Subroutine Manager Ch 13

To say that I was anxious would be an understatement. It was the day we were all getting together, to properly sit down and talk about the situation. Kay and I had been going over the possibilities almost non-stop. The Subroutine Manager was a disturbingly powerful app, and while we'd been having fun with it, I still wanted to get to the bottom of where it came from. Although now we knew where it came from in the literal sense, I had no idea how it had been installed.

Our options were pretty limited. If other androids like myself had been targeted, it was only a matter of time before it became more widespread. The app would go public soon enough, and the world would know everything Kay and I did. On the other hand, if for some reason I had been specifically targeted, it wasn't unreasonable to think that the Eisa and the others were at potential risk as well. In any case, the best course of action was to include our wider circle of friends in this mystery.

I was also pretty eager to involve them in our sex games. But that was besides the point.

"How are you feeling? You still ready for this?" Kay had been the epitome of patience as we had gone over the risks. Most of the time I tried not to think about how much control someone could have if they had the app instead of Kay, mostly because of how much it terrified me. But I still felt that whoever created the Subroutine Manager in the first place hadn't been malicious. Back when we first used it, it had required my consent, which had eased the majority of my concerns. A designer with malicious intent would've made it work differently.

Ultimately, no matter how much Kay and I discussed it, we found ourselves going in circles. The app represented a huge societal danger, not necessarily the one installed in me, but the fact that it existed in the first place. I had no idea who- or what- was the deal with the Sunripe Lemon. Bringing in some more friends was the only way forward to cracking the case.

"I'm ready. I trust them, and if something big is coming, they deserve to know." It didn't change the fact that I was scared, but there was no doubt in my mind it was the best course of action. "If there's any chance we can get to the bottom of this, we have to take it. The worst case scenario is that androids are forced to go back to when..." my voice trailed off. I didn't need to finish the sentence.

Kay shuddered at my words. "That won't happen, no matter what. Let's just focus on the present for now. Are you sure you can't remember anything about the Sunripe Lemon? No unexpected meetings, nothing weird with the charging station?"

I shook my head. "Not that I can think of. Like I said, I mainly use it as a good reading spot when I want to get out of the house. You remember that steampunk crime series I was telling you about? The one where they have magic powers and do a heist? And they have to break into-"

"Don't change the subject. I told you, I'll get around to reading it eventually." Kay saw right through my sneaky attempt to get her to read my current favourite books.

"Anyway," I continued, "I read most of the series over at the cafe. Over the course of a couple months. The app could've been installed at any point."

Just like our previous conversations, this was going nowhere. Even if our friends were in on the situation, it felt pretty unlikely that any of them would have more information to move us forward. But that was something I couldn't worry about.

Before Kay could continue with more questions, there was a knock at the door. Both of our heads snapped towards it, immediately brought back to the moment. It was time to show my friends just how vulnerable I was. Literally. Kay took my hand in hers, and I gave it a light squeeze. Then she went to open the door.

The first person standing in the hallway was Evelynn. Her large muscular frame stood out in the relatively cramped doorway, but she had a big smile on her face. "Kay, Lina! Lovely to see you two again."

Kay responded by wrapping her arms around the bigger woman in a hug. "Great to see you too." I craned my neck and saw Eisa and Nova standing behind her as well.

"I see you all got a ride here together. Come on in." I waved them inside to start getting everyone settled.

Kay and Eisa started chatting about a TV show, while Nova plopped down onto the couch. "I hope you don't mind if I put my feet up." She then proceeded to bend over and fiddle with something. After a moment, she had her prosthetic feet detached, and set them up on the coffee table while she sat cross-legged in place. The whole time she wore a cheeky grin.

"Yeah yeah, it'd be a lot funnier if you didn't do that

literally every time we went somewhere,

" Eisa commented in an exasperated tone. "I swear, this is why I never go anywhere with you." Nobody mentioned that they frequently went everywhere together. And despite how often she pulled it, Nova's stunt still managed to get a giggle out of me.

Evelynn wrapped her arm around my shoulder, pulling me in close to her. "So I heard you all had a fun day without me. Wasn't that a bit naughty of you?" I could feel my resolve melting under her gaze. Nobody was able to get me immediately flustered quite like she could, not even Kay. She was wearing a tank top that clearly showed off her rippled abs underneath. "I thought you promised you would be an extra good girl for me. Isn't that what you wanted?"

I could've sworn my cooling systems were starting to malfunction, especially as she leaned in close. Thankfully, Nova came to my rescue. "Oh cut her some slack. We all invited you." Nova had dyed her hair a dark green. It wasn't unusual for her, since she took on a fresh colour every month or so, but it always managed to catch me off guard. She was, however, consistent with her punk aesthetic with her clothing.

Evelynn laughed as she collapsed onto the sofa. "Yeah, yeah. Although from what these two told me you don't mind the teasing as much. How was it that Eisa described you?"

At the mention of her name, Eisa broke her conversation with Kay to face us. "Like a good ol' fashioned big tiddy bimbo! Complete with a microskirt to match." She paused for a moment as she examined me. "Come to think of it, I'm a little surprised you're back to more normal proportions again. You pulled off the look really well. Is there a reason you were dressing up like that?"

I started to blush, but Kay cleared her throat before the conversion got too derailed. "Actually, that's a part of why I wanted to talk with you all. We've, uh, got something a bit important to discuss."

"Everything's fine, it's not like we're in any trouble," I interjected before anyone got worried. Now that they were all seated, it was time to really dive into our predicament. "It's just... there's something new we've stumbled across. Something dangerous. And I wanted to see what you gal's thought of it."

Now everyone was listening with rapt attention. The air of joviality from before was gone. There was no point in burying the lede, so I just started explaining. "A couple months ago, Kay found an app that had been installed in my hardware. One that I've never heard of before, and I have no idea how it got inside me. It just showed up out of nowhere during a routine diagnostics test."

Eisa's screen displayed an emoji of a face clapping its hands against its cheeks in shock. "Wait, did you get a virus? That can't be good. You

know

how important it is to use protection when browsing porn sites."

"That's not what it was," I interjected. Unfortunately she was referring to an embarrassing mistake I'd made years ago, one that I didn't want to bring up again. "That's the weird thing, this app didn't seem to have any malicious software in it."

"I hit it with every scan available," Kay continued. "It's completely clean. What's more concerning is the information it provides. The app logs internal data for

everything

going on inside this numbskull." She rapped me on the head for effect. "I got a clear readout of her vitals, her statistics, her processors, and even her values."

The last comment caused Nova to furrow her brow. "Wait, her values? You mean like her inner thoughts? Isn't that basically mind reading?"

"Pretty much," I answered. I was a bit worried Nova and Kay would spiral off into a debate about what counted as thinking. Nova was of the opinion that robots like myself had a soul with inherent feelings, while Kay felt that humans were just advanced robots and nobody had a soul. Thankfully neither were in the mood to get into it today. "This app seems to know me better than I do sometimes. It's pretty complex stuff, and most of the time I can hardly understand the readouts, but Kay's found it tracks just about every variable imaginable."

As we spoke, Eisa was shifting awkwardly in her seat. Her screen was uncharacteristically blank, a sign that she was deep in thought. As great as our friends were, the fact that they were made of flesh and blood meant they just wouldn't get it the same way we did. It broke my metaphorical heart to tell Eisa the next part.

"That's just the start. What

really

sets off the alarm bells is a hidden function within the app." I paused to think about just how to describe it. "Not only does it record and display values for every metric there is, it can also edit them, reflecting how they directly affect me."

There was a wave of silence in the room as my friends started to think about the implications. Evelynn was the first one to speak up. "Wait, you said it could detect every part of your mind. So does that mean it can-"

"Yup." I didn't even bother letting her finish.

"You didn't even let me ask."

"And we don't need to. The answer is yes, it can." Kay responded for me this time. "We've been experimenting a bit. While it's not limitless, it's pretty damned close. This app can seriously mess with Lina's pretty head. Memories, opinions, feelings, skills, and more. There are a couple things it can't do, but honestly not much."

I shuddered at her description. The last thing I needed at the moment was a reminder of what kinds of fun we could have. "To be clear as well, it was my idea to use the app. I've asked her to use it, and you all know how much I trust her. So there's no issue there. The issue is that we don't know where it came from, or who made it. Or if any other androids have it on their system. Obviously I'm pretty lucky with Kay, but we're the exception - not the norm." The others were finally starting to grasp what could happen if a corporation got a hold of this technology.

"It's not all bad," I continued, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. "It's a little tough to explain, but the app did require me to give it permission in the first place. So it's not like some random stranger off the street could've brainwashed me or anything. But it's big enough that we'd like to find some answers, hence why we're bringing all of you into the loop."

Even though I was talking to everyone, I did my best not to look directly at Eisa. As nervous as I felt about letting my friends know just how badly my systems had been compromised, There was no denying she was the most affected by this. Her screen displayed a trio of ellipses, a sign that she was thinking. After a brief silence, she spoke up. "That's pretty annoying. Sorry you got wrapped up in something like that, Lina. Anything else you need us for?"

"Pretty annoying? That's IT?" The sudden outburst from Nova took me by surprise. "This could be the most catastrophic and destructive technology invented in the past decade, and it could instantly undo all the hard work and sacrifices we've made. And all you can say is that it's

annoying?

"

Eisa shrugged her mechanical shoulders. "I mean, yeah. What do you want me to say?" Her voice was relatively monotone, as it usually was with her. I had to wonder how natural it was in this situation. "No offence, but it's not like this is particularly groundbreaking. Say what you want, but fundamentally I'm made up of technology. And technology is always advancing. No matter what happens with the robotic rights movement, something like this was always going to get developed. It was just a matter of time."

Nova was left somewhat dumbfounded. And to be honest, so was I. I hadn't even thought about it that way. "But... but it's here now," Kay responded. "This has the potential to be incredibly dangerous."

"Things are already dangerous for us." Eisa didn't even hesitate with her reply. "So yeah, of course I'll help out here and now where I can. But Kay, you're the one always saying the human brain is essentially a highly complex supercomputer. Eventually someone's going to figure out how to map it to a digital format, and then they'll be able to edit the parameters as well. It's just happening to Lina and I a couple centuries sooner."

The room went silent. Nova was huffing in place, her arms crossed, but she didn't make any further comments. Evelynn and Kay exchanged a worried glance that I pretended not to notice. If I was being honest, I

hadn't

thought of most of what Eisa had pointed out. She was right though, and it gave me a lot to consider. Kay and the others were likely feeling the same way.

In any case, worrying about existential dread wasn't going to get us anywhere. The mystery of the app remained, and we still had to do what we could. "Well, let's focus on what we can do for now," I began. "There's only one lead we have at the moment, and that's a location. The Sundrop Lemon. Kay did some digging in my storage banks, and that's where I was when it was installed. We don't have a proper time frame, and I have no idea how it actually got on me, but that's all we have as a starting point."

Evelynn clicked her tongue. "That's the place you invited me to a while back, yeah? There's a possibility I have a bit of an in." She began tapping her finger against her thigh. "I sometimes stop in there after a workout session, since it's right next to the gym. I'm pretty sure one of the waitresses has a crush on me. She always makes a point to bring me something, even if someone else took the order, and half the time she messes it up anyway."

It was a longshot, but it was a better lead than any of us had. "Have you actually spoken to her? I'm not saying your gaydar is wrong, but it might just be a coincidence. It could be that she's just clumsy and awkward in general."

"It could be, but I don't think so." Evelynn was pretty confident in her answer. "It's not just that she's eager to help me. It's that whenever I start teasing her, she starts blushing and stammering all over the place. It happens all the time when bottoms talk to me. You know, like what Lina does."

Her last comment caused a twinge of red to enter my cheeks. "That's not- I don't- You can't just-" The realisation of what I was saying only resulted in me blushing further, which caused a huge wave of laughter from my friends. "Assholes," I muttered at a low volume. But overall I was relieved at the levity. I'd been worried that talking to them about this would end up with everyone feeling down, but thankfully that wasn't the case.

Once the laughter died down, Eisa spoke up with another idea. "I might be able to investigate as well. It does have a section that caters to androids, so I can spend some time there and do some research. Plug in, browse the web, that sort of thing. Just to see if I can find anything suspicious."

"Ugh, you realise what a stupid idea that is, right?" Nova was back to her usual whiny self. "That's literally the place where Lina had the most dangerous app in existence mysteriously downloaded onto her. If you start going there regularly, I'll have to babysit you to make sure you're safe."

Hearing all my friends offering to pitch in lifted a weight off my chest that I didn't know had been there. It wasn't just Kay and I anymore, it was the whole group of us. They were my support group, and we were in it together. I could rely on them as well. I leaned in towards Kay, letting my head rest on her shoulder. She began rubbing my back without saying a word. She understood how much this meant to me, perhaps even more than I did.

"Now that that's all settled, I still have one question." Evelynn looked at us with an inquisitive expression. "You said you've been using this app, and it has the power to change basically everything about your personality. So what exactly have you been

doing

with it? Getting over your personal anxieties and hangups? Dealing with deep rooted issues that are too complicated to fix directly?"

An exclamation mark lit up on Eisa's screen. "That's a really good point. We've been focusing on the negatives and the dangers, but it can potentially do just as much good as well. You could become an expert in any subject without needing proper training. Hell, you could almost become a superhero with it."

They had a lot of good points. It made me feel more than a little ashamed when comparing it to how we'd

actually

been using it. "Um, not exactly." My eyes were darting back and forth, trying to think of the best way to explain we'd been using this groundbreaking revolutionary technology for kinky sex games. "It's, uh, to begin with..."

"I've been using it to make her my personal bitch." The words caught in my voice box as Kay's blunt answer cut me off. "More specifically," she continued, "she

begged

me to make her my personal bitch. Which does bring me to the other reason I wanted you all to come over today."

Nova clapped her hands in realisation. "THAT'S what you were doing when we met up at the cafe. She got you to look like a total slut, right? Was that all part of the app?"

"Sort of. It'll be easier for me to show you." Kay pulled out her phone, paying me zero attention. "It took me a while to get this to work, but I'm quite proud of how it turned out."

A fresh sense of dread began creeping over me. "Um, Kay? Can we talk about thiiiiiiis," In the middle of my sentence, a jolt of pleasure burst through me. My whole body shuddered and my eyes rolled backwards. It wasn't concentrated anywhere, but it radiated throughout my body. After the initial shock wore off, I noticed something else she had done. My chest was a whole cup size larger, and my nipples were visibly poking through my top. "Really Mistress? That's what you're going with?"

There were a few snickers from around the room. I had no way of knowing whether it was from my tits growing or something else I hadn't noticed. Either way, Mistress was having plenty of fun with me.

"Tonight we're going to be playing a very special card game." Mistress was in her element, taking great pleasure in explaining what she had planned. "As you can see, we can mould our subject here in all sorts of fun ways. Believe me when I say this is only scratching the surface. Instead of playing for a traditional pot, we're playing for the ability to fuck with Lina even more. The winner of each hand gets to make a new rule for her."

Now they were all fully intrigued. Gone was the kindness and joviality from before, replaced with a strange sense of hunger. All of them were eying me like a predator stalking a helpless animal. And although I wasn't really an animal, I certainly felt helpless.

"Is she okay with this? Like, are there any rules or boundaries we should know about?" Nova looked back and forth between Mistress and I as she asked her question. I let out a deep sigh. As fun as it was to be coy, there were times it was important to be clear.

"Yes, I'm fine with it. Honestly this sounds like a ton of fun, even for me. Mistress and I have discussed our boundaries and limits

extremely

thoroughly, so we've got that end covered." I didn't want to go into details about Mistress's breakdown from a while before. More importantly, I didn't want a repeat of it either.