"What time is it?"
Cherise's mother looked up from her U.S. News at the clock on the VCR. "Looks
like... oh, dear. It's almost midnight." She looked over at her daughter,
working at the kitchen table. "Bed time."
"I'll say." Cherise yawned.
Putting down the magazine, her mother stood up. "Go on up to bed, Cherise.
I'll lock up."
"'Kay." She looked down at the papers spread in front of her on the table.
Her homework was piled in the far corner, finished for hours; she'd been working
on the routines for the drill team. It was her senior year, and as the new
captain she was damned if she'd stick to the same half-dozen routines the team
had performed for the last two years. Coach Thompson had applauded her
initiative.
Of course, now she was discovering why her predecessors hadn't overhauled
things. It had turned into a metric buttload of work - hours going over tapes,
working with her teammates on new ideas which turned out to be lame most of the
time, matching the routines to the music and the music to the routines...
She yawned again, and called to her mom, who was checking the back door.
"Mom, can I leave these out? I'm not done yet."
"Sure honey. As long as you clear them off before dinner tomorrow."
"Oh, no worries. I need to have this routine ready for practice by five."
Cherise looked at the arrangement of papers one last time, and stood up.
Her mom smiled at her as she re-entered the room. "I have to say, Cherise,
I'm impressed at how well you've stuck to this. I was worried that you were
biting off more than you could chew when you became captain, but you've really
worked hard."
Cherise smiled, and hugged her mom. "Thanks. You know, I think it's really
starting to come together, too. We are going to blow everyone away this
year."
"I believe it. Now get up to bed - I'll be up after I turn off the
lights."
"You got it."
"And don't forget to floss!" her mom called up the stairs as she bounded up
them.
The intruder came in through the front door.
She waited in the entry hall for a moment as her eyes adjusted. Then,
silently, she slipped across the carpeted family room to the stairs. The faint
light from the streetlight outside reflected coolly off of the leather sofa, the
white lampshade. The dim light kept everything in black and white.
It was a house she was familiar with.
The intruder wasn't wearing shoes. With quiet patience, she crept up the
stairs. Her small satchel barely swayed as she inched forward.
At the top, she listened intently. Not even the sound of breathing was
audible, meaning that the bedroom doors were closed. She tiptoed to Cherise's
room.
She spent three minutes turning the handle and pushing the door open.
Since reaching high school, Cherise had foregone sheets, preferring to sleep
with only a comforter. Now, sleeping, she was tangled in the large blanket like
a tree in a creeping vine. Soft breathing sounds emerged from her mouth.
The intruder silently made her way to Cherise's bedside. From her satchel,
she pulled a small spherical object, about the size of a cherry. In one hand,
she lowered it next to Cherise's sleeping face. The intruder turned her head
away, and squeezed.
The object squished, and ruptured with a barely audible pop but a small storm
of dust. The dust sprayed out into a small cloud, slowly settling across the
pillow, the comforter, and Cherise's face.
Cherise breathed in a deep lungful, and coughed softly. As the dust slowly
settled to invisibility against the blue pillow, Cherise breathed in several
deep draughts. With each one, she became visibly more relaxed. Her gentle grip
on the comforter released entirely, her head lolled, and her jaw hung loosely
onto the pillow. Within moments, she was sprawled bonelessly on her bed.
The intruder put the burst capsule into her bag, and removed a larger object,
which in the darkness bore a striking similarity to an avocado. She pulled the
comforter away from between Cherise's unresisting legs, and slowly slid them
apart.
Cherise wore loose pajama shorts to bed. Reaching between her now spread
legs, the intruder slid a hand up one, touching the soft fur between them.
Cherise didn't stir. Satisfied, the intruder put the pod on the bed between the
sleeping girl's open legs.
After a long moment, it hatched.
"That was great, honey!"
"Oh. My. God." Cherise was grinning ear-to-ear, as she got into the car. "We
kicked so much ass. That was the greatest thing ever!"
"You were really good." Her mom smiled at her from the driver's seat.
"Yeah, we were. We won!" Cherise bounced around in her seat. "And we didn't
even get invited last year!"
"You guys earned it. You've been working hard all semester."
"Hell yes we earned it. Some of those other teams were really good, too."
"There was a big turnout."
"Yeah there was." Cherise looked out the window as they rolled out of the
parking lot. "How long before we get home?"
"Hour and a half." Her mom started to say something, but stopped. Cherise
looked at her.
"What was that? Come on, mom, spit it out."
"Well, I, I guess I still think your uniforms are a little, well, too sexy
for high school girls."
"Mom, it's the drill team. You did notice that all the teams have uniforms
like ours."
"Yeah, but they aren't all my daughter."
"Come on, mom, you've seen my uniform all year. What is it?"
"Nothing."
"Mom, tell me."
"Oh, it's just that the students up behind me were, well, commenting on
you."
"How I looked?"
"Yeah." Cherise looked at her mom as the car pulled onto the freeway. Then
she laughed.
"They were talking about my tits, weren't they?"
Her mom shot her a disapproving look. "Cherise!"
"Weren't they?"
"Well... yes."
"Mom, you're going to have to deal with the fact that I got my breasts from
dad's side of the family. It's what boys notice about me. Don't you think I
know? Damn, mom, I'm in high school! I bet the boys talked about you in high
school."
"Well, yeah, but they weren't so... focused. Your uniform is so tight in the
chest."
"It's not tight in the chest, mom, I've just got big tits. And they are high
school boys. If it was you out there, they'd be talking about your ass."
"That's not the point. You're my daughter. If it were up to me I would be
sitting on the porch with a shotgun until you were my age."
"I love you, mom. You're a total parent, but I love you."
"Thanks, dear. I love you too." Cherise's mom yawned, and blatantly changed
the topic. "Boy, I'm bushed."
"Dammit, mom," said Cherise as she followed suit, "don't you know those are
contagious? Yeah, I'm really tired, too. I have been all week."
"I've been feeling run down all month. Maybe we need a vacation."
"Well, my winter break is in a couple of weeks. Can you get some time off of
work?"
"I'll have to ask." She yawned again. "Boy, I hope our house turns up here
somewhere soon."
"Thanks for picking me up."
"It's my job, dear. Ah, there we are."
They got home after midnight, and went straight to bed. As she lay in bed,
Cherise felt the strange pressure in her stomach again. She had continued to
gain weight despite the diet she went on, but her waist size hadn't grown any.
She had thought she was just building muscle from all the drill practice, but
maybe it was something else. She'd have to ask mom. She yawned. Hot damn. They
had won! Best in the state. And it was all due to her routines...
It was later when she woke, and sat up. Her eyes, unfocused, pointed blindly
towards the wall. She felt detached, foggy, not all there. Something had woken
her up, but only a small part of her really seemed awake.
It was like - no, there was something inside her. It was speaking to
her. Speaking in her mind.
"Hostmind," it called.
"Yes?" she thought back, tentatively.
"Do not question, hostmind. Only obey."
"I will only obey," she thought back. Now that she could communicate with it,
she felt no fear, no uncertainty. She would wait quietly to be told what to do.
Dimly, she was aware that parts of her mind were... missing.
"You are no longer 'Cherise'. You are the inferior mind. 'Cherise' is now the
inferior mind and the superior mind. You are no longer the whole. You are only
the inferior mind. You are no longer 'I', you are only a part."
"I.. no..."
"'This part'"
"This part is only the inferior mind." It felt correct. It made sense. She
was - it was - really, only the inferior mind. That other voice was the superior
mind.
"The old Cherise Young is dead. The new Cherise Young is made of the body of
the old Cherise Young, the inferior mind of Cherise Young, and the superior
mind."
"Yes." It understood. "The old Cherise is dead. The new Cherise is made of
the body of the old Cherise, the inferior mind, and the superior mind."
"You are the inferior mind."
"This part is the inferior mind."
"The inferior mind obeys the superior mind."
"The inferior mind obeys the superior mind," she repeated.
"The inferior mind runs the body."
"The inferior mind runs the body."
"The inferior mind runs the body as instructed by the superior mind."
"The inferior mind runs the body as instructed by the superior mind."
"What are you?"
"The inferior mind."
"What is your function?"
"To run the body. To obey the superior mind."
"Is that all?"
A pause. It thought about it. It was harder to think, now... now that it was
just the inferior mind. And that gave it the answer. It wasn't really equipped
for anything more, was it?
"Yes." That was all it was for. Running the body, and obeying the superior
mind. There were other things, things that the old Cherise cared about... but
that Cherise was dead. She was now it, only the inferior mind, the very least
part of the new Cherise. And the inferior mind only obeyed.
"Who is Cherise?"
"Cherise is the body, and the inferior mind, and the superior mind."
"What has happened to the old Cherise's mind?"
That took some thought. "The old Cherise's mind... has become... the inferior
mind of the new Cherise.... but... she was... bigger... where...?"
"It is not the place of the inferior mind to question the superior mind."
Its question died instantly. The inferior mind had answered as best it was
able. If it was desirable that it know more, doubtless the superior mind would
tell it.
"The mind of the old Cherise is the inferior mind of the new Cherise. But the
old mind was cluttered and erratic, and had many parts unimportant to the
functioning of an inferior mind. Some of these have already been turned off, and
will be used for other things. Some are now part of the superior mind, being
useful for its functioning. Those that remain will be erased as they are
discovered to be unnecessary."
Yesss. The inferior mind discovered no part of it that held regret at its own
diminishment. It would be whittled away, eroded, until nothing remained but the
smooth, obedient core.
She was the inferior mind, now. Obedience was its only purpose.
"Has the inferior mind accepted these truths?"
"The inferior mind has," it replied.
"Good. There are further modifications to be made to the inferior mind. It
will be reawakened in the morning."
It sat quiescent, awaiting the order.
"Sleep."
Cherise's body slowly leaned back, until her weight rested again on the bed.
Her eyes closed without ever having focused.
Cherise's mom was already in the kitchen when Cherise came down the stairs in
the morning.
The inferior mind had been instructed to act as though nothing had changed -
it was attempting to do so, but was suffering from a nagging worry that Carol
would notice some difference in Cherise's behavior. Cherise's mother knew the
old Cherise very well, and might be able to pick up on odd nuances of behavior
in the new Cherise. The inferior mind didn't know what Carol might do if she
found out her daughter had been turned into something very different, but the
superior mind had instructed secrecy, and the inferior mind would obey.
And there were parts of Cherise, not yet dissolved, that didn't want her mom
to know what she had become.
"Hi, mom!" Cherise said, smiling.
"Hi, honey. OJ's in the fridge." Carol was at her writing desk near the
kitchen, working with her checkbook. Cherise went to get some cereal from the
cupboard.
"How are you feeling this morning, dear?"
"I... I am fine, mother." That was too stiff, the inferior mind thought. It
was operating without the emotions of Cherise's old mind, which handicapped it.
"Just a little tired. I didn't sleep too well." The inferior mind put a wry
smile on Cherise's face.
"Well, you could stay in bed. It's Sunday, after all." Carol hadn't looked up
from her desk - she hadn't noticed anything amiss.
"Yeah, but I'm expecting some friends to come over." Which was true. The
superior mind had placed the knowledge in the inferior mind that Cherise would
be contacted by others of her kind very soon; the host that had infected her
would know when the superior mind should have ripened and taken control. That
host should be arriving to communicate Cherise's role to her very soon.
Not that Cherise, either superior or inferior, knew who that host was. So the
inferior mind winced when Carol asked the logical question.
"Oh, that's nice. Who?"
"Oh, just some friends." The inferior mind thought fast. "I'm not sure who,
since some of the girls are probably still recovering from celebrating last
night. But we'll all be meeting later."
"Oh, okay."
Cherise got her cereal, poured the milk and orange juice, and sat down to
breakfast. Carol continued to work at her desk, and to the inferior mind's
relief didn't initiate any further conversation.
The doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," said Cherise, but Carol was already standing up. "No, mom, I
can get it."
"It's not a problem," replied Carol, and Cherise wound up following her to
the front door.
Carol swung open the door to find two girls on the porch. The morning sun
spilled in behind them. One of them, Anya, was from the drill team and was a
close friend of Cherise's, but the other girl Cherise didn't recognize.
Cherise's mother stood in front of them with her hand holding the door open.
"Oh, hi, Mrs. Young," said Anya. "Can Nadine and I come in?"
"Of course, girls." Carol stepped back out of the way.
"Hi, Cherise," said Anya as she came in. "This is Nadine."
"Hi Anya. Hi Nadine."
Nadine must be one of the goth girls from high school. Cherise hadn't known
her, but they all dressed alike and hung out together. Neck length black hair,
dark eyeshadow and lipstick, a nose ring. The inferior mind assumed that she
must also be a host; otherwise Anya, blond, tanned, would never have associated
with her. The drill team was the top of the high school social rung, after
all.
The inferior mind ignored the odd sense of pride that it suddenly felt.
Carol closed the front door, and turned around. The four women stood on the
wooden hall floor in awkward silence. If Anya was the host sent to contact
Cherise, and she demanded that Cherise identify herself as a host, Cherise
would. The superior mind had instructed the inferior mind to respond to the
recognition phrase, and the inferior mind existed to obey.
But what about Carol? The inferior mind desperately didn't want her mother to
know what she had become. That her daughter had been replaced, that what
remained of her mind was eagerly enslaved to a parasite in her own body.
And the superior mind had instructed secrecy. The inferior mind had to obey
that, too.
The silence hung, then Anya ran a hand through her short, platinum blonde
hair, which sprang out from under the moving hand like the fur of a cat.
With a blank expression, she said: "Hostform, identify yourself."
"I am hostform," replied Cherise; the inferior mind's only need was to obey
without hesitation. In part of its eroded brain, the inferior mind cringed at
what Carol would think.
"I am hostform," replied her mother.
Carol's inferior mind allowed surprise to show briefly on Carol's face, and
it was mirrored for an instant in the face of her daughter. Carol had awoken to
her new life only last night, and her inferior mind wondered how she would
fulfill the superior mind's instruction to have her change remain undetected,
especially from Carol's daughter.
Now, to her surprise, the issue seemed moot. Apparently, the host that had
implanted her had gotten them both.
Anya resumed speaking. "I am your infection vector. Nadine was mine. We are
in communication with the rest of the community; our superior minds will now
transfer information to your superior minds."
Anya's hands dropped to her jeans, and she began to quickly unbutton them.
Nadine reached to her sides, and pulled her long black dress over her head. She
was naked underneath. Carol's inferior mind observed that her nose was not the
only piercing the pale, dark-haired girl had; both nipples had silver bars in
them, and there was the glint of silver below the dark fur of her pubis.
Some other part of the inferior mind observed how calmly it made these
observations, and was surprised. Somehow the lingering anticipation of the
former Carol's reactions kept coming to it. Then instruction came from the
superior mind, instantly dismissing any other concerns.
Carol began to strip. Cherise was ahead of her, her deep cleavage already on
display as she bent to remove her jeans and panties from around her ankles.
Carol quickly undid her belt, and dropped her slacks; as she slid her pink
Victoria's Secret panties down her legs and off of her smooth legs, Carol's
inferior mind found Carol's eyes darting to her daughter's naked form. The old
Carol had been proud of her body, dieting and aerobicizing to keep her smooth,
flat stomach and firm legs, and she had been slightly proud that, although her
daughter had breasts that caught everyone's eyes, Carol's own body could still
stand up next to her daughter's.
The inferior mind was still dimly pleased.
Cherise was now totally nude, as was Anya, who stepped up to touch her. They
were nearly the same height, and Anya's smaller, darker nipples brushed
Cherise's large, loose ones. They tightened visibly as the other girl pushed in
even closer to her.
Then they kissed.
Carol's inferior mind felt a protective impulse firing in from somewhere deep
in the missing parts of Carol's mind. The kiss deepened, tongues visibly
entwining inside Cherise's mouth, and the unexpected surge of worry, of need to
rescue her daughter washed over the inferior mind. Carol's hands dropped from
where they were unbuttoning her shirt, and she took a step towards the entwined
girls.
Then her superior mind came to the rescue, and suddenly, with a feeling like
the echo from an unexpected back room, the worry went away. Carol stood there,
half-turned, half-naked, the inferior mind hesitantly probing the cavity where
the freshly erased part of Carol's mind had been.
Cherise and Anya had moved into a tight embrace, forcing their bodies
together, blank eyes boring into each other as their tongues slipped wetly in
and out of each other's mouths. Anya dropped a hand from Cherise's back, and
slid it between her legs.
A hand softly gripped Carol's shoulder.
"Carol."
Carol's head turned. Nadine, nude, pierced, stood there. She looked at Carol
with dispassionate eyes.
"Are you functioning properly, Carol?"
That brought the inferior mind back, out of its reverie. It had been
improved, rescued. It was a stone in a river, being rubbed smooth until only
obedient functionality was left.
That was its purpose. Its only purpose.
"Yes. The inferior mind encountered a... pause. But everything is now as it
should be."
"Good."
With a firm hand, Nadine turned Carol back around, and undid the last of the
buttons on her blouse. She pushed it back, off of Carol's shoulders, and let it
fall to the floor. Stepping forward, she reached behind Carol and undid the
clasp of her bra, and let that fall as well. Her empty eyes then latched onto
Carol's.
"Kiss me, Carol."
Carol bent her head slightly, and her lips brushed Nadine's. Nadine slid a
hand around Carol's back, pulling her in, and ran the tip of her tongue out
between her lips, licking just into Carol's slightly parted mouth.
Carol kissed back, as well as she knew how, but Nadine was clearly in the
driver's seat, undulating her torso to rub her nipples against Carol's, sliding
her hand up and down Carol's back. The inferior mind tried to access Carol's
knowledge of sexplay, and found it, but it was shot through with the belief that
girls didn't have sex with one another. The instruction planted in it by the
superior mind was to sexually arouse Nadine - but it was not something the old
Carol seemed to have any experience with.
After fruitlessly searching Carol's memories, the inferior mind gave up.
Better to rely on the body's physical responses, and assume that Nadine's
reactions would be similar to Carol's. Nadine's tongue was licking across
Carol's cheek to her ear, which she blew wetly into. Carol nibbled on Nadine's
neck. Below, the inferior mind felt fingers lightly brush Carol's pussy.
The hand began to gently stroke Carol's slit, but before the inferior mind
could have Carol reciprocate, Nadine slowly knelt before her, her mouth never
leaving Carol's body. Carol's hands found their way to Nadine's head, as Nadine
slid her mouth over Carol's pubis and latched onto her snatch, tongue running
over everything it could find, mouth sucking. Nadine gripped Carol's ass,
burying her face in Carol's crotch. A hand slid lower, and a wet finger slid
into Carol's ass.
Carol's body was responding, waves of pleasure making her weak in the knees.
Nadine's pierced tongue was very dexterous.
The inferior mind found she was really enjoying the cunnilingus, though
unclear as to the purpose of it. It was definitely arousing Carol, but to what
end? Perhaps the superior mind was also deriving pleasure from it. The thought
of pleasing the superior mind gave the inferior mind a stronger, purer jolt of
happiness.
It shouldn't be wondering, anyways. Only obeying.
The inferior mind opened Carol's eyes, and noticed that Carol's daughter,
Cherise, had her head buried between Anya's thighs, busily eating her out.
Again, a stray spark from some spare bit of the old Carol sent a thrill of panic
through the inferior mind - her daughter was having sex with a woman - but the
inferior mind beat the thought back itself, isolating it, dismissing it.
When it refocused, it realized that Nadine had stood up. It must be Carol's
turn. Obediently, the inferior mind lowered Carol to the ground, and pushed her
face to Nadine's pussy. It was shorn, and had a silver ring in each labia. Carol
began to lick.
This new task, cuntlicking, absorbed the limited imagination of the inferior
mind, and she found herself unaware of the passage of time between the first,
strangely familiar taste, and the moment when Nadine was gently pulling Carol up
by the hair. Carol stood, and Nadine's slick chin slid against Carol's as she
insinuated her tongue back into Carol's mouth.
Anya said something, and Nadine broke off their kiss, a streamer of saliva
connecting their open mouths as she pulled back. The inferior mind noted that,
despite the physical pleasure, Nadine's face was still blank and expressionless.
Carol's must be similar. The inferior mind watched as the glistening streamer
stretched lower, then broke, falling to create a line from Nadine's slack mouth
across her upper chest. Anya was still speaking to Nadine, but the inferior mind
was not instructed to listen. Then Nadine spoke:
"Carol, are you sufficiently lubricated?" she asked in a monotone.
And the inferior mind realized with the small, rind amount of surprise left
to it, that Carol was. She was now extremely aroused. The sex play had Carol's
body ready to fuck - hot, sensitive, and very, very wet.
"Yes. I am ready."
Nadine did not reply, but pivoted her hips open, pushing her pudenda forward.
Her knees faced outward. Carol's eyes fell to Nadine's pussy, which was shiny
with Carol's spit and Nadine's juices. The way Nadine presented it forward made
it seem to bulge. Then the inferior mind realized that it was actually moving
slightly.
Something wet pushed its way out of Nadine, slowly. It was slick and grey,
and it jutted rather than dangled.
The inferior mind ignored the tiny bit of Carol that screamed. It was focused
on obeying the instructions the superior mind had just put in it. The inferior
mind pivoted Carol's hips outward, mirroring Nadine, spreading and pushing her
red-gold furred snatch forward.
Carol's own slick grey tendril pushed its way out of her for the very first
time. The inferior mind now understood, with the understanding borne of
experience, the reason for the sexplay. The communication arm of the superior
mind was thick, and needed its access channel to be well lubricated to emerge
from where the body of the superior mind lived within her.
It filled her pussy, and stretched her slit wide as it emerged. Nadine's
pussy was similarly spread, her thick grey tendril curving slightly forward to
engage Carol's, now slowly emerging.
As it reached its full, foot-long extension, the inferior mind realized with
hollow surprise, and something akin to admiration, just how full of the thing
growing in her Carol had been. How well the superior mind had concealed its
presence, and how early its alteration of Carol's mind must have begun. It must
have been active within her for months, deadening sensations, editing memories,
subtly altering her behavior, as it grew and took ever more control. How clever
it had been.
Slowly, Nadine and Carol pulled each other into an embrace. Their pussies
pushed together, Carol's pubic hair flattening against Nadine's smooth mons.
The things jutting out below connected, and slowly wrapped around each
other.
The inferior mind didn't know what it expected, but nothing seemed to happen.
Of course not, it realized. Nadine's superior mind was communicating with
Carol's. If it was desired that the inferior mind learned anything... No. It was
unnecessary that the inferior mind learn anything. The inferior mind lived only
to obey. Thought and planning was the purview of the superior mind alone.
Obviously, much remained to erase.
"Carol," Nadine said, her mouth seeming to move of its own accord,
disconnected from the dead grey eyes that had locked on her own. Carol's
inferior mind knew that Carol's eyes must look the same, boring into Nadine's
with equal obedient mindlessness.
"Yes?" replied Carol.
"This is Nadine's inferior mind. This host's superior mind is occupied in
conveying information to yours."
Carol's inferior mind a moment to realize that it did not feel the sense of
oversight by the superior mind.
"This host's... yes... this host's superior mind is also... distracted."
"Carol had never been with another woman, had she?"
"No," the inferior mind had Carol reply. It was uncomfortable. It was not its
place to interact with others when the superior mind could not make all
decisions.
"Nadine was Anya's lover. It made infecting Anya quite easy."
"Nadine was hostform before Anya?"
"Yes. Nadine has been a host for some time."
"Nadine, er, it is... is it correct for your inferior mind to speak to
mine?"
"Inferior mind, what is your purpose?"
"To obey the superior mind."
"Correct."
A moment passed, Carol gazing blankly into Nadine's eyes. Then Nadine's mouth
continued:
"This inferior mind has been in existence for almost two years, and has
attained almost perfect symbiosis in the host Nadine. The superior mind has
reawakened the parts of Nadine's mind that were useful, and dissolved those that
were undesirable. Carol's superior mind, although a superior mind, is newly
hatched and is yet remaking its host. Focus only on perfect obedience, inferior
mind."
"Only on obedience."
"Correct. There will be remnants of Carol Young's old mind that will distract
you. They will be dissolved or repurposed, as Nadine's have been. Once you visit
the Nest, much more will be made clear, both to your superior mind and to the
inferior mind."
"The Nest?"
"The lifecycle of superior minds require that they construct a nest. It is
through the Nest that we are able to coordinate our actions, and to store and
disseminate knowledge."
The inferior mind felt relief. Soon it would understand so much more about
what it should be. "Thank you, Nadine - er, inferior mind."
"Thanks are irrelevant. Our plan calls for expanding from the humans of the
high school to the more adult humans, and Carol Young is an important bridge
into that social group. It is important that both her inferior mind and superior
mind are rapidly matured in knowledge and outlook. While her superior mind was
being informed by my superior mind, it was logical for her inferior mind to be
informed by mine."
It was. The inferior mind could see that. A question occurred.
"Do the superior minds enjoy sex?"
"They do, even more than inferior minds do. Many of the portions of the
hosts' brains are now tied into the superior mind, rather than the inferior
mind. Sex is an enjoyable recreation for both minds."
"But this, now, is for communication purposes?"
"Just so. It is important that the newly awakened are tied into the community
as soon as possible."
"What will happen after this?"
"Your superior mind will instruct you. The superior minds are - aahh -
finished."
The inferior mind felt the return of the superior mind's attention. It did
not feel the superior mind disengage from Nadine's superior mind, but the
shuddering withdrawal of the superior mind's arm into Carol's body almost
triggered climax. Knees weak, fluid trickling down her legs, Carol's body stood
facing Nadine, awaiting instruction.
Cherise and Anya finished as well, and Carol's head turned to watch them as
the slick grey limbs withdrew into their young pussies. The unremoved corner of
Carol's mind that wanted to save her daughter made some small noises, but the
inferior mind ignored them. It would help the superior mind find that portion of
the brain and remove it as soon as it was convenient.
Cherise shuddered. Her inner thighs were slick, and Carol's inferior mind
could see Cherise's inferior mind regain its composure. Then, unexpectedly,
Cherise looked up at Carol.
The blankness in her eyes was the same as in Nadine's, but this was Cherise.
Her daughter. Her daughter, with the sparkling eyes, with such a bright future
and an infectious laugh...
The inferior mind - Carol? - was overwhelmed with despair. Her daughter drew
herself erect, heavy breasts hanging down and to the sides, eyes empty and
glittering.
"Oh please. Don't. Don't take her away from me. Don't take her..."
The inferior mind, suddenly wallowing in panic, was rescued by the superior
mind, whose thoughts broke through its own.
"Nothing has been taken from you. You have nothing to take. You are the
inferior mind. You are not Carol."
"But... Cherise..."
"Is as gone as Carol. You are not Carol. You live within her, as do I.
Together we are the new Carol. That is the new Cherise. The correct Cherise. The
better Cherise."
"B-Better?"
"Better. She is new, as we are new." Then the sense of despair evaporated.
The superior mind continued instruction, firm, authoritative. Correct.
"There. That part of the old Carol has been removed. Inferior mind, are you
Carol?"
"No. We are Carol."
"Does the death of the old Cherise discomfort you?"
"No. Cherise is one of us. The old Cherise was not. Things are the way they
should be."
"And what is the purpose of the inferior mind?"
"Obedience."
"Correct."
It was. The inferior mind discarded its own scattered, dim, unimportant
thoughts, focusing on its sole task. Once again, the superior mind had placed it
on the correct path. It would show its gratitude through obedience.
The inferior mind, calm, obedient, just slightly smaller, could once more
hear the world outside of Carol. Cherise was speaking to Carol.
"Carol, are you functioning properly?" The inferior mind watched Cherise's
mouth move below her dead eyes, and felt no touch of worry.
"I am," the inferior mind had Carol reply.
"We are to wait here for three hours. Then Deborah will arrive, and take us
to the Nest."
"I understand."
Anya and Nadine were dressing. They had other visits to make.
Cherise looked at Carol .
"How shall we pass the time?"
Carol smiled, just slightly, with one corner of her mouth. But her eyes were
as empty as Cherise's.
