Cruising forward through the morning fog, Sheriff Lane Grant's patrol car moved with precision through the former officer's neighborhood and towards his home. In the driver's seat, Monitor stared straight ahead, his whirring cloud of nanite processors calculating the most efficient course of action. Mrs. Grant's assimilation would be simple, seeing as she was already well on her way to being fully brainwashed for the glory of the Machine.
From there, things would become tricky. In order to claim the Machine's next target, the television station, the android collective needed to expand. Choosing the wrong targets at the wrong time could prove disastrous. If humans caught wind of what was in store too soon, authorities would be notified, and the plan to use airwaves to corrupt their minds would be significantly inhibited. Contingencies existed, but none were preferable to a swift and decisive broadcast to end humanity's resistance before it could start. Despite their innate superiority, the androids were vastly outnumbered. To get the upper hand, the Machine's forces would need to be careful and precise when selecting targets.
All of these considerations ran through Monitor's processors as it pulled into the driveway of Lane Grant's home. The former officer looked at the modest suburban house with complete dispassion. The home where Lane had proposed to his wife, raised his children, and watched them grow into adults now meant nothing to him. All sentiment was erased, stored in the deepest memory banks of the newly born android.
Putting the vehicle in park, Lane removed himself from the car and advanced up the sidewalk and towards the front door. To the android's surprise, the door was already unlocked, a fact that would have been deeply concerning to Lane. Monitor proceeded with caution, opening the door and lumbering inside. Before leaving the foyer, however, he heard several voices from the kitchen ahead. Lane's wife, Nancy, should have been the only one here. The presence of additional humans would only serve to complicate Monitor's mission. In any case, Monitor's current form was a dead giveaway that something was wrong. To better blend in until the situation was understood, Monitor allowed the nanites composing his hulking form to shimmer and distort, condensing themselves as the android's hulking body shrunk, reverting to Lane's original appearance.
"Nancy? I'm home!" Monitor called out, the conversation in the kitchen cutting off completely. The faux Lane wandered in, witnessing the scene before him. Nancy sat, eyes red with tears, as a younger woman seemed to console her. The unexpected figure at the kitchen table had dark skin, curly black hair, and a soft, tender expression. She wore a tank top and sweatpants and a pair of chunky brown rectangular glasses. The two stared up in shock at Lane's visage as it entered. However, Lane's attention was pulled to a third figure, another woman a few feet away in the kitchen. She had long black hair, light skin, dark green eyes, and a determined expression as she poured several cups of tea. She looked up as Lane entered and frowned.
"Lane? Oh thank goodness, I thought something had happened! Are you alright?" Nancy stood and rushed to her husband, wrapping her arms around him. Monitor slowly reciprocated, caught off-guard by the situation. A quick scan of the two unexpected guests confirmed them to be Thoma and Elena Jackson, a younger couple who had moved in next door just under a year ago.
Monitor cleared his throat and feigned a smile. "I'm sorry to worry you, Nancy, but everything is alright." Glancing over his wife's shoulder at the two other women, Monitor attempted to take stock of the situation. Beacon had informed him that his wife had been primed for conversion through a hacked phone call, but the new android's impression was that she would be drooling and kneeling while awaiting conversion. This was not the setup it had expected, to say the least.
Elena carefully carried the glasses of tea to the table, still eyeing Lane with uncertain eyes. Thoma seemed to realize the air of uncertainty that was building and gave a nervous sigh. "It's good to see you're okay, Lane. Elena and I were out on our morning walk when we heard a crash in here. We knocked to see if everything was okay, and your wife explained what happened to you at work, and that she was just worried about you. Seems like she dropped a teacup in the process, so we offered to come in and clean up and make some new tea for her."
Monitor scrutinized the young woman as she spoke, then looked down at his wife. Had the brainwashing not taken hold? "What did she tell you about what happened?"
This time Elena spoke up, setting down the tea and looking suspiciously at the chief. "She said you'd texted and told her you'd be home late, and that a few hours later she woke up to a call that a prisoner had broken free and hit you with a taser."
Nancy pulled slightly away and nodded, looking up at Lane with tears in her eyes. "I thought you were knocked out, or worse. They really made it sound so dreadful on the phone. But I'm so relieved that you're okay. Thoma and Elena have been wonderful to me since I invited them in as well. I told them to stay for tea and breakfast if they wanted."
Monitor looked up at the two women sitting at the table, then down at his former wife, who, at this moment, should have been succumbing to the glory of the Machine. For a moment, he felt an urge to just begin her conversion right then and there, capturing their guests and forcing them to watch and submit alongside Nancy. Despite his impatient urges, however, Monitor knew that making any hasty action could be disastrous for the fledgling hive. If any of the women before him escaped and warned others, all of their work could be undone. And if Nancy had somehow managed to resist Beacon's brainwashing over the phone, perhaps she could resist in-person conversion as well. Perhaps these other humans would resist. The hive would need to be informed as soon as possible.
Interrupting the android's thoughts, Thoma stood up and smiled at the embracing couple. "We're also glad that you're alright, Lane. The tea's all ready, how about Elena and I work on breakfast while you take a few minutes to settle in. It must have been a long night for you." Elena smiled as well and quickly nodded, joining her girlfriend in the kitchen as they began to prepare food.
Monitor glanced down to Nancy, who tugged at his arm to pull him towards the bedroom. He nervously glanced back at their guests before following. Uncertain of the best course of action to determine what exactly was happening here, he considered his next move with care.
Once the door to their bedroom closed, however, Lane didn't have to wait long to start getting answers. Within seconds, Nancy had dropped to her knees, falling back and breathing heavily. For a moment, Monitor thought she may have been experiencing cardiac arrest, but quick biometric scans told a very different story. It was as if the floodgates had been opened and hours of pent-up arousal were pouring out of this woman. She panted as her eyes grew misty and she looked up longingly at Lane.
"You're one of them now, aren't you..." Her voice was hushed, so as not to alert the guests, but Monitor could sense the anticipation and excitement. Even without his advanced sensors, he knew his host's wife enough to know when she was in need. But Lane had never experienced something like this. Heat scans indicated that her entire body was burning up, and her personality seemed all-at-once replaced with that of a nymphomaniac.
