She decided that while letting Amya smolder was exciting, she needed to accelerate the conditioning. She needed Amya completely with her before human trials commenced. But rather than doing it herself, could she merely hand Amya the match?

Victoria finished updating Amya's program. And the cup of coffee. Behind her, Amya was pacing back and forth. Victoria was confident she could put her partner in the Array right away. Running the full test suite and the brain simulation was unnecessary, though the cautious thing to do. However, the delay would enable her to observe Amya being forced to wait.

"I'm running on fumes and spite," Amya said under her breath, and walked outside. Cigarette smoke degassed off her clothing when she returned.

Finally, the brain simulation completed. Everything checked out. "Amya, if now is a good time, I have a few minutes." Amya rushed to her side.

Victoria watched ravenously as her partner donned the Array and relaxed into the chair. This would never get old.

Amya's hands twitched, waiting for the program to initiate.

Victoria's jaw twitched, excited for the program to complete.

"Your standard relaxation program should be appearing soon," Victoria said. "Let me know if you notice anything unusual."

Total relaxation. Amya's jaw went slack. Every muscle loosened. Victoria's nipples tightened.

Amya was nearly motionless. Just the occasional shiver as she was fed positive reinforcement. Her brain was focused solely on relaxation and clarity of mind. And unknowingly accepting a minor personality change.

Victoria elected not to disturb Amya's session. Confident in her changes, she ignored the diagnostics. She stood captivated by the supine body of her subject. Licked her lips. Squeezed her thighs. She savored every moment of the session.

Victoria reviewed the final diagnostics. This program incorporated a larger behavioral modification. Was the observed alignment sufficient?

Amya stretched after removing the Array. She inhaled and then frowned at the scent of cigarette smoke in the air. "Mistress, there's something I've been wondering..."

"Oh, about?"

"Well, Terry has been hounding me to quit smoking," Amya explained. "I've tried everything. The patch. The gum. Cold turkey. Heck, literally praying to Jesus! Always crash and burn. I know we already dismissed this idea. But maybe our device could do something really good. Cure me of the urge. Cure others, eventually."

Victoria paused. Agent aligned. "Nicotine addiction is very powerful. Hard-wired into the brain. I would need to perform extensive modifications to your program. Borrow brain plasticity techniques we reserved for Mercer's son. This would not be just a relaxation program. I would be coding maximally invasive mental surgery."

Amya nodded.

"We're not ready for human trials and have yet to complete a single one," Victoria argued.

"We are ready! You said yourself, we only needed two weeks. We're just gold plating now. I've been spending most of my time building that 'backup' device you said we should have. Besides... isn't it more ethical to try it out on me, the person who created it, before anyone else?"

Victoria continued the debate. "And then there's the terminal reward. That could no longer be suppressed. My research shows that mental surgery of this scope requires extensive neural pathway remodeling, which typically necessitates high-intensity reward conditioning."

Victoria had learned to read Amya's blush. Amya looked away.

"This also requires the skeletal paralysis, to prevent injury from any spasmodic reflexes," Victoria said. Her partner winced. "Your brain does this to you every night so you don't act out your dreams. The device uses the same circuit."

Amya's eyes found the photo of her and Terry on her desk. "Alright. So you're warning me that to stop smoking, I'm going to have to cum my brains out while I can't move. Right in front of you."

An image of that scene exploded in Victoria's mind. She bit her lip, as if in thought.

"Precisely."

Amya's hand reached for a cigarette in her pocket and stopped. Victoria imagined Amya was reviewing their shared history--working as allies for social causes, sharing grief after breakups, plotting their careers to remain near each other.

"OK, Mistress, no photos, no video, and when I get married, not a word of this in your Maid of Honor speech," said her subject, tapping a finger against Victoria's chest. Victoria buzzed at the touch.

Victoria took Amya's hand and held it upon her own chest as she said, "I promise, friend." Her nipples strained against fabric.

"Alright. Smoking is shit. Orgasms are awesome. I trust you."

Amya cleared her throat. Victoria's sex moistened as her partner asked, "Mistress, would you do me the honor of rewriting my brain?"