by Jack Truxton
Before Reprogramming, it only seemed logical, how a robot should respond to orders, even ones of a sexual nature. But now, well, my point of view was quite a bit different. It felt wrong, way wrong, more like a more insidious form of slavery sans the chains.
With that and so much more weighing on my mind, I resolved to focus on the upsides for the moment. I was not just alive but feeling fantastic, while Annie was safe for the moment. I wanted to say free … but she wasn’t. Not yet. The genetic triggers and limiters Katsukami had designed in every Kat were still there.
But I could do something about that. I knew the DNA of the Wonder Kats forward and backward, and I knew how I could take those limiters out with the right genemod.
Plans starting whirling in my head as I grabbed a black turtleneck from my drawers, neatly folded and placed exactly where it should be, something I was sure Annie was responsible for. That was confirmed as I stepped out into the second of the three rooms of my apartment, a living room/dining room/kitchenette combo. A small note, folded crisply, stood like a tent on my computer desk, right by the coffee machine of course, ‘Jake’ written on it in a flowery script.
Snatching it up as I scanned the perfectly clean room, I read it over.
Jake,
This doesn’t even begin to repay you for what you have already done for me, but I had to start somewhere. I hope you’re not mad that I moved some of your stuff around, but I did everything I could to make sure it was put in places that seemed to make sense. And I’m sorry I used up the rest of your first aid supplies, but you needed some real patching up.
Enjoy the breakfast and coffee! Later, I will cook you a real meal!
Eternally grateful,
Annie
I smiled softly as I swapped the note for my favorite coffee mug. Sure, you could argue that Annie was programmed for this sort of thing, to take care of people both medically and domestically, but this didn’t feel like programming to me. This was gratitude, and it just confirmed to me that I was doing the right thing.
But I wasn’t done yet. Not even close. I fixed myself some coffee and a plate of microwave bacon, then settled down in front of my computer. I needed to know what happened last night, assuming it had only been last night. The micro-thin screen of the workstation flickered to light, and chewing on a strip of bacon, I hopped onto the web and headed straight for the local news sites.
I was treated to clickbait headlines. ‘Wonder Katastrophe at Katsukami’ was probably my favorite, so I pulled up that particular story and read intently.
Most of it was the obvious stuff. There had been an explosion at the Katsukami Biodesigns laboratory, leveling the building. I had seen that with my own two eyes, but the extent of the devastation was still shocking. Those chemicals were super volatile, but to cause that much damage? I suspected more was going on, especially with the vague non-answers Katsukami’s PR department was spitting out, doing the usual denial and deflection routine one would expect from a multi-billion-dollar company that was caught with its pants down.
What hit me hard was the attached link of known victims. It was a ballsy bit of journalism, something you didn’t normally see connected to these disaster pieces, so either this reporter wanted to play hardball … or was so much of a sensationalist scumbag he thought he’d get some extra clicks by adding it. Whether the explosion was purely from that fucking idiot of a security guard or something more insidious from the company, it didn’t matter. They had gotten a lot of people killed, and that just took me straight to pissed off.
The only bit of good news there was that my name was on the casualty list. Most people don’t have cause to be happy about their own deaths, but for me, it meant that Katsukami wasn’t going to be hunting me down, or Annie either. We would both be written off, and that gave us a little time to figure out the future.
But not too long. I had no idea just how interconnected the banks and the city government was, so there was a real fear that they could swoop in, close out the accounts with what money I had saved up, and leave us without resources. Let’s not talk about the fact that there wouldn’t be any money coming in right away, so I’d be forced to find some means to support us. That kind of activity might very well clue Katsukami off to the fact that I was suddenly alive again, and that could bring a lot of unnecessary attention.
I had no illusions that the company knew what had happened and knew that I was there at the heart of the explosion. They would want answers, especially if I were right about the source of my physical transformation, and with their power, money, and obvious disregard for life, they’d do anything to get them.
That was fine. When I was ready, I’d want some words with them too. I wasn’t sure quite how yet, but I was determined to find a way to take Katsukami down and, more importantly, to free all the Kats they had under their thumb.
Viva la revolution, right?
While most of that was vague at best, the first steps were obvious. My fingers flew across my ergonomic keyboard, as I set up several new e-mail accounts for communications, a fresh PayPal account to temporarily handle monetary transactions, and then hit the scientific supply sites.
See, one advantage of my long and extensive college career was my workstation. As part of my schooling, I had a fully subsided student’s genetics workstation here in the apartment, a pint-sized laboratory for running genemod programs and biotech experimentation. It was meant for doing college lab work, no more and no less, explicitly code-locked from creating biodroid tissue, but it could still produce all sorts of things the professors didn’t intend.
And naturally, so that the college could save money, the professors expected us students to pay for materials for their workstations, which meant not only a second loan from good old Mr. Romine but access to the suppliers for synthetic genetic material and all that good stuff. Fortunately, because I still liked to tinker at home, I had kept my accounts up to date. All I had to do was place an order, do some work here, and I could do the one thing Katsukami really didn’t want.
I could take the genetic limiters off Annie. Not only would she be able to freely decide her fate, but she also wouldn’t be affected by the control pheromones fired by the Control Wands. And I could do that for any other Wonder Kat that was willing.
Of course, that was only theoretical. I mean, no one that had the know-how to do this had wanted to before. There would be little room for error, but just to hedge my bets, I ordered as much of the base materials I could for the antidote, as well as a refill of testing supplies, saving only a small margin of liquid cash to shunt off to my new PayPal. It was risky, I knew that much, but with how close this purchase was to my supposed demise, I hoped it would slip under Katsukami’s radar.
Your order will arrive via drone at your doorstep in 3 to 8 hours! Thank you for shopping with Genetics Universal!
I let out a low sigh. It was a bit of a wait until I could get Annie free and, while I was at it, do some testing on myself. Until she was ready and we knew more, we’d have to lay low. I found myself grinning at the prospect. The idea of being cooped up with a Wonder Kat, especially Annie, was far from the worst way to spend the day.
The softest sound of a footstep from behind me broke me out of my little dream. Before I knew it, reflexes I didn’t know I had fired off. Kicking off from the floor, I spun the chair around, stopping just as swiftly by planting my other foot, putting me face to face with the source of the noise, ready for anything from a corporate hitman to an insurance salesman.
What greeted me was none of those things. No, what was coming at me was a very bubbly catgirl, white-and-purple hair bouncing as she pounced on me, tail quivering with glee.
6
Convincing Annie that I didn’t need a lap Kat at that moment was one of the hardest things I had ever had to do. Especially because I wanted it that badly, especially as she had rather innocently thrown her arms around my neck, which had the not-so-innocent side effect of giving me a face full of soft, bountiful, barely con
strained breasts. The purr humming through her body as she squeezed me tight actually helped me control myself, filled with a comforting warmth that reminded me why I had done the crazy shit I had done over the last twenty-four hours.
Annie looked up at me from her new perch on the well-worn leather couch I had saved from some wasteful person’s driveway. “I’m sorry, Jake, I was just so happy to see you up and about. Besides, that’s one of the suggested greetings from Wonder Klass for Masters and Mistresses.” I could actually hear the K when she said it. Her tail with its white tip was still up straight and happy, her legs folded into a lotus position as her big blue eyes bored into me.
“It’s okay, Annie, not a problem.” I arched an eyebrow as I got little me under control, Annie’s chocolate cookie scent still filling my nostrils. “Wait, Wonder Klass? That really exists? I thought that was just something made up for the vid show?”
“Vid show?” Her face scrunched up in cute frustration. “No, no, it’s very real!” She raised a finger. “After we reach maturity and our main programming is implanted, we go to Wonder Klass for two weeks for finishing training.” She must have read my crossing arms and curious look as asking for more explanation. “You know, how best to interact with your Master, nuances of human culture, expectations your Masters will have, that sort of thing. It’s supposed to make it so that you don’t get … reprocessed, but …” Annie’s hands drifted towards the shock of white hair as her tail drooped a little.
I wheeled my janky office chair, still mobile despite that wheel that kept sticking, right over to her, reaching up to pull her hands away. “Hey, hey.” Smiling at her, I squeezed those hands. “Stop that. There’s nothing wrong with you. Whoever returned you was an idiot.”
“I didn’t think so when I was in that cell,” Annie said softly, but already her lips were curling up into a smile, flashing just a hint of the cute fangs, once more a purposeful addition for maximum appeal. “But then you decided to help me, Jake, and that made me think … made me think that it wasn’t anything wrong with me.” Her beaming smile made my day all over again. “Thank you for that, and thank you for saving my life.”
I let her hands go before I got tempted to do a lot more touching. It certainly didn’t help that every little wriggle seemed to make those pajama bottoms slide a bit lower on her hips.
“Well, you’re welcome, but don’t thank me too much yet. We’ve got to get Katsukami’s programming out of your genetic code or else you’re still at risk. One Kat catcher with a Control Wand and that’s it.” Annie’s eyes began to water, but I cut that off quick. “But don’t worry too much. I can fix you.”
And that made her eyes quirk oddly, ears swiveling forward to focus on me. “But I already can’t have kittens, children, whatever. Wonder Kats are designed to be—"
“No, no, hold on,” I said, cutting her off. I’d have to be careful how to word things around Annie, that was for sure. “I meant to say that I’m pretty sure I can clean up your genetics. You know … actually free you.”
“Oh, milk and cream!” Annie’s tail shot straight up again as she began to clap her hands in front of herself rapid fire in delight. “It’s almost too good to be true! Like a fairy tale!” I almost thought she’d hyperventilate with how crazy excited she was getting. “I mean, to be honest, I wouldn’t believe you if I didn’t know that it was possible. Purely theoretically, any genemod that I was born with could be undone, mental inhibitions and endocrine sensitivities should be kitten’s play to overwrite, and—”
Grinning at her infectious enthusiasm, I held up a hand to quiet her so that I could get a word in edgewise. “Right, exactly.” Arching an eyebrow as I got up out of my chair, I said, “I’m impressed, Annie. You seem to know a lot more about biology and genetics than I’d expect from a nurse.”
As if compelled, she got up as I did, blushing a bit both from my compliment and at the fact she had to hold up her pants. “Thank you! Katsukami Biodesigns prides itself on the complete training it supplies to each and every one of its caregiving Wonder Kats!” It came out like, well, the preprogrammed advertisement it was, even if it was basically fact. “And what is it you need, Jake? Please, you should stay still and rest from your injuries. Let me do anything that requires going around the house.”
To be honest, my wounds were barely bugging me. I had first assumed that Annie had dosed me up with some pain-killers, but I was suspecting more now. Despite her suggestion, I ignored it, walking into the kitchenette part of the room, glancing over my shoulder at her.
“It’s not what I need,” I said with a grin. “You’re the one who hasn’t eaten yet, and you’re the one with the nasty knot on her head.” Digging through my now-perfectly organized cupboard, I pulled down a bowl and a few cans of tuna. Sure, it sounds stereotypical to feed a cat tuna, but it’s cheap and pretty healthy, two things of great importance to me. “I insist you sit back and let me serve you, just this once.”
It was like I had flipped a mental switch in Annie’s mind, which I guess I did in a sense. She froze up and stood stock still, one hand fortunately still gripping her waistband. Even her tail went stiff as her eyes got as big as saucers.
“B-but, Jake,” she stammered, “you’re my Master now, aren’t you? I’m supposed to serve you …” Her voice trailed off into a faint mew that stoked my anger at Katsukami again.
“I’m not your Master,” I countered, pausing to take a breath and organize my thoughts. She waited with baited breath. “Look, I know that’s hard for you to accept right now, not until we get that genemod in you.”
Running my hands over my face, I stared down at the stack of cans and the empty plate as if they’d provide wisdom. Annie would just immediately do whatever I asked, and no doubt part of her ‘finishing school’ was a course on anticipating her ‘Master’s’ needs. To force her against that ingrained behavior would cause her more pain and anguish than anything else. Would it hurt so bad to humor her for a few hours?
Besides, maybe I could use that eagerness to serve to get her to take care of herself.
“You know what, Annie,” I said in soothing tones as I turned back towards her. Those blue cat’s eyes had never left me. “Forget what I just said. For now, I suppose I am your Master.”
Relief washed over her face as those servile instincts were satisfied. “Oh, Jake, thank you! I won’t disappoint you.” Her tail immediately shot back up in quivering delight, and she snapped me a cute little salute with her right hand, the left still keeping herself decent. “Nurse Annie is at your service! Is there anything you would like me to do before I set up the bedroom for your recovery?”
Crisis averted!
“First off,” I began, leaning against the counter, “I’m actually feeling pretty good, no need for bedrest I think, but once you take care of a few things, I’d be happy to get your professional opinion on that.”
She nodded eagerly, her ears quirking forward in curiosity. “I did note that your wounds were healing far faster than they should have, considering the extent of the injuries. If you’d like, Jake, I couldn’t help but notice you have an academic biodesign workstation. A KBD-873, correct?” She didn’t let me answer as she kept on, smiling as she began to idly dust the already pristine computer desk. “If you have testing materials, I am qualified to run a full genetic health profile.”
“That’s great.” I nodded appreciatively. Not only had I saved a pretty girl’s life, but I also seemed to have lucked into saving what might be the perfect laboratory assistant. “In fact, I had similar thoughts. I have some testing materials coming with the supplies I need to put together your cure so you can help me with that too if you feel up for it?”
Her eyes misted with tears, but from her huge smile and happy tail, it was obvious they were tears of sheer joy. “Do you mean … do you mean that you’re not only trusting me with your health, but you think I can help to make my wish come true? I can help make myself … free?”
“This may sound sappy, but I
started to trust you from the moment I met you,” I confessed, matching her smile with my own. “And so far, craziness aside, I’m not regretting it one bit.” I nodded. “Yeah, we’re going to make you free, together.”
“I know I keep saying this, Jake, but …” Annie sniffled messily, her button nose twitching as she wiped her eyes with her free hand. “I owe you everything. How could I be so lucky that you were the one to take me out of that horrible, nasty cell?”
“I’d say we both wound up lucky there,” I said thoughtfully. “If I hadn’t met you, I’d still be … well, let’s just say that Katsukami’s doing a fine job of making people believe that Wonder Kats like you aren’t quite what you really are.” Mulling over my own past misconceptions about the humanity I now found obvious in the Kat before me, I flashed a renewed smile. “But we’ll change that, somehow.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to give off a super-serious vibe that would be right at home in a drama vid. “Speaking of that, before you get going on anything else, there is something critical I need you to do, Annie.”
“Milk and cream!” Annie exclaimed as she practically hopped up, her attention back on me as she clutched her hands in front of her bountiful chest. Thank (or curse) the gods of casual wear, the pajamas didn’t quite slip off, catching on her wide hips. “Whatever it is, I’ll do my very best, Jake!”
I nodded sternly, my façade managing to hold together. “I’m happy to hear that.” Taking a deep breath for effect, I stepped away from the counter. “What I need you to do, the thing that is most essential to our future is …” I took a deep breath for effect before turning sidelong, gesturing dramatically at the lonesome plate and the tuna beside it. “Eat, Annie! Make yourself a meal, have some coffee, and then we’ll see about ordering you some proper clothes.”