Strategic thinking.

Naomi closed her eyes and felt that sickening lurch again. It was like gravity stopped for a moment and when it started again, everything came crashing down in a completely different configuration. She opened her eyes to see the most important person in the universe.

"Sophie," she said softly. She smiled adoringly, which seemed to creep Sophie out. She quickly changed her expression to one of nonchalant goodwill despite her newfound feelings. "It's you now."

"What about Natalie?" Sophie asked curiously.

Natalie. That's right, Natalie used to be the most important. It was hard to even imagine prioritizing anyone or anything over Sophie even though ten seconds ago it was all she could think of. She needed to play this smart. "Natalie's still my girlfriend and I still love her, but now I'm yours. I'll do literally anything for you."

Natalie butted in and Naomi suppressed a scowl. She wanted to talk to Sophie, not this bitch.

"Naomi, do you still want to do things for me? At all?"

Naomi smiled and nodded. "Of course, babe. I just happen to prioritize her above you. It's not like you mean nothing to me," she lied. "You're just less important to her."

"So if I asked you stand on one foot?" Sophie prompted, and Naomi was balancing on one foot before she finished the sentence.

"What are you, John Connor?" she teased. "Give me a real order. Something I don't wanna do."

"I don't know, touch Natalie again." This was the opposite of what she wanted. If she touched Natalie, Sophie would lose a permanent servant.

"We've barely done any experiments!" she said, and to her relief Natalie agreed. Sophie wasn't convinced.

"What kind of experiments do you want to do?" she asked. "Didn't you just want to see what would happen?"

"I don't know... what happens if we both touch her at the same time?" Natalie asked. Naomi swore internally. She didn't know what would happen but she might not stay completely devoted to Sophie.

"Hang on, I want Sophie to try some stuff out on me. Maybe it'll be different because of how long I've known her," Naomi said. She tried not to let despair creep into her voice. She had to figure out how to get out of this situation without touching Natalie again. Sophie shrugged.

"Ok, like what?"