Mind_Hack.exe Ch. 03

"But why would someone do that who is working for the government? You're telling me all the time how they want to monitor us and keep us under control. Wouldn't this be the opposite of that?"

"It could be. It could be someone setting us up, or helping us? I don't know. I'm going to run a few more tests over the next couple of days and hopefully have a plan by then. At the very least, I'm going to back up everything and put it on the net in case we need to release it all fast."

Steph nodded Jerry's head as if it all sounded perfectly reasonable. "What do you want me to do now?"

"My next goal is to check this program's limitations. Now that POM can't see when we've hijacked someone, how long can we do it for? How does the backup option work? And I think most importantly, how adept can we be at passing ourselves off as the person we've taken over?"

"What was the backup option thing?" Jerry asked.

"Right, I think I forgot to mention that. After...the thing happened when I was...um..."

Jerry smirked. "When you were inside my body, my actual body, and had a three way?"

Dan's face reddened. "Yes, after that, Adam strolled into the room we were in. He was in control of Kim's body, and his own, and he said he could feel what Kim was feeling in his own body. That seems like it could be nice and all, but I want to know what purpose it's supposed to serve. So I think here's a way we can test two things out at once. You go back over to the neighbors and we'll see how well you can fool Kim when she comes home. I'll join you as Keri and engage the backup program. I'll also try to pass as Kim's mom while monitoring from here and learning about the backup function."

"Isn't that too much too fast?" Jerry asked worriedly.

"It's certainly not how I'd prefer to do it, but again, I think it's a matter of time before POM moves on us and we need to know as much as we can. I'm working on a contingency plan for that as well."

"Do I need to stay here and do the thing where I turn on Keri's, personality or whatever for you?"

"Ah, that's another thing," Dan said excitedly. "Look at this here. I'll show you while I'm doing it. I click on my dot, then Keri's dot, the way you saw me do with you and Jerry. But this time, before I make the connection, I set everything here before I make the jump."

Jerry's eyes followed Dan's gaze as he selected options to access Keri's memory, sense of balance, voice, and lastly to start with the backup feature. Dan gave Jerry a tight smile before saying, "This will also be a first but it should work." He pressed his keypad and Jerry watched as Dan's body gave a jolt, then slumped forward. A minute later, Dan jerked awake like he had been sleeping.

"Oh wow this is weird," he gasped.

"What?" Jerry asked, very curiously. "Are you here, and inside Keri right now?"

Dan looked at Jerry and smiled. "I am. It's so weird. It's, um, I'm not sure how to explain this. It's like a song that's playing in the background of your mind. You know how you can be doing something and thinking about something else, that's sort of what it feels like, just more intense. If I want to I can, yeah, I can really concentrate and tune it out, but..." Dan's face reddened again. "I don't want to at the moment."

Steph wondered what was happening over at the neighbor's house. Whatever it was her brother was clearly embarrassed by it. Then she noticed the erection that Dan was suddenly sporting and Jerry's laugh filled the room. "What are you making my 'wife' do over there that's got you hard over here?"

Dan's eyes would not meet Jerry's. "I apparently hopped Keri when she was in the bath...rubbing one out, and decided to help her finish the job. I'm not sure why that's what she was doing because I can't access her memories, only the me over there can do that. It probably has something to do with your little escapade over there earlier though." Dan's face tightened and then a breath escaped his lips. "I can feel what the me over there is feeling and remember doing it and...oh, oh man, I, oh!" Dan's face twisted in obvious pleasure followed by a wet spot spreading from a spot on his pants. "Whoa! She just came!"

It was now Jerry's turn to have an erection. The thought of Jerry's wife masturbating next door and bringing herself to orgasm was playing out in Stephanie's mind and mixing with Jerry's feelings for her. "I'll uh, I'll get back over there and you let me know when this experiment is over, yeah?"

Dan still wouldn't look Jerry in the eye and sheepishly said, "Yeah, I'll, uh, clean up here and then, see what I can see."

Jerry was smiling as he descended the stairs. Stephanie was thinking about walking in on Keri as she was getting out of the bath, toweling off, her fantastic tits still beaded with droplets of water. As she stepped out the door to make the few steps to the neighbor's, she also thought about how difficult it was to walk with an erection. She quietly went inside and went straight to their master bedroom which had their own private bathroom. According to Jerry's memories, this was where Keri would be. As she opened the door to try and catch Jerry's wife in the act, she was not disappointed by the sight that greeted her.

Keri had stepped out of the tub and was standing on a towel. Her dark hair clung to her skin and let the occasional drop of water escape onto her shoulder and run down her arm. Her arms gripped a towel and were in the process of drying her long legs. Her large breasts hung in front of her, swaying gently from her efforts. Upon Jerry's arrival, she kept drying, but looked up, very flushed and very embarrassed. "I, she was in the tub when I took over."

Jerry's flashed a knowing smile. "You told me that a minute ago back at our house. You also told me what you were getting up to right before you blew a wad in your pants."

Keri stood up with her mouth agape, the towel dropped to the floor. "What? So, it worked and, yeah, I can feel the connection but, I don't have the memory of telling you that."

"What does that mean?" Jerry asked as he came nearer to his naked wife, the erection so hard it was painful.

Keri did not notice her husband's movements or the fact that he had unbuttoned his pants. "I think it means it's more of a one way street. I'm sending what happens to the original, but the original can't directly affect me. I do feel like I'm tethered to myself though."

Jerry was pulling off his briefs and letting his penis spring free. "Should you relay that information?"

While deep in thought, Dan absentmindedly let one of Keri's hands slip up to her breasts and squeeze softly. "I shouldn't have to. In a few seconds, the Dan over there should know this whole conversation and.. what the hell are you doing?"

Jerry was directly in front of his wife and had slid his arms down her side. Her skin was so soft and still hot from the bath. "I'm ready to make it up to you now?" He pulled her down atop the damp towel and pushed her head back as he gently spread her legs.

"Make what up to me?" Keri said. Dan was beginning to panic. Things were spiraling like they had the time before. He hadn't felt all that in control then but thought he could do better this time. He had not anticipated an orgasm moments after hopping into this body, and this body still wanted more.

Jerry began to lower his face. "Think back to what happened when you were loading the dishwasher just a little bit ago honey."

Dan realized that Stephanie was in character. Either she had gotten swept up in Jerry's feelings and memories or she was giving in to her overactive libido like she always did. He easily found the memory she was referring to and felt her hurt at being spurned by her husband for a trip to the mechanic's. It did nothing to quell the fire that was still burning down below but instead sent a surge of moisture. "Stephanie! Stop, I'm your brother and..."

"Hey, look at me!" Jerry said softly but sternly. "You're the one who told me that this was all about our ability to blend in, that we might need to be able to absorb ourselves in the lives of others so we can survive if the authorities figure out what's been going on. Right now we're blending. Right now I'm your husband, and as far as I'm concerned, what happens in Jerry's body, stays in Jerry's body."His face softened and he gave his wife a wink. "Besides, when you found yourself in my body, the fact that I was your sister then didn't stop you." And with that Jerry stuck his tongue on Keri's wet skin, on a part that was still so very sensitive, causing Keri to press her legs against Jerry's head.

A moan escaped Keri's lips. Once Dan felt the warm tongue on Keri's clit, he was powerless to stop Jerry's advances. As Jerry played her body like a fiddle, Dan gave over to the emotions and feelings and it became like he was playing a role that he had played for so long. He was now a devoted wife, a generous lover, a capable woman who was proud of her family. In the throes of passion, he reasoned that if they were to fool those around them, they would have to be able to stop thinking about themselves as brother and sister when they were in different bodies.

Keri had not yet climaxed when she felt Jerry's body draping itself over her. She felt the tip of his penis make contact with her wet slit, and then slowly, he started to push forward. She saw the worried look on Jerry's face as he continued the journey into her. "It's okay. You're right. I'm your wife right now and this is what married people do." Jerry's face lit up and then he thrust the length of his shaft into her. It felt so foreign having Jerry's warmth inside of her, beginning to go in and out in a steady rhythm while his eyes burned into hers and occasionally dropped down to look at her tits. Keri's memory came quickly to Dan that Jerry did this whenever he made love to his wife. He would thrust in and out of her for as long as he could, groping and kissing and sucking but at the end, he would just stare at her tits right before he climaxed. It was predictable, but she loved it, the power that her boobs had over her husband. True to form minutes later, confirming to Dan that Stephanie was embracing the role of Jerry, he locked onto her tits like a deer in headlights. Keri smiled at him, knowing what was coming next and it brought a surge of sensitivity to her pussy as Jerry's thrusts became faster and harder. The both came almost simultaneously, and then Jerry unceremoniously flopped off of her.

"I'd say you were definitely in character there, dear," Jerry said, rolling towards Keri and letting his hand slide up and down her soft arm. "Could the Dan over there feel everything that just happened?"

Keri put a hand on her husband's face and let it rest there a moment before standing up and begin dressing. "I know we're still connected. It's like a, I don't know, just a feeling in my brain, but we're not tethered like before. Right before you put your dick in me, I felt him sever the connection that lets him feel what I'm feeling."

Jerry sat up on the bed and gave his wife a disapproving look. "But, won't those memories of everything catch up with him?"

Keri put the finishing touches on her outfit, then checked her vanity to fix her hair that had been mussed while on the bed. "They should, but if I know me, I needed a break from all the sexual tension. While we're testing our ability to pass as other people without raising suspicion, he's trying to figure out all of POM's features that Mind Hack is unlocking."

"Wait, isn't Mind Hack doing all this to POM?"

"This is just a theory, but based on what I've seen, Mind Hack is just turning on features that were there the whole time. Mind Hack is just the key to unlock them. I think part of that key was put on the net by someone higher up that wanted it to be found and made. Adam found those parts, pieced it together, maybe added some stuff of his own, but he got it to work. But like I said, there's more to it than that. There's stuff on there now that wasn't there before. Somebody is unlocking features in this program, giving us more and more access. It's like before we had the beta version, and now we have the whole thing."

Jerry looked hopeful. "So, someone higher up is helping us? Someone who wants to stop the government as much as you do?"

Keri paused at this. "It would seem so. I think that's our next step. We find out who's responsible for leaking the pieces of Adam's Mind Hack program on the internet, and then learn their end game. The irony is that they, we, are taking control of people to try and stop the government from controlling people."

"Relax. We'll only be able to do it until we've hopped the right person that can shut off the whole system. Then no one can be monitored anymore, and no one will be able to take over anyone's brain."

Dan smiled internally at his sister's reasoning. "Oh, hey, before I forget, let me see your neck."

"What? Oh," Jerry said, remembering what Dan had told her about the signal square. He turned around and it stuck out like a sore thumb on his bare neck.

Keri frowned at the flashing red light. "Yeah, it's there, blinking like Adam said it always does when some other person's consciousness is inside. That is a really terrible feature. Hopefully I can figure out how to turn it off."

Jerry turned back around with a mischievous look on his face. "Speaking of Adam, do you have a plan to get that little bastard back for the play time he had on his visit."

Keri's smiled so big all of her teeth were visible. "I've got an idea. More than once I saw that kid's browser history. I think I know the perfect way to exact revenge. We'll need to visit him very soon anyway because we'll need his help. But first, yeah, we'll pay him back. Priorities and all that."

They heard the front door open as their daughter returned from work. Jerry's face initially showed panic, but then remembered their motivation. "So, now we just go out there and..."

"Act like mom and dad to our daughter," Keri said simply. "Dan will pull us back when he's found what he's looking for or if something goes wrong." She smiled and twisted the door knob to their bedroom. "He'll figure it out, he's a smart guy."

"Mom, dad!" Kim's voice called.

"Right here sweetie!" Keri called back. She found her daughter in the kitchen raiding the fridge. "How was work? Is that one department manager still giving you a hard time?"

While a daughter filled her mother in on all of her work's gossip, Dan was still in his office, staring at his computer screen. He wondered how long he should wait to reconnect. He knew the longer he waited, the more information would be dumped into his brain and he didn't know if too much at once could hurt him. He decided to put it off for a couple of hours, then tether himself again to his consciousness. Other than feeling and remembering things that was going on in another body, he didn't yet understand exactly what purpose the backup served. He hoped he'd come across an answer while he explored every feature that was available to him in the program. He discovered he could set a timer. With it, he surmised he could set his consciousness to take over someone's body for an hour or so, and when the time was up, be right back in his body with no need to find a computer to send him back.

Dan kept reading, kept searching, but could not find anything to overcome the limitations he had seen. He saw no way to keep the signal square's light from flashing when someone else was behind the wheel. This could become a warning sign to anyone looking that someone's brain had been hacked. He saw no way of hopping the same sex and again was supremely puzzled by this seemingly permanent setting. He could think of a few other tests he'd like to make, but he'd have to have another party involved. He'd try those out when they reconnected with Adam, which needed to be sooner than later, but could be done in person rather than phone or email. With the extended range, he could hop into anyone around Adam and go have a face to face. He could jump into his next door neighbor, or that former babysitter Adam had hopped into at first or...then Dan got an idea that showed how much he was in tune with the consciousness that was in control of the mother next door.

He put the thought on hold however, as a message popped up on his screen. It was the screen that he had focused on the backup option. It read, "Backup Complete. Replace original and make primary? Y/N?"

Dan stared at the question for a full two minutes, racking his brain at the implications. He thought he understood. The first message that the backup had been successful meant that the link between the two cyber brains had been made and all the data stored in the first brain was being sent to the second. This made sense because even though it was possible to send huge amounts of data in seconds through WIFI, the data stored in the human brain should take time. During that time, there would be a constant connection, and invisible thread that connected one mind to the other. And when it was done, well, to him, replacing meant out with the old consciousness and in with the new. Would his current brain cease to be and all he would know now was the body he was in next door? That could be a successful exit strategy if the heat was on, but at a potentially high cost. The problem was that he couldn't be sure, couldn't test it without gambling with his brain in this body. He selected no and hit enter.

A new question popped up. "Are you sure? Backup will be deleted."

This seemed to prove his theory. Either hit yes and the new body becomes the new you with your consciousness fully backed up, or you erase the potential one. This would ensure there was only ever one of you except for the brief times you were connected while the backup portion was running. He tried to see if there were any other options, but it seemed nothing else would be available to him until he got past this question. He checked the time. The process to backup a human soul into another person took almost two hours. In a world where terabytes could be downloaded in seconds, that seemed an eternity, but it would have to do. He just hoped they wouldn't have to use it. Before he erased the back up, Dan began the process of storing everything he had learned about Mind Hack, along with the program itself, in a digital online storage box using another computer. If they ever found themselves on the run, he wanted to be able to pull it up anywhere.

With his best hope for a contingency plan in place, he selected yes to erase the backup. He leaned back quickly and purposefully went limp before a second later, their collective consciousness could merge.

Next door, Kim was making plans to go out with a guy she had met at a club the other day. She was in her bedroom trying on different outfits in front of her mom who seemed to be watching her very closely, which wasn't unusual because her mom loved to help her pick out clothes. What was unusual was how much more focused and attentive her mom became when she was in between clothes. Kim swore she could feel her mom's eyes roaming over her skin, paying attention to her curves. She was about to ask about this when her mother grabbed her head with both hands, screamed, and fell to the floor.

Kim reacted swiftly, throwing her bedroom door open and yelling for her father. "Dad! Come quick! Mom's hurt!"

Her father came lumbering in a moment later and just...stared as if everything was completely normal. This troubled Kim more than the sideways glances her mom had been giving her. "Dad! Do something? Shouldn't you call for an ambulance or..."

"Wait a second," her father interrupted. "I think she's coming around. Keri, are you alright?"

Dan had not expected that it would be painful. Transferring into someone was disorienting, but was nothing compared to the reconvening of consciousness. He was of one mind again. He became aware that he knew everything he had done in his office, as well as everything he had done since hopping into Keri. Whatever happened when the digital souls collided, it felt like he was still completely him, just in one body now. He became aware that Jerry was still asking him the same question over and over.