Title: After Claim Day
Chapter 4 : Establishing Priorities
Phoebe
08/26/2025
The afternoon light slanted through my office window, making the dust motes visible as they drifted through the air. My eyes burned from staring at code for hours, but I couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t stop.
Lines and lines of programming sprawled across my monitors: the Source’s original claiming program, the freeing program I’d helped design, the handshake protocols that now stood between Wallace and what he deserved. What we both deserved.
I’d been at this for two days straight, barely sleeping, surviving on coffee and the occasional protein bar someone shoved in front of me. The scrambled handshake was elegant in its complexity, randomized in ways that made brute force cracking nearly impossible. And the clock was ticking, the counter-virus spreading slowly but inevitably toward us.
But I was going to figure it out. For Wallace. Everything for Wallace. EVERYTHING.
I couldn’t fail him. Not like I’d failed Smith.
The thought twisted uncomfortably in my chest. I wasn’t unhappy about failing Smith. The guy had been a complete asshole, a psychopath who didn’t deserve me, not like Wallace did. But the conflict was still there, gnawing at me: I’d felt the same devotion to Smith as I felt now to Wallace. The same burning need to please, to serve, to be perfect for him. And yet I’d failed Smith anyway.
I couldn’t let that happen with Wallace. I wouldn’t.
A small, hesitant knock on the door made me jump. My hands flew to the keyboard, frantically closing windows, minimizing tabs—
The door opened, and Wallace stepped inside.
My brain snapped to attention like someone had flipped a switch. Every thought that wasn’t about him vanished. Every concern, every problem, every line of code became secondary to the fact that he was here, in my space, and I could focus entirely on him.
I stood up so fast my chair rolled backward, and I was moving toward him before I consciously decided to, wrapping my arms around him, pressing myself against his chest.
“Hey,” I said, smiling up at him. “Didn’t expect to see you today. This is a nice surprise.”
He looked grim. Hesitant. His arms came around me, but there was tension in his shoulders, something weighing on him. More than last time I’d seen him. More than usual.
I kissed him, hard and passionate, trying to pour reassurance into it. When I pulled back, he still looked troubled.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, keeping my tone light, teasing. “You look like someone just told you the dam’s about to collapse. Which it’s not, by the way. We’re golden on that front.”
He didn’t smile.
I ramped it up, running my hands over his chest, pressing closer. “You need me to help you relax? Because I’ve got some ideas. We could lock the door, I could get on my knees—”
“Phoebe.”
The tone in his voice made me stop. I stepped back, reading his expression more carefully now. Concern. Guilt. Fear.
“What can I do for you?” I asked, switching tactics. “Tell me what you need. I’m happy you’re here. I’ve been working on the problem, and I think I have some leads—”
“And then what?” he asked, and there was a bite to his tone that surprised me.
I placed my hands on his chest, rubbing gently, trying to soothe him. “Then we claim you as many women as we can before the virus gets here...” I trailed of but quickly continued as I gathered my thoughts. I didn’t want to leave any room for him to argue. “Either as many as possible at once, to gain leverage, or one by one to stay under the radar. It’s up to you, and to the opportunities we find.” I smiled up at him, trying to sell the idea.
Wallace stared down at me, his jaw working like he was chewing on something bitter.
“Phoebe,” he repeated, his voice strained. “This is insane...”
“You’re scared, I get it. This is big and new, and you’re worried about being exposed. But you’ve got me with you now. We’re on the same team.”
“That’s the thing, Phoebe,” he said, smiling softly, shaking his head. “I’ve got you already. I don’t know what the hell I did to deserve it, but I’ve got you. That’s already a lot to swallow, but I’m getting there. Hell, I’ll take it. You’re enough, okay?”
I smiled brightly, my entire body tingling with happiness. My owner was happy to have me, and was finally accepting it fully. But was it really enough? Was it all he wanted? Just me, when he could have so much more?
“I’m glad you feel that way,” I told him. “And if that’s really all you want, then we can stop. Focus on ourselves, and I’ll work every day on making sure I’m the best woman I can be for you,” I said, sliding a hand right over his heart. “Is that really all you want? Not just fear speaking?”
He hesitated. Just a second too long.
“Yes, that’s enough. That’s plenty,” he said firmly, but certainly not convincingly. He was worried. Worried about the consequences if we failed. If we got caught.
I didn’t let my face betray my emotions. “I’m glad to hear that,” I said, leaning up to give him a kiss. “Alright, then.”
I’d please him. I would not fail. I’d find solutions, get him there, make him embrace it. His fear had been on the way since the very beginning. Fear and guilt. Letting him focus on me, showing him what a single claimed woman could be for him if he let her serve him fully, would help him accept the rest.
Meanwhile, I’d work on the handshake, figure out a way around it, so all I’d have to do would be handing him the keys to his kingdom, already unlocked and ready to go. I’d show him how amazing it could be. How good I could be.
And if this wasn’t enough? The thought nagged at me, but I pushed it away. I’d get him there, one way or another.
I led him toward my office chair, and pushed him down on it. “Then, I’ll recognize I’ve been pretty busy focusing on my evil plans. I’ve been neglecting you.”
I winked at him, then sank to my knees in front of him, my eyes locked on his.
He chuckled nervously, but I could tell this was already a more familiar territory. He’d had some time to adjust to me, to enjoy having me.
I opened his zipper, and pulled his cock out of his underwear. “So that leads me to a different question: what do you like?” I stroked him, watching as he grew hard.
He gasped, his hips shifting forward. “Ah! Well I mean you know what I like... I’m not complicated...” He looked down at me, a bit embarrassed, watching me play with his hardening dick. “I like you. I like this.”
I tilted my head and laughed. “Obviously. I mean more... what are your fantasies? Your kinks? What’s your sexual bucket list?”
He snorted, blushing hard. Yeah, there was stuff in there, and I was going to have to pry it out of him. I was going to learn his deepest fantasies and make them come true, one after the other.
He shrugged, but his eyes were glued to me as I kept stroking him. “I mean I like pretty standard stuff?”
“Yeah?” I asked playfully. “That’s it?”
He laughed, but his voice was shaky. “Well, uh...”
“Go on. Tell me. Your woman is on her knees for you, literally,” I sighed playfully. “Figuratively too. You own me. My brain is rewired to crave pleasing you in any way I can. There is nothing you can ask of me I won’t love doing for you. Come on. I’m not going to judge you, and I can’t resist serving you. So, spill the beans.”
“Okay, well,” he laughed nervously, shaking his head. “Fuck you’re gonna think this is stupid.”
I leaned forward, taking his cock into my mouth, bobbing on him a few times. I pulled back with a pop. “Yeah? Well even if it’s the stupidest fantasy, the only thing that will cross my mind is ‘how can I make this happen for my owner?’”
“Okay, okay,” he chuckled, his head lolling back against the chair. He was leaking, his breath coming in short gasps as I worked him. “I dunno. It’s dumb.”
“Wallace!” I laughed, squeezing him slightly harder. “Come on. I’ve been trying to enslave people for you and now you can’t tell me about your fantasies?”
“Okay! Okay...” he said, looking down at me. “It’s uh. Robots...”
I paused, raising an eyebrow. That was not what I’d expected. Yet, my brain was already spinning in circles, wondering what I could do about it. I certainly could build robots...
“Robots? What kind?” I asked.
He shrugged again, his hands clenching and unclenching on his lap. “The sexy kind. I mean, it doesn’t have to be actual robots. It’s more about the behavior?”
I nodded, keeping my face carefully neutral as I stroke his cock and tried to imagine it. “So, like robot women? Women acting like robots? Emotionless, obedient?”
“Right, yeah,” he said, his voice growing hoarse. “The whole, you know, robot AI that’s programmed to obey me and only me, the cold, hard obedience, no will of her own. That kind of thing. I know, it’s dumb.”
“Not dumb,” I said. “And I’m already programmed, in case you’ve forgotten. So I guess we got part of that already.”
He looked down at me, and his eyes were filled with a mix of guilt and awe. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess so...”
I smirked. “I definitely can act like a robot, Sir.” I winked. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Ramona Quinn. I know exactly what a proper robot woman looks like.”
Wallace chuckled before grunting loudly, his hips thrusting as I took his entire cock back in my mouth, pushing him as deep as I could without gagging. Something else to work on.
When I pulled back, he was panting, his face flushed. I blinked, slowly, and adopted the most neutral expression I could muster.
“Would you like me to initiate ‘robot woman mode’ right now, Sir?” I asked him, making my voice as flat and emotionless as possible. My owner’s face seemed to have absorbed the amount of emotion my face wasn’t displaying anymore, and he looked torn between embarrassment and extreme arousal. His cock twitched in my hand.
“Y-yes. Yes, please,” he mumbled.
“Very well, Sir. ‘Robot woman mode’ initiated.”
I gave him a slow nod, then stood up and began to undress, carefully and deliberately folding my clothes and setting them aside. The whole time, I kept my face blank, my movements precise and robotic.
He wanted a robot woman? Fine. I’d be his fucking robot woman. The look on his face, though, made it very hard to stay focused on the role. He looked so damn happy, so damn excited and eager. It was filling my own mind with ecstasy, my programming rewarding me for this. My own emotions were making it harder to stay blank and emotionless, so I had to focus and push through it.
Emotions... I thought. They’re in the way. And my brain fired in a new direction, trying to figure out what would be the best way to get rid of it, to alter myself to better fit the role that Wallace enjoyed so much.
I walked over to his chair, standing in front of him, completely naked. I looked down at him, my gaze fixed and unblinking. “Unit ready for inspection, Sir.”
Wallace sat up straighter, his eyes wide and hungry as they raked over me. He hesitantly reached out, his hands trailing over my curves, his touch light and reverent. His fingers brushed against my nipples, and I arched my back slightly, offering myself to him.
“Bend over the desk,” he ordered, his voice a hoarse whisper. “Show me your pussy.”
I obeyed immediately, turning and bending forward, bracing myself on my elbows, my ass in the air. “Presenting pussy for inspection, Sir.”
He moved behind me, his hands gripping my hips, his cock pressing against my wet entrance. I wanted to gasp, I wanted to moan, I wanted to encourage him to use me, to fuck me hard, to make me his in every way. Instead, I stayed quiet, my expression flat and emotionless, even as he slid into me and groaned.
Emotions... How could I get rid of them? What would he prefer? Temporary, or permanent? Only for sex, or for everything?
His cock filled me, and he began to move, his thrusts fast and deep. He grunted with each motion, his hands tight on my hips, and I forced myself to stay perfectly still, to take it without reaction.
The obvious solution would be to create a new programming compatible with the Source’s brain matrix. Altering emotions was already part of the original package. But I was painfully aware, now, that my programming would not allow me to alter it. I’d sabotage it. Again.
“Good little robot,” he muttered, fucking me harder. “Such a good little robot.”
I didn’t know how a robot woman would respond to that, so I remained silent as he used me. As he fucked me. As he claimed me.
If not programming, what else? Some drugs could change emotions, but that would be temporary and unpredictable. Besides, I would only be able to sneak out so much of the right compounds from Echelon’s stores without attracting attention. It wasn’t like we had anyone to supply it anymore either.
Hypnosis? Too soft. No... To get what I was looking for I would have to alter my brain, directly.
“Get up,” Wallace ordered suddenly. “Turn around.”
I stood up and turned to face him, still maintaining my emotionless facade. It wasn’t as hard now. I was entirely focused on the problem, on finding the best solution.
Brain-damage, I realized suddenly. If I damaged specific areas of my brain, the ones associated with emotion, with free will, then I wouldn’t have any trouble sabotaging anything. I’d need to be precise, probably test it first using transcranial magnetic stimulation. And if he wanted it temporary, just that would do. I’d need a guinea pig for that. Vance would do nicely. No doubt she’d be eager to help.
“Get on your knees,” he growled, his voice thick with lust. “Suck my cock.”
“Yes, Sir.” I dropped to my knees, taking his cock in my mouth without hesitation, bobbing my head mechanically.
Yes, brain-damage, if carefully done, might achieve the desired effect. I’d need to make sure it would not mess with the claim program first, but in theory it should not disrupt its core, even if emotions were neutralized. The Source had been thorough. The changes in the brain structure was spread through multiple areas. The loyalty, need to please, wasn’t just emotional. It was deeply rooted, hard-wired, everywhere. And...
I gasped, breaking character as I realized how this approach could fix all our issues. The handshake, Wallace’s reservations and turning me, Vance, and all his future women, into exactly what he wanted.
“You alright?” Wallace asked, his voice filled with concern.
“Y-yes, Sir. Your robot woman unit is fine, Sir.” I shook my head, and got back into character. “Resuming task.”
The answer had been staring me right in the face the whole time: brain-damage. It wasn’t just a way to be what Wallace craved, it was potentially also the way to circumvent the handshake entirely! There was one person I needed to find. One person who held the key to all our problems. Someone who already had brain-damage, and the resulting incomplete brain matrix: Charlotte. What made her immune in the first place could actually teach me how to work around the structure of the matrix.
My owner tensed and groaned, and I felt his cum filling my mouth. I swallowed it eagerly, greedily, savoring the taste of him, the proof of his pleasure and satisfaction. I continued sucking until he was completely spent, and only then did I pull away, my lips and chin smeared with his cum.
I was going to give him everything, and I would make sure he’d take it, even if I had to do some digging in his own head for that.