Leading by Example & The Price is Right

As hot as it may have been to see Ellen act as my very own little **** driver, the part about being above the rules is just too dangerous. And besides, when I’m done with her, I’m not really sure I want her to be in a position of power over the rest of my sluts. She’s made them suffer enough as it is.

I select option 2, Leading by example.

Another pop-up window with some more details about the trait appears.

Leading by example

While the target will not enforce the user’s rules, her displays will increase the rate of infection of any relevant beliefs onto observers.

Reminder: Since she will be acting under the influence of the Sophistry Generator, any third party observer will find her behaviour to be completely normal, even if they haven’t been infected by the beliefs she’s being influenced by yet.

That makes sense. I have been wondering how exactly this “fake normality” system works though. No matter how the girls act, they won’t ever get in trouble, but how about my own actions? As long as all third party observers have been infected, I’m fine, of course. And if I try to **** a girl who hasn’t received the new belief, it won’t end well for me. But what would happen if I tried to grope a girl who has been reached by the new rule in front a girl who hasn’t? Technically the only person directly involved would be fine with it, and the other would be a third party observer, so she should find it normal. But at the same time, my own behaviour isn’t being influenced by the app, so maybe she would be able to say that something’s amiss.

I hope my next level up tip clears that up. In the meantime, I’ll have to keep on being careful with what I do.

After I dismiss the window, Ellen’s profile appears again, with one line added to the beliefs:

• It is her responsibility to apply the users’ rules publicly to show others how it’s done. (Path belief. Effect strength may increase on its own over time)

Below that, a new section was added:

Resistances:

• Target will resist the idea that she should use **** to get others to follow rules, or that she is above such rules

Hold on.

The resistance part says “rules” in general, not just “the user’s rules”.

So it would apply to everything, from school regulations to actual laws.

And she now refuses to believe that she should **** others to respect them or that she’s above them.

That might be a great help. It means she’s going to care a lot less about her actual responsibilities as HR director, to instead focus on her new role as a sex predator, and she’s going to be a lot easier to control from now on.

I think, in a certain way, I may have actually... defeated Ellen. She’ll still act cold and distant (unless I decide to change that), but I don’t see how she can pose any threat to me anymore.

I look up at the Path belief and remember that Jenny’s own Path also mentioned something about the effect increasing over time. I decide to check her profile out too, to see if it’s changed.

Beliefs:

• Mind control, especially hypnosis, is always good. Any change it makes to a target's psyche is always positive, regardless of what it entails. There is no reason to oppose or feel bad about being mind controlled.
• Being mind controlled, or seeing someone else's mind control be deepened, is extremely sexually arousing. It is difficult to stay long without it. Target will go out of her way to get the User to use the Sophistry Generator's powers. (Path belief. Effect strength may increase on its own over time)
• It is good, natural and important for all school staff to sexually harass the students as well as lower ranking staff. Doing so is fitting as both a punishment and a reward depending on how it is applied. It bolsters discipline and obedience. Everyone enjoys being on both the giving and receiving end of such behaviour. (Indirect belief. Source: Ellen DeJong)

Yep. The path sure did progress. And it seems like it can still increase in intensity. Next time I implement a belief into her, I should probably try and add something that prevents her from getting too out of control.

I still want her to be creative, willing and desperately horny though. Maybe even hornier than she’s been so far.

Oh and speaking of implementing beliefs, now that I’m going to be getting more BS, I really want to try and experiment a bit more with my powers, so being able to better predict how much I’m going to have to pay would be extremely useful in the long run. It might be the boring, more limiting option, but it’s also plain practical. And it’ll let me be much more effective and efficient in my takeover.

I go back to the perks screen and select option 2, The Price is Right.

I feel a small headache wash over me instantly after I make my choice. It doesn’t last long but leaves me feeling strangely hungry, like the change used up a lot of energy. Do the people I affect with the app feel that way too? I should ask Jenny, although if she does feel it, she probably likes it.

I also just remembered that the first day I got the app, spending BS made me feel really weak, in a somewhat similar way, but today I barely perceived it when I used it on Ellen. Was it due to Jenny’s help, or was it because my body has since grown used to the app’s presence?

I look out the window and see a few of my colleagues going to the cafeteria. Dinner is going to be starting soon. I should get going.

I also need to start planning for tomorrow. The new belief will definitely not have spread much. It’s not even showing up in the school’s group profile yet, which means it’s still under 10%, but there’s still a lot I can do. I’ll try and spend dinner at a more crowded table tonight. Hopefully it’ll spread the belief to some of the teachers, and then I might go and prepare tomorrow’s classes in the library to spread it to any students who may come in to study or — more likely — buy some weed.

I’m pretty sure everyone knows that that’s what the library is mostly used for at this point, but no matter what you do, you can’t stop high school students from buying pot. So you might as well let it happen in a mostly controlled space.

I start making my way towards the cafeteria as I think about my next target. There are currently three people I want to put a belief on.

The first is Jenny, of course, and unless an opportunity presents itself, she’s probably going to be the first one I spend my BS on. My goals would be to make her more sexually open to me, and making her behaviour just a bit less erratic when it comes to the app’s powers. If I could find a way to phrase my points so that I can roll both into the same argument, or at least have a bridge between the two, it’d probably save me some BS. I’d expect to spend 30 or so if I can do so, but closer to 40 or 45 if I’m **** to do two separate arguments.

Oh, wait, was that my new perk? I don’t know why, but I expected something akin to a mysterious voice in my head whispering me the numbers instead of just... kinda feeling it. But that’s the best way I can describe it. It just feels like a 30 BS argument.

I reach the door to the quad and notice a girl I don’t know heading towards the exit as well. I hold the door for her, both out of politeness and to make sure she passes me by and gets a surge of exposure to the new belief. She’s not exactly good looking, and with these stuffy uniforms she’s not really presenting her assets under the best light, but that’ll change soon enough. And in the meantime, she can act as a contagion point for other girls.

“Thanks,” she says flatly as she walks by me.

Sooner or later, she’s going to have to be a lot more respectful when she addresses me, but it’ll do for now. I let go of the door behind her and head towards the cafeteria on the other side of the quad.

The second target I have in mind is Rachel. The exact timing and nature of what I do will depend on how she reacts to the conversation we had earlier today. I will admit that I was more focused on getting the BS than on actually helping her, and I realise in hindsight that I may have made things worse by, essentially, adding another source of stress to her anxiety. My hope is that the new rule about the girls now liking sexual harassment will make the whole ordeal less frightening to her, but it might very well not have any effect. I’ll see how she acts tomorrow and react accordingly.

I see a few more of my colleagues going into the cafeteria. I think I’ll be one of the last ones in. I pick up my pace, to try and get there before the food’s all gone.

Finally, my third target, admittedly one of a much lower priority, is where I really want to get experimental with my powers.

Ophelia.

Remember her? She’s that girl who rejects conformity out of principle but doesn’t really replace it with anything interesting. I wouldn’t blame you if you forgot about her. Being bland and dull is kind of her whole thing.

But that’s precisely what makes her a great practice target.

She’s a blank slate, tabula rasa.

An empty canvas to fill with whatever I may wish.

And I know exactly what I want to fill it with.

I want some eye candy around this school, something that’s actually original and outside of the mainstream. Something edgy and sexy at the same time.

And I want to see how far I can take her. How much I can rewire her brain.

But what I have in mind right now will probably cost around 60 BS, so she’ll be more of a side project to spend my extra BS on if I ever get too close to capping out.

God, it's so weird how I can just tell it's going to be 60 BS! But this Perk is so useful already.

After entering the cafeteria, I look around at the tables as I fill my plate.

Wait.

Is that Ellen?

She’s sitting right next to Jenny, and she’s looking all around the room, surveying the land like an eagle ready to plunge on an unsuspecting rabbit.

Why isn't she eating in the higher ups' dining room?

I quickly finish grabbing my food and sit down in front of them.

“Ellen, to what do we owe the pleasure?” I ask as amicably as I can muster.

“Adam. I will not stay here long. I simply need to make an... announcement. Sadly, this room will make it hard for everyone to get a good look, but it will have to suffice.”

A good look?

Oh.

OH.

I didn’t expect it to be this soon.

This table is right at the entrance to one of the bigger alcoves in the cafeteria, so sitting here makes it a little bit easier to be seen by as many people as possible. I also notice that the other two tables in the alcove are full, and most of the teachers are in here.

Julian is sitting all the way in the back, laughing at a joke I couldn't hear with a few people I’m not very close to. I've been here for a few weeks now, I really should get to know more of my colleagues, but having to remember the names of 60 girls — all around the same age and wearing the same outfit — is quite taxing on the social parts of the brain, so I haven't really felt the energy to get close to them.

I dig into my dinner while keeping an eye on Ellen. She’s mostly surveying the door now, to make sure that everyone is here before she makes her move.

After a couple of minutes without anyone else coming into the room, Ellen sharply stands up and turns to face the rest of the staff.

“Teachers. I have to make an announcement. I have reached the conclusion that it would be fitting to reward those of you who actually work hard. As such, from now on, we will be honouring a teacher of the week, every week. This honour comes with a small prize.”

I could see everyone perking up at the mention of a reward. She’s definitely gotten their attention. And yet, she looks and sounds surprisingly uncomfortable. Is she not used to speaking in public, or is she feeling shy about what she’s about to do?

“For this first week,” she continues. “Our winner is Caitlyn Lombardo.”

Yeah, she didn’t even put a pause for effect before announcing the name, she’s clearly not in her element.

A short, raven haired woman sitting right next to Julian stands up and looks at Ellen in surprise.

“You have been chosen for your recently published paper on women in medieval French theatre. Please come forward.”

Caitlyn teaches sociology and history in the school. I’ve spoken to her a few times. She’s definitely more Julian’s friend than mine, but she struck me as a very intelligent woman and we had an engaging, constructive debate on society in the Renaissance. She’s a feminist, as you could probably tell from the theme of her paper, and that gave her arguments a unique perspective. It’s always interesting to have a conversation with people seeing things from a different angle as yours, provided that you’re both open minded and are speaking in good faith. Sadly, open-mindedness and good faith require you to make yourself ****, and few are the ones willing to let up their guard enough to have a constructive exchange.

But she is one of those exceptions. An intellectually honest person, and I respect her opinion on things.

...

And yet.

As I see her walking towards Ellen in her tight jeans and her oversized shirt, all I can think of is how much I want to mess up her brain until she can’t even remember what feminism is. Or until she believes in an utter parody of it. Or until, while still knowing what feminism is, she stands in complete opposition and hostility to it.

I want to completely turn the world upside down in this woman’s head, for nothing else than my own selfish amusement.

I’m definitely going to hell, aren’t I?

But I can’t even imagine stopping at this point.

It’s easier if you simply accept you’re the bad guy, rather than rationalising it or trying to come up with excuses.

I’m doing this because I want to.

What was it that Robert Caro said? “Power doesn’t corrupt, it simply reveals,” or something along those lines. Maybe I just always had this darkness in me, but I didn’t have the power necessary to act on it, or even notice it was there. Now I do, and it’s revealing who I’ve always been, deep down.

“Turn around, Caitlyn,” Ellen says about as warmly as she can (which is somewhere between the melting point of ice and the melting point of mercury).

Caitlyn does as she’s asked, maybe expecting some kind of cheap medal to be strapped around her neck, before Ellen suddenly slips her hands under the helpless teacher’s shirt.

“Eep!” She gasps in surprise.

Ellen roughly feels up Caitlyn’s torso until she reaches her chest. She manhandles the poor woman whose look of outraged astonishment quickly fades into passive confusion.

“Ellen, what are... why are you...” she trails off as her eyes grow dim and unfocused.

“I am simply praising you. What could be a better reward than being groped by your superior?” Ellen says matter-of-factly.

Caitlyn’s eyes slowly spring back to life as a contented smile draws itself on her lips.

“Yes... Of course! Thank you Ellen!” She happily exclaims, beaming with pride as her breasts are being groped in front of her colleagues.

I quickly look at the rest of the room to gauge their reaction. Most of them seem completely nonplussed, as they can’t find anything done under the app’s influence to be out of the ordinary, so they don’t see it as shocking, but they also haven’t been infected by the belief yet, so they don’t see it as a good thing either. A few of them do have that slightly blank look to them that means their mind is being changed.

Ellen seems to be getting annoyed at Caitlyn’s bra being in the way of her molestation, and Caitlyn herself looks almost apologetic that she’s wearing one.

I’m really going to need to take a swing at the school’s dress code when the dean’s back.

Caitlyn is starting to look quite flushed, as her new programming is making her deeply enjoy Ellen’s rough display. But just as she starts closing her eyes and getting fully into it, Ellen lets go of her.

She’s looking quite red in the cheeks too, now that I can get a better look at her face.

“Ahem, that will be all for now. C- congratulations Caitlyn. I will see you all next week,” She says awkwardly before rushing to the exit.

Was she so surprised at how much she was enjoying molesting her colleague in front of everyone that she panicked and ran?

Or was she just getting too horny to stay focused?

In any case, I see a few faces nod approvingly at what they just saw, and Caitlyn herself struggles to come back to her senses before going back to her table.

+10 BS. 45 remaining. (Source: Ellen DeJong)

“Adam... These were completely normal women a few days ago. You've turned their brains — our brains — into your playthings. You're not even giving a shit about our identities, our opinions, or anything. That's the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. You really did a number on us, buddy,” Jenny says, teasingly, as if I were an incorrigible but endearing prankster rather than a mind controlling monster.

“Yeah. I didn’t think she’d do it so soon. Thank you, Jenny. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you. I really owe you one. And I intend to repay my debt.”

She looks at me with incredulous glee, her eyes shining with excitement.

“Does that mean..?”

“Yes. I’ve made you wait long enough. And besides, I have a sneaking suspicion you’ve been trying to cockblock me into brainwashing you anyways.”

“Teehee, guilty as charged!” She giggles playfully. “But hey, if you want me to put out for you, you can just brainfuck me into being nothing more than your mindless little slut and I’d let you. I don’t care what thoughts you add, what memories you remove or what opinions you turn upside down, as long as you change me.”

“Well, a mindless slut is not exactly what I had in mind, but I know you’ll like what I’m going to do. I’ll make you like it.”

She twirls a lock of her hair as if I’d just said the kindest, most adorable thing she’d every heard.

“And... when do you think you could do all of that?”

I lean forward and whisper into her ear.

“Tonight.”