Numerology

Chapter 7: Natalie's Paper

I dreamt I was in a white room with the white wizards. The wizards brought me numbers. They gave me lists of things to do. Things to do when I see the numbers.

It is still dark but now I am awake. I can see two figures silhouetted in the doorway to my room. It is Dr Stuart and Dr Anna. I hear them talking.

“Is she awake yet?”

“Yes, I think so but she will lie still there until she has to respond.”

“What are the new scripts?”

“Mainly domestic tasks, some of them are combos – concatenations of other scripts under a single number to make control easier. It's too much effort if you have to keep giving individual commands.”

“Do we need to do anything about command reception?”

“No, I think it appears to be adequate within the building and the new transmitter will be slightly more powerful. I'd prefer to do things at this end rather than having to do any further surgery.”

The two of them are still standing there, looking at me. I hear Dr Anna speak.

“I read it.”

“What?”

“The paper – ‘Induced Numerical Synesthesia as a Vector for Operant Conditioning.' Natalie Grahams' doctoral thesis.”

“It was rather good wasn't it? I felt it delivered an excellent theoretical basis for a practical mechanism for soft-cybernetics.”

“Yes. Yes, it was. Don't you wish you'd written it?”

“Well, perhaps. It's the curse of the teacher to be overtaken by their brightest students.”

“She never foresaw this, you know. Not the application of her work. I don't think she ever thought it would really be possible to link into the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. Not in any practical way.”

“So you'll allow me my contribution to this project then?”

“Of course, Stuart. It's extraordinary what you've done.”

“Well, maybe.” Dr Waring is looking at me again.

Dr Anna interrupts him. “She's lost it all, you know. Anything she ever knew, any memories. The intellect has gone. There's nothing left of her mind. Just the numbers and the tasks.”

“Hmm? Oh, yes. That seems to be a side effect. A shame, I guess.”

They go away, leaving me alone. How strange. For some reason I think that Natalie is my name.

Chapter 8: Number 5

It is afternoon. I am in my room, alone. I see a 5. I undress. That is unusual. I do not often see a 5 until late at night. There is usually a 5 and then an 8 to tell me to sleep. Oh, now I am remembering what some of the numbers mean. I wonder if I am supposed to do that? But now there is just a 5.

Dr Stuart appears. He is smiling. He approaches me and places a hand upon my naked breast. “You respond very well to your numbers. This is exactly how I expected to find you. Now, come and lay down. I will show you something.” He leads me to the bed and lays me down with my arms by my sides, my legs slightly apart.

Dr Stuart is undressing. He is naked as well. He lies down beside me. I feel his fingers part my thighs. I feel his fingers inside me. He climbs on top of me. I feel him penetrate me. There isn't anything for me to do, there are no numbers now.

Dr Stuart is stroking my breasts. He tells me I am a perfect doll, I am his perfect doll, just a doll. His breathing becomes sharper, his voice is deeper, his muscles tense. I feel him cum, violently, inside of me. He lays there for a time but then gets up and leaves me. I see a 7. I take a shower. I see an 8 and lay down to sleep.

This time I do not dream.

It is later. I wake up. I hear Dr Stuart and Dr Anna. They are talking together again but now they are talking in loud voices. Dr Anna is shouting. She is shouting, “Pervert!” Dr Stuart is quieter. He is trying to calm Dr Anna, but she is still upset, still shouting. “Is that what this was all about really? It's nothing to do with the science! Is it?” I cannot hear everything she is shouting but she is very upset. The shouting seems to go on for a long time.

Much later I wake again. It is still dark. The shouting has stopped.

It is daylight. I awake. I see a 7 and a 6 and a 1. I shower, dress and go to find Dr Stuart. He is with Dr Anna but things are different. She is naked. She is sitting in a chair. She cannot get up. Straps hold her in the chair. She seems to want to get up but she cannot. She tries to talk as I enter but there is tape across her mouth and I cannot make out what she is saying.

Dr Stuart gives me some clothes, they are the clothes that Dr Anna was wearing last night. He presses a button. 27 – laundry. I know what I have to do. As I leave I see that Dr Stuart is playing with Dr Anna's breast as he played with mine. She struggles to resist him but the straps are holding her down. He smiles and tells her to be still. She tries to answer him but the tape stops any sound. He picks up a hypodermic syringe. Dr Anna's eyes are wide open. She shakes her head. I think she tries to scream behind the tape. I think she is really scared.

She doesn't look happy. Not happy like I am. As long as I can do what the numbers tell me.

But I see 27 and I must do as the numbers tell me.

Chapter 9: Pleasure Unit

I am sitting in the bedroom. Dr Stuart and Dr Anna are there as well. She is standing by the door, he is lounging on the bed. I'm a wearing my simple uniform dress. She has on a long, black, evening gown. It is cut very low and shows her cleavage. There is a simple velvet band around her throat. Her long hair is dressed and piled high upon her head. She wears long evening gloves that match her dress. Her face is made up perfectly but she isn't smiling as she usually does.

Dr Stuart presses a button on his control box. I see a zero. I must smile and recite. “About: Soft Cybernetics Software Version 1.63 : Scripts Version 2.5 : Variant - Utility Unit” Dr Stuart says, “Thank you, Natalie.” That's interesting he has not called me that before. I thought that was my name but he hasn't called me that before. I think I know something about Natalie but I cannot remember what it is.

He turns a small control on the box and presses the button again.

Dr Anna appears to jerk and stiffen and then she speaks. “About: Soft Cybernetics Software Version 1.63 : Scripts Version 2.75 : Variant - Pleasure Unit.” She smiles as I smile but then I watch as a tear trickles down her cheek.

Dr Waring says, “Thank you, Anna.” He presses another button and she turns to leave the room.

As Dr Anna turns her head I see that she has a small connector on the back of her neck. Like the ones you see on computers. I wonder, does my one looks the same? I wonder if that is why Dr Anna can see the numbers now. I wonder if the numbers will make her happy. I think that Dr Stuart had something to do with helping Dr Anna be able to see the numbers. Do you think the numbers tell him what to do? I don't see a connector.