The Fate of Terra Ch. 02

On her third major orgasm, they both came together in a thunderous symphony of lust and pleasure, bliss and joy. Their senses became overloaded and they collapsed next to each other breathlessly. They both felt utterly satisfied and were content to just lie there on the bed in each other's arms.

After a short while, a feminine voice broke the silence, "Congratulations, master. I know you've been looking forward to that experience for awhile now."

Kat let out a squeak and literally jumped out of the bed, dragging the covers with her.

"Thanks, Pan," Michael said, chuckling to himself. He hadn't asked Pandora to reveal herself to Kat, but he hadn't forbidden it either. Michael knew his little AI was getting much better at predicting what he wanted. Her behavior was always being shaped due to constant exposure to him.

"Wh- Wha- How?" Kat demanded, some of her shock turning to anger.

Michael realized that she might be feeling a little exposed and vulnerable after what they'd just gone through and held his arms open invitingly. She dived back into his embrace and once she was fully entrenched, Michael took off his watch and showed it to her. Pandora formally greeted her as 'mistress' and went on to explain her specs and capabilities.

"She calls you master, huh?" Kat said with a wicked grin. "Well, we'll just have to file that one away for later. Where did she come from?"

Michael spent the next hour explaining how he'd created her and then told of some of their more amusing adventures together. When he was finished, Kat was looking at the watch in wonder, tracing the engravings with her finger. "What happens if it gets lost or broken," she asked, still sounding a bit dazed.

"Well, that's just one of her replicas," Michael answered. "She makes a copy of herself each time she has to move to a new device."

"Like the computer at school," Kat said excitedly, "that's how she was still controlling it even after I disconnected it from the internet."

"Yeah," Michael agreed. "Each time they're able to contact each other via a network connection the copies share what they've learned, in essence, updating themselves. My watch essentially acts as a relay to send commands to Pan who's online and ready to carry out any tasks I order."

"What if someone finds out about her?" Kat asked, then gasped and blurted, "Oh god, I know your alias and real life connection." She started becoming flustered, "You're 'the' Fate; the one who broke into the Kremlin and the one who took out the 'Legion of Doom.' Not affiliated with any groups, hackers still give you a wide birth. And now... I know who you are."

For a moment, Kat felt an irrational fear that despite all they'd been through, Michael would want to get rid of her to protect himself from his enemies. She felt panicky, realizing they'd only known each other for two days. How much faith could Michael have built in that time? Was she wrong about what they'd shared?

She'd almost worked herself into tears when Michael reached out and turned her face towards him. "Don't even begin to think like that," Michael stated firmly. "I trust you implicitly, with my life and my secrets; otherwise I wouldn't have revealed them." He stared at her for a long time, willing her to believe him. Kat felt herself soothed by the confidence in his voice and the resolute expression on his face. She melted under the gaze of his soft brown eyes.

Kat accepted her role under Michael then and there, and a feeling of calm settled over her. With the clarity of her decision, Kat was able to finally compose herself and flashed Michael a reassuring smile. Mentally, she berated herself for her lapse of weakness. She had given him her body and soul and if he wanted to take either away, who was she to argue.

She would devotedly accept any and all gifts from him, his trust included. 'Who was she to doubt him and spit in the face of his kindness,' she thought disgustedly. She would crawl to hell and back if Michael ordered it. Kat even felt a brief spike of jealousy that Pandora had gotten to call him 'master' before she could.

Michael, oblivious to her mental workings and how she was forever binding herself to him, said, "And I wouldn't worry too much about exposure. After seeing that "I Am Number Four" movie, one of the first major projects Pan and I undertook was to develop the scanning technology they portrayed. Pan, using a few thousand bots we set up, is constantly scanning for any material that represents a relationship between me and my family and the hacking world. Someone could send an e-mail to the government chock-full of evidence detailing me and my online involvements and it'd be stripped clean before it reached its destination." Michael squeezed Kat to him tighter and said, "We'll have to put your name in the system as well now."

Pandora spoke up, "Already done master." Kat looked up in amazement as Michael just shook his head in wonderment.

The couple then went on to discuss all matter of things from what their favorite food was to what college they were going to attend. Kat was thinking about going to UW as well. Michael made a mental note to have Pandora make sure she got in.

As they were lying in each other's arms talking, Pandora said, "Master, according to her cell phone's GPS, I believe Ms. Flynn is on her way home." It took a couple of seconds to register that she was talking about Kat's mother. Michael glanced at the clock on the nightstand and was stunned to see that six hours had passed since they'd arrived at the apartment. There was a flurry of movement as the pair both scrambled to get dressed.

"Man, my parents are probably climbing the walls right about now since I didn't give them a call," Michael said glumly.

Pandora piped up, "I took the liberty of sending them a text message from you saying you were going to be late as you had a group project you were working on at the library." Michael was constantly amazed at the program's foresight.

Kat paused, arm extended towards a can of air freshener, "That's incredible Pan!"

"Thank you, mistress," Pandora responded, sounding quite pleased with herself.

As the next day was a Saturday, the couple agreed to meet up and do something. Michael was going to call her when he got home that night.

As he drove away, he felt like he'd discovered a part of himself that had always been missing. Ever since that day in the bookstore when he was fourteen, Michael had 'known' he was going to do great things.

He accepted that he would never be smart enough to cure diseases, create alternate forms of energy, or terraform the moon, but he was going to develop an Artificial Intelligence that could. Pandora, and the AIs she spawned, would usher in a new age for the planet. For as long as he could remember, Michael had always thought he'd be facing this alone. Now that he wasn't, the future seemed to shine brighter.