H
Literature
Home automation 2 Veronica blinked and looked around confused. Was she in Hellen’s bedroom? She had not been here a second ago, had she? No, she had been in the living room she was sure of it. Then she remembered. She and Hellen had used the NanoAuto nanites to make her into Hellen's personal drone for the weekend. The last thing she could remember before suddenly standing in Hellen’s bedroom was telling her to use her however she wanted. So since that was the last thing she could remember Hellen must have changed her mind in some way. But she did not feel any different, except for that strange feeling of focus the original change had brought with it. Other than that she felt like she was good old Veronica. And that was as far as her internal checklist got before she heard a monotone voice in her mind. “Modified Veronica emulation loaded and running. Accessing shared memory.” And suddenly the memories of the last two days flooded her mind. She remembered them as if everything had happened to her, but at the same time not. She remembered thinking differently. She had been someone else. A couple of different someones actually. “Are you all right Vee? You are Vee right?” Veronica shook her head trying to get everything to fall into place before answering.  “Yes, Yes I am all right. And yes I am Veronica, at least mostly I think. The memories of the last few days just got dumped into my brain. It was a bit of a rush.” Helen grinned at her. “You did tell me you were mine to use. ” “I did. And I am not complaining. I loved every minute of being your plaything.” Helen relaxed a bit more after hearing her say that. “I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as I did.” Veronica looked down. She was naked and back to normal. Or mostly back to normal anyway. There were a few ‘small’ differences. Such as the fact that her nipples were missing. And after a quick check, she knew that she was still smooth as a Barbie between her thighs. But other than that she looked perfectly human. “Um, since I’m back to being myself I thought it was Monday morning. But I thought we agreed that you would restore me so I could go to work.” She hefted one of her nippleless breasts as if to show it to Hellen. “This is interesting, but not what I used to be.”  “No, it isn’t. And yes, that was the plan we agreed on.. But you see, I tried to order a new batch of nanites so we could do this again next weekend. But they were out of stock on the website and they aren’t expected for a couple of months. I didn’t want to wait that long to have my personal drone back. So I decided I’d keep you. You can still go to work like this. No one will know. Veronica gives her a crooked grin.  “Unless they see me with my shirt off or notice that I will not go to the bathroom all day you mean? You could have made me completely human and just not deactivated the nanites.” Hellen smiles just a tad evil. “I could’ve yes. But I thought I’d leave you with a reminder of what you really are. But I could still change you back. It would be months before you could be a drone again though.” “Pff, as if I would forget.” She thought about her options for a moment. “And you were right not to change me back. I really loved being a drone. Even if going to work and living my old life I know I am just a thing programmed to think it is Veronica and that any one that knows could use me for what ever. I would not want to lose that and have to  wait for months to do it again.” “I’m glad you agree. But enough small talk. Be a good drone and get yourself dressed or you might be late for work.” As Hellen called her drone and gave her a task to perform Veronica felt something pushing at her mind to follow her instructions. It appeared she still had control of her. She was supposed to be just Veronica, that is what they had agreed on. But she truly did not mind. Quite the contrary. So instead of complaining, she answered, “Yes, Owner.” And did what she was told. The trip to work was just as tedious as it always was. Sitting on the train she usually just zoned out, apart from the one time she needed to change trains. But with her new drone mind, it apparently worked a little differently. She had just sat down on her first train and just barely started to relax when suddenly was standing outside the door to the office. It was as if no time at all had passed.  Thinking back she found she remembered the entire train ride and walk. But it was all sort of flat or colourless. There was no emotional connection to it at all. As if her personality had been put to sleep like a computer would hibernate to save power and the underlying drones operating system took over. An analogy she realised probably was pretty close to the truth. She shrugged it off and opened the door and went inside and headed for her cubicle. On the way she stopped and chatted to her friends like she normally would. She did pass on the offered coffee though. Saying she did not have the stomach for it this morning. Which was kind of true. After all, underneath the facade of everyday Veronica, there was just a synthetic drone. And drones don't have stomachs at all. After her usual morning ritual, she sat down at her computer and started working. And after getting stuck in she was surprised at how easy it all was. She focused on the task so much better than usual. And to her surprise, she got through about the same amount of work in the first two hours as she normally would in the better part of a day. She only looked up from her screen to speak to people popping into her workspace. Or like now, when her phone beeped with a message from Hellen. “Hey, how's work?” “Good. Better than before actually. I’m just so focused like this.” “You think so? I can fix that. Drone you need to O. Txt later. HF” As soon as Veronica read the words ‘drone you need to O”, she felt a heat rise inside her out of nowhere. She was suddenly incredibly horny. If she had been standing her knees might have buckled from the force of it and she felt an almost over whelming urge to fuck herself right then and there at her desk. Through gritted teeth she growled to herself. “Fuck Hellen, what did you do?” She decided to head for a bathroom before she did something she would rather not do in front of everyone in the office. Well, at least not while looking like Veronica a small part of her added. Once safe from prying eyes inside the bathroom she locked the door and set her mind to get her dress out of the way. She ended up simply pulling it over her head and threw it aside. When she got dressed she had realised she did not really need to bother with underwear. The clothes she was wearing were just to keep up the illusion she was human anyway. And with her now sexless drone body, they did not serve much of a purpose anyway. Smooth and featureless as her body was, it was still just as sensitive in the usual places. So once she had freed herself of her dress she sank to her knees. One hand kneading her breast and the other rubbing at the smooth sexless expanse between her legs. She tried to keep quiet, and she almost managed… After a few minutes of trying her best to fuck herself without her normal bits, she peaked and a wonderful orgasm swept through her body. Leaving her in a twitching heap on the floor, in that good silly grin inducing kind of way. After about a minute or a few hours, she wasn’t sure which, she got back to her senses. She got up off the floor expecting to have left some kind of a mess. But was surprised to find that both she and the bathroom floor were clean and dry. She was not even sweaty from the exertion. “Right drones don’t do any of that.” She said to herself. She looks into the mirror above the sink. Admiring her appearance. No one would know she had masturbated furiously a minute ago apart for maybe a few hairs in the wrong place. And even that just made it look stylishly ruffled. She looked so good she decided she should not keep it to herself. She found her phone and took a few sexy mirror selfies which she sent to Hellen. What she was now she had made from the original Veronica, so she thought she had the right to see. And feeling extra naughty she decided to post them to a drone subreddit she liked before getting back to work. The next few hours of work went smoothly. Apart from a few more texts from Hellen expressing her appreciation of the lovely ‘product photos’ she had sent and offering to tell her to do something else. And Veronica begged her not to, so no one would figure out what she was. And she did think she had managed to impersonate her old self well enough that no one had noticed anything odd. That is until just after lunch. When she heard a voice from behind. “Hey there, Drone.” Veronica froze. Her first thought was that Hellen had decided to stop by. But it was not Hellen’s voice. No, that was her supervisor Jennifer’s voice. And after a few seconds of Veronica not answering she spoke again. “No point denying it Vee. I know what you are.” Veronica turned around in her chair. “I am sorry. Were you talking to me, Jenn?” “I was. And I saw the pictures you took in the bathroom.” Veronica tried to fake ignorance. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” “Ok, prove it. Say ‘I’m not a drone’.” “I am not a drone.” But Jennifer shakes her head. “No. Not ‘I am’. I’m, with the contraction.” Veronica tries again, but for some reason, she can’t. “I am… I am…” Jennifer grins triumphantly at her. But lowers her voice when one of their coworkers starts to get close. “I knew it was you. Come. Let’s go to my office.” She walked off and obviously  expected Veronica to follow. And seeing no other dignified way out, she did. When they got there Jennifer waited for her to go in first then closed the door behind them. She motioned Veronica to a visitor's chair before sitting down behind her desk. “I bet you are racking your brain trying to figure out the contraction thing. Apparently one of the scientists that perfected the drone conversion nanites was a big Star Trek fan. And one day they decided they needed an easy way to spot a drone that looked human. So now every drone speaks like Data.” Veronica cursed to herself. “I knew that. Can’t believe I forgot.” “I guess not everything copied over, hum? When were you converted?.” “Friday night.” Jennifer raises an eyebrow in surprise. “So it is new then. Who is your owner?” “My flatmate, Hellen. I, um, let her use me as her personal drone all weekend. She was supposed to turn me back this morning before I went to work but she did not.” Jennifer suddenly looked angry and asked in a much sterner voice. “Did she do that against your will? Do you want to be human right now? Veronica is taken aback by the sudden intensity in Jennifer’s voice and leans back a little in her chair and blurts out. “No! It was not what we originally agreed upon sure. But she could not get any new nanites. They are out of stock for possibly months. So, she said she decided to keep me. She asked if I was ok with it and I enjoyed being her drone so much that I liked the idea of staying this way. Jennifer seems to relax again. “I see. I’m sorry. For a second there I thought you might have been kept as a drone against your will. I… it's a sore spot for me.” “So… Am I in trouble? For coming in to work as a drone? We honestly did not think anyone would mind or even notice.” “No, the company doesn't mind that. You are however in trouble for taking nude pictures in the company bathroom.” “What!?” Veronika squeaked out. “I did not know there was a policy against that.” Jennifer looked sternly at her again. “There is. It is one of the reasons we have such distinctive art on the wall there. It helps to prove where it was taken.” Veronica tried to meld and sink into her chair. “I did not know that!” Jennifer makes a show of thinking it over before she speaks again. “I guess we can let you off with a warning this time. I mean, after all, you didn’t actually show anything. More like the lack of things really'' And that is when she could not hold the grin back anymore. “Haha, I’m sorry. I couldn't help myself. No, you are not in trouble at all. And you have told me everything I wanted to know. Except for Hellen’s phone number. Veronica has a little trouble staying with the ups and downs of the conversation. “Hellen’s number? Why? What does she have to do with this?” “Because she owns you. And I want to speak to her about renting her drone.” “Renting her... You mean me? You want to rent me? Why?” “Because drones are better workers than people. I bet you got way more done today than you usually do, didn’t you?” “Yes, I guess. But why do you need to talk to Hellen about it? I am right here, can you just talk to me?” “Why would I talk to you about it? You are just a drone. Drones don't make deals or decide on their use. They are just things. Property. If you want to borrow someone's car you dont speak to the car about it do you?” Said it so matter of factly. And that was when Veronica realised that in Jennifer’s eyes she truly weren't a person at all. And it was utterly dehumanising. And Veronica surprised herself how much she liked how it made her feel. It was the first time someone besides Hellen had treated her as something less than human.  And she must have given something away in her expression because Jennifer’s smile grew a little wider. “What, you thought that just because you came into work wearing your old face you would be treated as a person? Well, to be fair I suppose most people would. But not me. I own my own drone and have been one myself. So I know that right now you are not Veronica, you are just a thing made from Veronica.” Still processing the fact all Veronica could get out was an. “Oh.” “Indeed. So be a good drone and give me your owner’s number.” Being referred to as good drone and given a task got Veronicas mind back on track. She grabbed a pad of paper and pen from Jenifers desk and writes down Hellen’s number and hands it over. “Thank you. Now just stay there and wait while I iron out a deal with your owner." Veronica sat quietly with her mind racing. Watching her boss call up her owner to negotiate a deal for using her. Jennifer had spun her chair around so she had her back to Veronica and she could not really make out what she was saying. But after just a few minutes she turned back around and handed her the phone. "Here, your owner wants to speak to you." Veronica took the phone and could hear a slightly anxious Hellen on the other end.  "Hey Vee, you there?" "I am here." "Ok, so I have worked out a deal with Jennifer. She will rent you from me in the name of the company. She will have full control over you during business hours and you are in the building. And in return I will get paid twice your normal pay in renting fees.. Are you ok with all that? I know this is not what you signed up for." "Wow, that is quite the pay bump. I am surprised they would pay you that much." "It is not really all that surprising. To employ a person costs more than you think. There are a lot of hidden fees associated with that like insurance and stuff. You on the other hand are just office equipment. Like a computer or a desk. And as a drone you focus on your work. No hanging around the water cooler or potty brakes." "Oh, did not think of that." "So are you alright with this?" Veronica worried her lower lip a second before answering. But realised that ever since Jennifer had stopped treating her as a person she had been hooked. "Yes, yes I am.” "Alright then if you are sure. Drone, Create a new level two user. User name 'Jennifer'." Veronica found herself speaking in a monotone voice. "New user ‘Jennifer’ added. Please supply voice print for user 'Jennifer'" Jennifer did not sound the least surprised when she answered. "I am user Jennifer." "Voice print for user Jennifer accepted." Veronica heard Hellen's voice from the phone on the table in front of her where she had dropped it in surprise. "That's a good drone. I'll see you tonight, have fun." And then hung up. As soon as Hellen had hung up Jennifer spoke up while doing something on her computer. "Alright, I have placed Veronica on unpaid leave in the system. And I have registered a new drone to the office inventory and assigned it to me. I just need your serial number for the record." She raised an eyebrow and looked expectantly in Veronica's direction. "Oh, it is 1924. I am Drone 1924." Jennifer kept typing for a minute and then returned her full attention to her. "Alright then, 1924. There is no paper trail that suggests you ever were Veronica. Now let's fix your appearance, remove your clothes." Veronica without so much as a single thought started to take off her dress. She did feel a twinge of embarrassment at stripping in front of her boss, but it did not last long. She had been ordered to by one of her authorised users after all so she could not stop herself if she tried. And all taking her cloth off did was reveal her smooth sexless drone body underneath. Jennifer got up and walked around her with a critical eye. "Hm, Veronica made for a good template. I always thought she had a lovely figure." Again hearing Jennifer not seeing her as just a thing like that made a shiver run up her spine and she caught herself smiling. And seeing that made Jennifer smile too. But perhaps for a different reason. "She did have a lovely face too. But we can't have anyone recognising it now, can we? 1924, restore your face to default parameters. Oh, and disable autonomous mode." And just like that Veronica felt her face smooth over leaving an anonymous faceless drone. And her mind changed and suddenly it did not feel like doing anything at all except stand to attention and wait for orders. Jennifer walked to her desk and opened a drawer and withdrew a glossy red usb thumb drive. Walking back she handed it to the drone. “1924, I want you to access and run the program on this drive.” The drone reached out and took the drive. It pushed into its chest connector end first and then returned to attention. After about a minute the tan coloured drone started to turn red, then the same glossy red as the casing of the thumb drive. Then the drive folded down and disappeared into its chest. Then the now shiny red drone said. “Secretary templet loaded. Running. Hello Jennifer, what can I do for you.” “Oh, I have a few ideas…”
