The weekend at last

I wake up enjoyably late the following morning. It’s strange how sleeping in feels good only when it’s rare. It’s true of any form of indolence, when you think about it. What makes it good is the feeling of having deserved it, and that can only be achieved by having worked for it, and therefore not indulged in it too much.

That’s probably why I ended up not taking things too far with Jenny yesterday. I’m at the point where it would be fairly easy to simply go all the way with her, but I want it to be special when it happens. Not romantic, but special.

We ended up talking for hours yesterday, about a bit of everything, really. We even skipped dinner and simply ate in her office. All in all, it was a nice moment of bonding. I’m glad I managed to keep this part of our relationship intact through everything that’s happened.

I stretch my arms out and step off my bed.

+16 BS. 40 remaining

Forty. Just enough to take care of Rachel if everything goes exactly as planned, but I’d like to have a little bit more before I take her on, just so I can have some leeway.

And I have an idea of how to get there.

I open the app and take a look at the current infection rate of the new rule.

75%.

The spread of this one was both faster and easier than the previous one. I suppose I have Ellen and Julian to thank for this.

And soon, I’ll have even more staff to thank.

I look at the list of names and, as I hoped, Rachel herself has been infected. That means I can easily knock two birds with one stone here. Most students spend their Saturdays in the rec rooms, on the quad or down in the town, but I’ve pegged Rachel as more of a stay-at-home kind of girl, and as things stand, I’d still get in trouble if I just waltzed into a student’s room willy-nilly. So my first challenge will be to simply find a way to talk to her today.

It’s not a particularly hard problem to solve, however. After all, it’d make sense that I’d want to check up on her after what happened yesterday, and I can simply send her an email asking her to join me in my classroom. I’d have to assume that she still reads her emails during the weekend, but if any student in the school does, it’d be her.

In any case, it doesn’t hurt to try. I wash up, have breakfast, and write a quick pretext asking her to swing by whenever she’s free, telling her I’d like to discuss the events of yesterday. I send it out as I leave my room.

I took some papers and assignments, so I have something to do while I wait for her, expecting to probably have to kill time for a couple hours before she shows up, but as I turn into the corridor leading to my classroom, I see a slightly chubby figure waiting in front of my door, wearing a plain beige button-up shirt and loose, unflattering jeans.

Students only have to wear the uniform during school hours, so they’re free to put on their own clothes in the evening and over the weekend, but the conservative dress code still applies, and since the only skirts allowed are ridiculously long, almost everyone simply wears trousers during those times.

“Rachel?” I beckon.

She turns around and awkwardly waves.

How did she get here so fast?

“Did you get my email?” I ask in confusion.

She tilts her head questioningly.

“Then I suppose we’re simply on the same page. Is this about what happened yesterday?”

She doesn’t nod, but her unusually steady gaze indicates that it is.

“Alright then, let’s discuss this inside, shall we?” I suggest as I unlock the door and show her in.

I follow her into the room and close the door behind me. I go and sit on the edge of a table at the back, near the chalkboard, in a posture that I hope to be approachable while still looking somewhat teacherly. She follows me and produces a folded piece of paper that she hands me while averting her gaze.

As I open it, it reveals a tiny, shaky handwriting that reads:

“Good morning sir,

I wanted to thank you for helping me yesterday. I could not say it then, but I really am grateful. That being said, while I am uncertain as to the nature of what you did, I cannot shake a certain worry regarding Tatiana, both in terms of her safety and my own. You mentioned that you made her “reconsider things” yesterday, but I keep being haunted by my recollections of her **** body, limply hunched over against the wall.

I do not feel much sympathy for her after what she made me endure, but I must admit that I am afraid of repercussions against me or my classmates, and that I feel compulsively inquisitive as to what exactly you did to her and what the consequences may be.

I realise fully that my verbal abilities are more limited as far as oral communication is concerned, for reasons that I assume you have deduced by now, so I apologise in advance if the conversation seems one-sided. I shall be listening and will try my best to keep it a two-way street, insofar as that is possible.

Thank you in advance.”

Wow. Who knew she could be so... articulate. I wonder how long it took her to write this, and how difficult it was for her to work up the courage to give it to me.

Usually, people wouldn’t notice anything strange with changing behaviours, but the results of the aggressive way in which I argued must’ve allowed her to question some aspects of my conversation with Tatiana. This might be somewhat similar to what happened with Jenny. Discussing mind control let her notice it. Here, letting Rachel see what happens to someone when their mind is being rewritten is letting her notice that something is amiss.

That being said, she doesn’t have a profile in the app.

Hopefully, that means she doesn’t have any traits yet.

Which means I can still salvage this. While it’s really nice to have Jenny aware and on my side, I don’t think I could manage two girls in that state.

I’m walking on eggshells here, and I still want to get a few safety points before I start making my case. After all, if I make a mistake in my argumentation, things will get more expensive, and if I try “overdrafting”, the belief will fail to implant itself. And Rachel will instead "rebound" mentally in the opposite direction, which might be enough to push her into full awareness of my powers.

And unlike Jenny, she won’t be on my side.

Okay. Let’s do this. Carefully, but assertively.

“I understand your confusion. Look, you’ve been through a lot in the past few days. I could tell that you were under a lot of stress. And truth be told, I’ve been a bit restless too, since what happened with Tatiana. How about we try and relax a bit while we talk?”

She seems open to the idea, but unsure of what it entails.

“Come over here and turn around,” I explain, pointing to the floor right in front of me.

Her eyes light up. Of course, that sounds like a perfectly sensible, responsible thing for a teacher to offer.

She scoots over to me and turns around, slightly raising her arms to the side, as if she already knew what was coming.

I let my hands under her arms and around her chest, undoing a couple of buttons of her shirt, and running a finger softly down her sternum, until it meets the fabric of her bra. I can’t see it very well from where I’m sitting but it looks like she chose it for practicality rather than fashion, and her skin is a good two shades too pale for the underwear's nude colour.

I follow the fabric to the left until I find the cup of her garment. I gently slip a finger underneath it, just deep enough to feel a small, soft bump against my fingertip. I slowly rub up and down against it, feeling it sink and raise as I do.

Rachel exhales a sigh of relaxation. I don't have a good angle on her face, so it's hard to see her expression, but I can feel the tension leaving her body all the same.

“That’s better, isn’t it?”

“Y- yes,” she actually manages to reply in a much less anxious voice than usual.

“That’s good to hear,” I reply in a soothing tone as I slip a second finger underneath her bra. “About your letter... It’s nice of you to show so much empathy for others, but you don’t need to worry so much about them.”

She whispers something I can’t quite make out.

“It’s okay, I know you’re scared,” I continue, hoping that’s a relevant reply to whatever she just said. “But as you’ve seen yesterday, Tatiana’s been neutralised. There’s nothing to be scared of. You don’t need to be afraid of others.”

“B- but...”

“Shhh, it’s alright, don’t worry,” I reassure her as I let my entire hand around her breast, feeling the soft, warm flesh against my inquisitive palm.

She moans softly.

+10 BS. 50 remaining.

Good, now I can go all out.

“After all, why should you care about others’ judgement? You’re your own person. I know it’s scary sometimes, thinking about all those people and all their opinions, but it doesn’t have to be.”

She makes a curious humming sound, barely audible.

I decide to tailor my next point to what little I know of her hobbies and pastimes.

“It’s okay to spend time online, to be on your computer whenever you feel like it, but having a social circle really does make life easier. And the best way to do that is to just be yourself, to not care too much about what others may think of you. To be as extravagant as you want to be.”

This isn’t exactly breaking new grounds in terms of advice, and it would be completely useless under normal circumstances. I mean “just stop having social anxiety” is about as ineffective as advice can go.

But these aren’t normal circumstances.

“I... shouldn’t care... what they think?”

“Yes. Just try and build your social circle, be yourself, and don’t care about Tatiana. Whatever happens to her is irrelevant. What matters is you!”

I slightly squeeze on her breast as I say that last sentence, feeling my fingers sink into her soft flesh.

“Social circle...” she manages to moan.

“And you know, having that social circle can even feel good. You’ll see, talking to people is amazing. It can even be arousing,” I lie, to add a little something for myself into the package.

“Arousing?” She asks, her voice now slurred, but much less hesitant than ever before.

“Yes. Your friends, your classmates, your teachers; talking to them is often really arousing. Can you feel it now?” I ask as I let my other hand wrap around her and tease her right nipple through her bra. “Can you feel how sexy being social can be?”

“Yes... I feel it.”

Her voice is getting clearer now, and I feel the familiar pull from within me. All it takes it one last push.

“What is it that you feel?” I demand, just a tad louder than the rest of the conversation.

“I can feel that talking to people is sexy!” She exclaims in an epiphanic tone.

-45 BS. 5 remaining.

Good thing I made sure to get 10 extra BS before I started my point. I’m guessing adding the bit about Tatiana must’ve made it slightly more expensive.

“That a girl!” I praise as hold her left nipple between my index and my middle finger, tugging on it slightly.

“Thank you sir!” She exclaims with a certainty I’d never heard from her before. “I’m... feeling so much better!”

“That’s good to hear! Did you have any more questions?” I ask to make sure all my bases are covered.

“No, I’m okay... but feel free to hold my nipple a little bit more if you’d like.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” I reply in an amused voice as I let my other hand fully under her bra and explore her smooth, silky skin.

I keep groping her for about a minute, under her occasional moans of enjoyment, before letting her go with a gentle slap on the chest.

I would’ve hoped for a bit of jiggle as I did — she does have quite the bountiful bosom — but sadly her bra really is... heavy duty.

She thanks me and walks out of my class with a joyful step.

And as she leaves, I look at my hand, thinking longingly about the treasure it just held.

Once I’ve gathered my thoughts, I remember that I should look at the app, as I may have unlocked a Path for Rachel.

XP + 5! Level up! Next Level in 19 XP.

New Perk unlocked!

Store unlocked!

Cash +5! Total: 31.

New profile added: Rachel Jordan.

New Path unlocked for Rachel Jordan.

Level 3! I’d forgotten I was so close to it. After I dismiss the notification, a window appears, much like it did at level 2:

---

New level tip: Staying undetected.

As long as the user only engages in rules with people that have been converted to it, third parties will see it as perfectly normal, even if they haven’t been infected themselves. Be careful though, as some particular actions may weaken the Sophistry Generator’s normality field, such as:

• Discussing the app’s power

• Letting a third party see the moment a belief is implanted into someone (unless the third party is also a target of the argument)

• Having the same person be the target of several users of the Sophistry Generator

• Etc.

---

Several users.

There are other people with the app out there.

Some of the phrasing of certain tooltips had already suggested that there were, but it had never been so explicit.

And the app considers the possibility that I may meet them, or at least people that have been affected by them.

I’ll have to be careful of that.

Would I even be able to notice if I meet another user? I’m impervious to the effects of my app, but what about somebody else’s?

I hope I never have to find out.

For now though, it’s quite useful to know that I can start groping students that have received the new belief, even if there are students that haven’t been infected around to see it happen. It’ll make things a lot easier in the future.

I close the window and reach the app’s home screen, where there are now three red dots: one on Rachel’s newly added profile, one on the Perks section, and one on the Store section.

Let’s start with what I’m here for.

---

Rachel Jordan

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

Beliefs:

• Target should not be worried about others’ opinion of her and simply be herself. She should also not care about whatever may happen to Tatiana Pushkin.

Available Path, Social Circle.

Please select one of the following options:

1. Look at all my friends.

   “It’s important to have a social circle when I’m not online.”

   Target will feel a desire to establish a large social group around her and will become much more involved in the social life of her current community. She will be perceived by others as having unusually high trustworthiness, leading all her new friends into being very loyal to her, and more willing to tell her about their secrets. Target will be willing to share these secrets with the user, and only the user. Target and her friend group will eventually come to be casually sexually promiscuous with each other.

2. Look at all my fans.

   “I like being online, so why not build a social circle there?”

   Target will still be able and willing to make friends in real life, and she will not feel anxious around people anymore, but she will be more interested in developing her online presence and acquiring as many fans as possible. She will have no qualms about using sexuality to boost her reach, and will quickly come to enjoy doing so. She will be perceived by others as having unusually high charisma, to help her attain her goals. Her real life fashion style will be adjusted to fit that of her new calling, and she will not try to hide her occupation, sometimes publicly engaging in it. She will be thankful to the user for helping her discover her vocation, and will share some of her profits with him.

---

Hm, so the most important beliefs are already in, but I can also push her even further into becoming more popular. Looks like the first one would completely change the way she acts around the school, which would make the new status quo hard to predict, but the part about sharing secrets could come in very handy... if she befriends someone whose secrets I need to learn, which is a big “if”.

The second one wouldn’t make her as popular in the school, but she’d still be somewhat successful in making friends, and I have to say I’d be quite interested in seeing what a “fitting fashion style” may look like. Maybe that’s the app’s way of saying “egirl”, but it’s hard to say until we see it.

I look at my beat up phone that can barely hold a charge for two hours and realise that a bit of extra money would also be welcome. Although I wonder how migrating the app to a new phone would work.

That being said, if I want money, I doubt this is going to be the most efficient way to get it. It’s more of a little bonus on top than the main draw of the Path.

On a practical level, it’s all about whether or not the bit about secrets would end up being useful, which is hard to predict. But, well, this isn’t all about the practical aspect. Would I prefer to see her fool around with her friends around the school, or become a social media baddie willing to flaunt her sexuality everywhere she goes?

I’d better do as usual and take some time to think about which option would be best.

In the meantime, I open the Perks section.

---

Congratulations! You have reached level 3!

Max BS +10. Total: 120.

+10 BS. 15 remaining.

New Perk unlocked! Please select one of the following options:

1. Parley! People will now feel obligated to debate with the user if he so demands, even when they would not have otherwise. (Note: this Perk has a cooldown of one use per day and the effect will wear off after 20 minutes, even if the debate is not over.)
2. Spreading agent. User will now gain an instinctive knowledge of whether a target has been infected by a group belief simply by looking at them. If they are not, he will get a rough idea of how close they are to being infected, and will be able to greatly increase the speed at which the belief is spread to them, simply by discussing it with the target.

---

Hmm, another tough choice.

The first one could save my ass if I’m ever in a dangerous situation. If someone tries to mug me, I could simply demand a debate and convince them they want to leave me alone, or even give me their wallet while I’m at it. But I can’t say I’ve been in a situation where I’ve needed it so far. It could either be life-saving or completely useless, depending on what happens.

I suppose it could also give me some more freedom in how I plan things, though. I could simply barge into somebody’s office uninvited and **** a debate whenever I want. But here too, it's hard to say if I'll ever actually need it.

The second one would be more of a quality of life thing, and it would allow me to be a bit more daring in day to day life, which would come in handy... well, probably every single time I make a new group belief. But at the same time, it’s not like it has the potential to save my life.

So it’s either something that would be very useful, but rarely, or something that would only be a little bit useful, but all the time.

I’ll... think about it too.

Let’s open the Store.

---

Congratulations! You have unlocked the Store!

To welcome you as a customer, here’s a free energy potion, on the house! We strongly recommend you keep it for emergencies.

Feel free to purchase anything else that may strike your fancy! (Note: Prices may raise and fall depending on supply and demand).

Current cash: 31.

Items:

• Energy potion. Restores as much BS as the user’s current maximum. Lets the total BS temporarily exceed said maximum. (Held: 1. Cost: 30)
• Body editor. Lets the user change a target’s physical appearance. Target must have a profile in the Sophistry Generator. Target will still be distinctly recognisable as themself. User will be presented with multiple choices as to how they want the target’s body to be changed. The change will always make them more attractive to the user. The target and any third parties will notice the change, but rationalise why it is occurring and will always be either indifferent or happy about it. (Held: 0. Cost: 20)
• Environmental update. Changes the physical layout, furnishing and decoration of a building to better suit the group beliefs of the social group(s) it houses. May or may not offer several options to pick from. (Held: 0. Cost: 40)
• Path upgrade. Increases the effect of a Path option the user has selected. Some may have branching options, while some may be more straightforward. (Held: 0. Cost: 20.)

---

A free refill! That could come in handy. I can see why the app recommends keeping it for emergencies though. It's surprisingly expensive. Simply buying a second one would spend almost all of my cash.

The environmental update one seems very powerful too. It’s hard to predict, as always, but it could very strongly improve my living conditions. What if I made a rule stating that male teachers are entitled to a massive suite with live-in maids, before updating the environment to match that? It definitely strikes me as a purchase best left until I have a couple more group beliefs in place. As things stand, it would probably just alter the chairs in the classrooms to make it easier to grope the students, which is hardly worth 40 cash.

I could buy one of the other two options though. A body editor could be nice. As fun as it was to grope Rachel... well, there’s no denying that she wasn’t blessed by genetics, and while a bit of fat can be cute, her body is sadly just past that point. I could also use it on someone else too. I wonder what Jenny would look like, and whether her awareness trait would let her know that it was me who changed her. Hell, why not change Ellen, or even Tatiana if I feel like it?

The Path upgrade could also be very useful. Upgrading Ellen’s exhibition Path could be a lot of fun, or Jenny’s promiscuity one. I could make Tatiana humiliate herself even further, and love it even more, even though I haven’t even seen it happen yet. I could even upgrade Rachel’s Path, whichever it is I end up choosing.

So many possibilities...