Bureaucracy moves slowly. It was this truth that afforded Daniel Stein the time to analyze Adam's Mind Hack program in depth. It worked in a way that seemed to fit Peace of Mind's software like a glove and Dan again found himself questioning Adam's ability to create something so brilliant and complex. It was almost as if Mind Hack were a missing peace to POM that unlocked its full potential. It seemed like it had been built with this in mind all along and Daniel didn't see how Adam could complete it so perfectly even with help from other hackers worldwide. He didn't have time to speculate though. His goal was to end POM's tracking surveillance which was the backbone of the government's control. With that in mind, he put into motion his first test run.

Technically this would be like a second test run. His first had been at the hands of Adam himself and he hadn't been able to monitor anything as his consciousness had been forced into the body of his sister, Stephanie. This time he wanted to track something that he noticed today when he fired up the program. He swore it hadn't been there before and seemed like the most important feature. Dan knew that sooner or later someone at POM would figure out that someone had hacked into their system because the consciousness transfer left a trail. Dan's signal had jumped into Stephanie, and then Adam's signal had jumped into Kim, the next door neighbor. When this happened, both Steph and Kim's signal had disappeared. Dan pointed out to Adam that this was going to be their undoing and fixing this problem was the key to them maybe staying alive. And here it was, right in the open all along if Adam had bothered to look. How did Adam not know about this? Again Dan was left wondering if something more was going on.

Buried in the settings was a way to hide the transfer, which Dan hoped would mask any interruption on POM's end. But he would need to watch the screen to see if it was successful, as even a blip might be enough to attract more attention. He'd need help. He'd need a guinea pig. The problem that arose was how few people he trusted and the stakes had never been higher. After much contemplation, he decided to take the risk of opening up to his sister, even though it meant telling her things he really did not want to.

It was the day after Adam had left and the memory about everything that had happened when Dan had been in his sister's body was still very fresh. He remembered being in her skin and feeling sexy and feminine. And he very much remembered being brought to orgasm by Adam in Kim's body. If he lived long enough, Dan was going to think of something very creative to exact punishment on that little twerp. Dan tried to shove all that out of his head as he sat down across from Stephanie at their kitchen table and caught her up on recent events.

"So, I want you to know that what I'm about to tell you sounds crazy and I didn't believe it either the first time. It's, well it's pretty fucked up and you got to believe me when I say it's not how I would have played it out."

"What the hell are you talking about?" his sister asked with a nervous giggle. Stephanie let little bother her, preferring to live life as carefree as possible, but her older brother was being weirder than normal.

Dan proceeded to tell her about Mind Hack. About how it had led to Adam's visit yesterday, about how he had surprised Dan by transferring Dan's consciousness into her body. And eventually how one thing had led to another and how he found himself making out with her very young friend next door, Kim, who Adam was in control of while Stephanie's sort of boyfriend railed Kim from behind. He steered away from the more technical aspects because he knew she wouldn't understand, but let her know that because of Adam's actions, she was involved now whether she liked it or not. All their lives were now in danger and he was trying to figure a way to use Adam's program to help them stay alive and bring down a corrupt and controlling government, but he needed her help.

When Dan was done, Stephanie was quiet for a long time, trying to process everything her brother had just told her. She did seem to have a gap in her memory during that time. She didn't remember doing anything that Dan said she did or anything else for that matter. If this was true, and she didn't see why her brother would lie, Dan had been in complete control of her body and had used it in a very sexual manner. As someone who loved sex, she found this both repulsive and arousing. She didn't find Dan in any way appealing sexually because of his balding head and overweight frame. If enough booze were in her, she might be able to move past these physical attributes she found unattractive, but there was still the bigger issue of him being her brother. Incest was okay as a fantasy but not in real life. Still, the idea of her body making out with Kim, who she had always thought of as a younger, prettier version of herself, was very appealing.

Stephanie then thought about Adam. She had only meant Adam once before and he had seemed like a nice kid even though his eyes tended to linger on her large chest. She was very used to this though. Her bust size helped her get more tips at the restaurant she worked at and made it so easy for her to pick up whatever guy she wanted to relieve her active libido. But now this little punk had maybe made them break the law which got you killed these days. If her brother figured a way out of this, she wanted to teach him a lesson.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say to all that, or how to feel, but, what do you need me to do?" Steph asked.

Dan let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "I need to run a test. A few of them actually, and time is probably of the essence. With your permission, I'd like to transfer you close by and monitor some things in the program."

"So I'm like your test subject?"

Dan grimaced. "Unfortunately yes. Again I'm so sorry to bring you into this mess, but if the authorities get any wind of it, they'll probably see you as culpable because Adam jumped into you and you're my sister."

Steph frowned. "The first thing I get, but why should it matter that I'm your sister? You were a hacker sure, but you never got caught or served time."

Dan shook his head. "That's true, but I was getting a reputation and probably would have got caught if I had kept at it. I'm only back at it now because Adam has forced my hand."

Stephanie looked at her brother and smiled. She loved him very much. They had been there for each other through thick and thin, especially recently when things had stayed thin for her and she had had to move in with him. The fact that he had used her body to get off was troubling, but she believed him when he said it hadn't been his idea. "Alright, well, do what you've got to do. I'm your sister and I'll always have your back."

They wasted no time as Dan took her up to his office and had her lean back in a cushy chair. He then showed her Mind Hack in action. He used it to gain access to POM, and Stephanie looked on as Dan's computer screen filled up with red dots that represented all the people around them that had been equipped with the mandatory cyber implants. Dan warned her that when the initial transfer happened, she should stay very still while he turned on the necessary attributes she would need to escape unnecessary detection. He would give her the host's voice, mannerisms, and even access to their memories. Dan warned her that it would be overwhelming at first, but once her brain caught up with the changes, she should find an excuse to leave and come to their house at once. Stephanie then watched as Dan punched a few keys and selected her dot on the screen. She felt something come alive in her head. Then Dan selected the dot of their next door neighbor Jerry Stevens, Kim's father.

"Uh, why are you selecting a guy?" Stephanie asked alarmed.

"Oh, right. Sorry, forgot to tell you that fact," Dan said apologetically. "For reasons we don't yet know, your signal can only transfer into the body of the opposite sex."

"I'm going to be a guy? I'm going to have a penis!" she exclaimed. There was both fear and excitement in her voice.

Dan thought it best to rip off the bandage before she changed her mind. "Best not to think about it. Remember to stay still for a minute while I give you access to all your host's features." Dan hit a button.

"I thought I would get a chance to be Kim? I don't think I want to be a..." Kim's words were lost as she slumped back in the chair, her consciousness flying unseen through the air.

Unbeknownst to Jerry, his signal square began to flash as data was incoming. He had just walked into the kitchen and was admiring his wife's firm backside as she loaded their dishwasher. He went to go give one of her lower cheeks a pinch, when he ground to a halt as something in his head didn't feel quite right and he closed his eyes. Then he didn't feel anything at all as his consciousness was shoved aside to make room for a surprise guest.

Stephanie's eyes snapped open. Per Dan's advice, she stayed completely still for a moment. She was in her neighbor's house. She had been there several times before, usually to pick up Kim for a night of partying. Hanging out with Kim made her feel younger than she was and Kim seemed to appreciate her ability drink everyone under the table. Stephanie felt her legs under her but everything seemed off center somehow. She felt like if she shifted ever so slightly, she might lose her balance and topple over. This feeling passed as something clicked in her brain, and she felt comfortable to move around. She focused on what was in front of her and saw the back of Kim's mom, Keri, bent over putting a plate into the dishwasher rack.

Stephanie felt another twinge in her brain, then found recent events in Jerry's life being played on the big screen in her mind. Everything about Jerry's life since the age of 18, when the implants had been surgically installed, was suddenly available to her. She began to pour over facts and dates and significant events in his life. Then she wondered how Jerry saw her. That information startled Steph as images of her in some of her more provocative night life attire came to the surface along with feelings of arousal. She felt blood rushing to her midsection, and experienced her first erection.

"Jerry, are you getting turned on watching me load the dishwasher?"

Stephanie blinked. Keri had just spoken to her. It was so hard to think with all these new memories in her head and a large distraction happening down south. She looked at Keri who was now looking at her with a flirty smirk on her face. As Stephanie continued to say nothing however, Keri's face showed concern.

"Are you having a stroke?" Keri asked. "You've been staring at me for over a minute now without saying anything and you have that..." she pointed at Stephanie's sizeable erection that was straining painfully inside the confines of Jerry's pants. "I mean, I'm glad I can still achieve that kind of reaction in you but, if you don't say something soon I'm going to get worried."

Stephanie steadied herself, knowing she'd need to respond. She flipped through some important facts about Keri, and then prayed that Dan would not let her down. "I'm fine." She let out a sigh as she heard Jerry's baritone voice spring from her lips. "I was just, drinking you in. It's almost our anniversary and I was thinking about all we've been through. I am a lucky man." That had maybe been sweeter than she meant it to be because Keri put down her dishrag and approached him with a sexy smirk on her face.

Keri carried herself very well. She had sandy brown hair, a full figure, a little pudgy, but Jerry always said he loved her curves. She was 46, but thanks to advances in modern medicine, that was only a number. People didn't really begin to show their age until well into their nineties. She licked her lips and put both arms around her husband. She was enjoying the affect she was having on him and very appreciative of the boner he was sporting. She kissed him full on the mouth. Jerry seemed to be resistant at first, but then his mouth parted and her tongue slipped in, connecting with his. While their tongues wrestled, Keri dropped one hand down to Jerry's waist and began patting his bulge.

At direct contact with her new appendage, Stephanie broke away and took a step back, then looked down. She saw the huge bump in her pants. She could feel the penis pulsing beneath her, begging to be released, begging to be touched. It was like the thing had a mind of its own. She looked up just as Keri was in front of her again, reaching down and unzipping Jerry's fly. Stephanie instantly felt the release of tension, then a very pleasurable sensation as Keri's hand slipped under the boxers and made direct contact with very sensitive skin.

Keri looked at Jerry's eyes which were as wide as she'd ever seen them. He looked like he was almost scared of what she was doing, like she was touching his penis for the first time. She had just been teasing him a little, but this reaction made her want him. She stroked him a few times and then took his hand, pulling him towards their bedroom. "Come on. We don't have much time before Kim gets home from her work and she won't want to hear any day time love making from us."

Stephanie was being swept along with the new sensations of the male form. By the time they were in the bedroom and Keri was tugging off Jerry's pants, Stephanie remembered that she had been given strict instructions and needed to get back to her brother. As Keri's fingers wrapped around the throbbing hard on, Stephanie managed a weak, "Um, I'm sorry, but I need to go, I...Oh!"

Keri's mouth wrapped around Jerry's tool and began working it like it was her job and she was employee of the month. Steph loved sex, but it always took her awhile to get into the zone. This was much different because it seemed she had left the starting line moments ago and the finish line was dead ahead. Steph had never been taught how to achieve longevity by mentally reviewing baseball stats, and exploded in Keri's mouth in record time. Keri was surprised at the expedited arrival in her mouth but swallowed while looking lovingly into her husband's face. "Wow dear! I must have really got you worked up."

Stephanie's mind was in a fog as the afterglow took effect. "I, yeah, that was...amazing. You're really good at that. I should ask you for tips?"

Keri released the flaccid penis and stood up. She looked very quizzically at her husband. "You want tips on how to suck dick?"

Stephanie heard this and it made sense but then didn't as the fog slowly lifted. "Yes, I mean, no, I..um, sorry. Post orgasm brain, not uh, all there yet, I guess."

Keri laughed and then proceeded to lay down on the bed and remove her pants and underwear. "As long as your tongue is working, that's the only part of you I need right now." She spread her legs wide for him revealing a glistening slit. "Well, it's not going to eat itself."

Stephanie stared at it for a few seconds as if seeing a vagina for the first time, then searched for memories that would allow her a way out. "Um, I'm really sorry, I'll owe you. I just remembered I have to..." Nothing was coming to her, at least nothing that seemed important enough to walk away from a wife who was eager for sexual reciprocation. She began to lower Jerry's mouth to the awaiting pussy, then a possible excuse from Jerry's memory came to her. "I'm supposed to take the car in right now to be looked at. You know it's been acting up and I just remembered I had an appointment with the mechanic today."

Keri shot him a withering look as her legs slammed shut. "You're going to leave me like this because of the car?"

Stephanie tried to scrunch up Jerry's face into what she hoped was his most apologetic look. "You know how hard it is to get in. I'll be there and back and I promise I'll make it up to you. You're amazing and I love you."

Keri's face didn't change, but she relented. "Fine, but tonight you're staying down there until I've had enough, and I promise I'll need longer than you did a minute ago."

"Deal," Jerry said. Stephanie pulled up Jerry's pants and dashed out of the bedroom. Jerry had indeed been talking about taking the car in to have it serviced, but had been putting it off for weeks. For appearances, she grabbed the car keys and drove down the block and parked on the side of the street, then walked back to her house where Dan was waiting not so patiently for her.

"Where the hell have you been? I thought maybe she had figured you out and we were busted. What took so long?"

Jerry's face went scarlet. "I sort of uh, got a blowjob from Keri."

Dan looked at his next door neighbor incredulously. "You got a blowjob from Jerry's wife? How the hell? What did you do? I didn't send you over there to screw Jerry's wife."

Stephanie struggled at an explanation. "It all happened so fast. First I was in this male body and it was overwhelming like you said it would be with all the new sensations and stuff. I stayed still like you told me so you could get me oriented or whatever. Apparently Keri thought I was checking her out and made a move on me and next thing I know she's sucking me off and, wow, no wonder guys like blowjobs. They are fantastic!"

Dan shook his head in frustration. "You remember we're trying to keep a low profile here while I find out what I can about this program? Even with Jerry's memories you could have gotten found out. If that happens you're going to get us killed sooner than later."

At her brother's stern reproach, Stephanie's emotions bubbled to the service and Jerry started to cry. "I'm sorry, I just, I didn't ask for this! I'm just trying to help you."

Dan sighed and put a hand on his neighbor's shoulder, reminding himself that it was his little sister in this man's body. "Stop, don't cry. I'm sorry. It was a lot for me the first time, and I'm sure it will be the second too. I'm just mad at the situation, because it's not getting easier. Come with me and I'll show you what I mean."

Jerry sniffled and followed Dan back upstairs to his office. Stephanie saw that Dan was using every monitor in the house, all showing different screens that she assumed were connected to POM and this Mind Hack program. A silhouette of a person was on one screen, a map of what looked like their city was on another, and two more had numbers and symbols that made no sense to her. She looked to her brother to explain what was bothering him.

"Remember the map here with everyone's implants?" Dan asked her.

"Yes."

"This is our sector. When we log into POM with Mind Hack, it gives us access to our sector and only our sector. But now something has changed."

Stephanie did not like the foreboding tone in her brother's voice. "What? What changed?"

Dan went to the keyboard and hit a few keys. Stephanie saw the map on the monitor pull back and give a wider shot, showing all the surrounding sectors and many, many more red dots. "This wasn't here last time. Last time Adam told me, and I verified, that the program would only work in the sector that it was running in. I assumed this was because it was connecting through POM's local network and since they seem to try and decentralize as much as possible to keep anyone from knowing too much, this didn't surprise me. But as you can see, we now have access to much more."

Stephanie was very confused. She already didn't know much about computers and programs and she knew her brother was trying to keep it simple but she didn't see what the problem was. "So, okay, so you made it better and got access to more people. Why is that bad?"

Dan's face became very serious. "I didn't do anything, that's what I'm telling you. Someone else did this. And it wasn't Adam, I checked. Someone did this from inside of POM who knows our program is running and is, I don't know, giving it a boost apparently. Remember when I told you this whole experiment right now was to see if I could mask the signal that happened during a transfer? That hopefully if any of this were being monitored by POM that nothing would seem amiss when we hopped in or out of someone? I can't say for sure that was there the first time. The feature seemed to just appear out of nowhere when I connected Mind Hack back to POM this morning."

"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.

"Keri, are you alright? Answer me dammit or I'm calling the hospital."

"No, no, I'm fine," Keri said, allowing her husband to help her to her feet. "I'm sorry, I just, had a tremendous headache come on there for a little bit, then it went away."

Kim came over and embraced her mom. Her slightly smaller tits met her mother's in their embrace and Kim was too concerned with what had happened to process her mother moving against her, causing their boobs to rub ever so slightly together.

This action did not go unnoticed by Jerry however who loudly cleared his throat. "Honey, why don't you let go of our daughter and come sit down with me so I can keep an eye on you for a bit." Keri reluctantly let go of her daughter and went with her husband to the living room.

"What the hell was that back there?" Jerry asked.

"It was the weirdest thing. I was using the backup part of the program, then had to disconnect it. When I did I snapped back here and the me that was in Keri and the me back there blended together. It was not fun."

"Why'd you have to disconnect it?"

"Well, I think I either had to go back to streaming my consciousness into Keri, or make it my permanent home."

"What! What the hell does that mean?"

"Sh... stop raising your voice. I can't be sure without testing it, but I think the backup allows you to completely transfer into a new body."

Jerry's jaw dropped. "So, what would happen to the old body? Does the other person's mind just go away?"

Keri shook her head. "I have no way of knowing until I test it out, and that's a pretty risky test. I've got everything saved in the cloud and I've think we've gone as far as we can without Adam's help. Tomorrow we'll jump over to his house."

"Into his house? You want us to be his mom and dad?"

Keri smiled a wicked smile. "Oh yes, like I've said, I've seen his browser history. I got the perfect way to pay him back. Actually, the little twerp might enjoy it, I know you will."

Now Jerry was smiling. "I hope it means what I think it means. In the meantime, did I see you rubbing up against our darling daughter a moment ago?"

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Keri asked blushing.

"I mean that hug you lingered on with both your boobs pressed together as you rubbed those titties against yours. I hope that was the only lecherous thing you did in that bedroom with your daughter. This is all about blending, remember?"

"I might have looked at our daughter a little too lovingly. Damn. All this talk has me super wet. Want to go fuck your wife again?"

Laughing, the married couple retired to their bedroom. Kim made her final wardrobe choice, and was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when she heard the headboard begin to slam against the wall. She rolled her eyes at her horny parents and headed for a quick exit from her house. It was weird though. They usually only had sex once a week and today wasn't their typical day. And for sure they'd usually wait until she was dead asleep or out of the house. She let her mind drift to other weird things, like the time that had gone missing from her a few days ago. How she had been in her room one minute, then back in her room the next, but with what she swore had been cum dripping down her leg. Now that was weird. She had resolved right there to cut back on her partying and use of recreational drugs.

After a thorough fucking session and double checking to make sure that Kim was gone for the evening, Dan and Stephanie made the switch back to their original bodies. To minimize the computers he accessed Mind Hack on, Dan insisted on pulling it up on his computer. Still in Keri's body, he switched Stephanie back with Jerry's body still in his house. He showed Stephanie how to pull him back, but told him to give him five minutes. There was still something he needed to see.

Jerry was sitting up on the couch when Keri came back into the house. "Honey, what's going on? I, it was light just a moment ago and now it's dark out."

Keri sat down next to him. "Jerry, you blacked out. It was the weirdest thing. One minute you were saying something, then the next you were flat on the floor. You spoke to us but didn't seem all there but you told us not to take you to the hospital."

Jerry was thoroughly bewildered. "I did?"

"Yes. Clearly you don't remember. Do you remember anything that happened this afternoon and evening?"

"No I, I remember walking into the kitchen and then, nothing. And then a minute ago it's like my brain turned on and, what is wrong with me?"

Keri smiled at him and took his hand reassuringly. "Nothing dear, I'm sure it's just a bug that's going around." After she said this, her head fell onto her husband's shoulder.

Jerry worried that his wife had fainted, but she sat up a moment later and blinked at him. She looked around as if taking in all new surroundings. "How did I get into this room? I was in the bath and then...what time is it?"

Jerry's concern grew ten fold as his circumstance seemed to be repeating itself for his wife. Amnesia couldn't be contagious. This was alarming and he resolved to keep his composure as his wife caught up to the fact that she was missing memories from most of her day. Now that he thought about it, he remembered his daughter mentioning something about this recently. She too had experienced whatever this phenomenon was but had only missed an hour or two. Whatever it was, he would take his whole family to the doctor as soon as possible.

The next day, around noon at a nearby government facility, an impromptu video conference was happening for that facility's director. In attendance was a supervisor assigned to one of the cities in that sector, along with an agent that had some knowledge of the reason for this meeting between two sectors. They sat facing each other at a long table, waiting for the large screen at the wall to reveal an image.

"I'm confused," the agent said. "We never talk to other sectors, just trade reports back and forth on any potential threats when they cross borders. Why this sudden need to have a face to face?"

"I don't know but it can't be good," said the director. The director was an older woman that had been there since POM's inception. She remembered that initially, there had been wider transparency, the government allowing everyone worldwide to work together and bring a swift end to crime wherever it may be. Over the last few years though, discretion had become key. Justice was still meted out quickly, but communication between the sectors that helped keep the peace for the local populace had dramatically decreased. Reports for crime went the same place that the money making data POM's cyber enhancements were constantly observing, POM's board of directors. The information flowed up, never down, so whatever was about to be exchanged between governing agencies must be paramount.

Two images blinked onto the screen, split down the middle. One looked very similar to the current room. Another director sat at a table, along with what was probably another supervisor and another agent that worked for that sector. The image on the other side of the screen was instantly recognizable to everyone at both tables. It was the CEO of POM's board of directors, Chance Kirkwood. If there was such a thing as a global president, this man was it. He had vast wealth and power and spoke with the weight of every corporation that made up the world's government. He had achieved all this at a very young age, mainly due to the foundations his father, Michael Kirkwood, had made. Michael had been one of the top computer scientists that made Peace of Mind and a new world order possible, and his son had certainly capitalized on his father's success. Now he smiled from an unknown location at the two tables of people in front of him. As they had not know he would be joining their meeting, he was please to see their reactions, both fearful and awestruck.

"I am sorry for my surprise appearance, I've clearly caught you off guard," Chance began. "The nature of the situation prompted me to become directly involved and make sure that we deal with it in a timely manner. Sector 11, I've read your initial report. A week ago, a POM signal blinked out in your area and jumped a few blocks away from its location, while another signal disappeared entirely. After a short time, that signal reappeared at the origin point of the first signal which had returned there. This could be written off as a glitch, but you very smartly decided to monitor both of the signals present. The signal belonging to Adam Holland then preceded to travel to Sector 12 and you correctly alerted them of his presence and were to monitor him accordingly. Have I missed anything thus far?"

"Uh, no," Sector 11's director said, finding her voice.

"And at no point did anyone look at the video recorded by Adam's or this Candace, the other signal, no one looked at what they were seeing and doing around this time?"

The director gave a sharp look at the supervisor who spoke up quickly. "No, I'm, well I'm sorry if we should have. We know we've been given sharp orders to only look through the eyes of those related to or around criminal activity. I ordered my agent to flag them and report if any other suspicious activity occurred. If it had, we would have brought them in right away and fixed whatever was causing the signal interruption."

Chance looked please. "You did your job very well, and don't worry about watching their video feeds. You wouldn't have found anything during that time. Section 12, explain why that is, but start with what strange thing happened when Mr. Holland visited a person of interest in your area."

Section 12's supervisor, a nervous looking middle aged man began reading off the report. "Adam Holland, a potential threat from Sector 11 made entry into Sector 12. He visited Daniel Stein, a former cyber security specialist who had also been an alleged hacker and outspoken activist against POM and its ideals for a peaceful global existence. There was one other person in the residence, Stephanie Stein, Daniel's sister. Very shortly after Mr. Holland's entry into Mr. Stein's domicile, we see Mr. Stein's signal blink out, then reappear where his sister's was, and her signal is gone entirely. Shortly after, a new signal comes on the premises, a Trevor Sorensen. After another few minutes, Mr. Holland's signal jumps to the next door neighbor, and seems to replace the signal of Kim Stevens. Mr. Holland's signal then returns to the home of Mr. Stein. Upon Mr. Holland's reentry of Stein's house, we see, well, this is where it gets really weird, another duplicate signal of Mr. Holland appears in the Stein house."

The CEO interjected, "Was this being monitored in real time, or after the face?"

The director's face flushed. "No, again, it was a flagged account, but not one associated with criminal activity, so it was given less...attention. When the report of this activity hit my desk, I did pass it on to the head of our technical support." The director motioned to the youngest person in the room who seemed eager to jump in at this point, but smartly head his tongue until he was brought into the conversation. "I, like my colleagues in Section 11, assumed it was a glitch, perhaps one that was affecting other signals somehow. I obtained permission to play back video of the event in question, as well as had my subordinate here dig in to the more technical areas of what might be happening."

"And your findings?" the CEO asked.

"Well, that was another troubling thing," the director continued. "There was no video of the event in question. Not from those whose signals had jumped around, not from those who had disappeared, not even Mr. Sorensen who seemed to not be affected by whatever the glitch was."

"So someone erased the footage that would have helped us get to the bottom of this?"

The excited young technical support employee now felt compelled to add his two cents. "Well, yes and no. All those affected by what we're mistakenly calling a glitch didn't have their cybernetic footage erased, it just wasn't there. It's like their optic monitoring settings turned themselves off and didn't resume until the signals eventually went back to normal. But Mr. Sorensen, who remember had nothing to do with these signals bouncing around or disappearing, his cyber footage was completely scrubbed from the system. And as far as we are aware, something like that can only be done from inside one of these buildings."

The CEO looked very annoyed by this news. "So you're saying this is not a glitch at all. You believe that Mr. Holland or Mr. Stein, or both, created some way to infiltrate an unbreakable digital fortress. And these people have figured out a way to what, relay their signal onto another person, thereby keeping us from monitoring them. But on top of that, someone from inside of the government is helping them erase their tracks. Do you have any additional proof of that?"

Technical support looked at his director, who nodded for him to go ahead. "After I came to the conclusion that someone was messing with our system, I pulled up past footage of all the people involved. Mr. Holland and Mr. Stein both stand out because some of their past cyber footage has been altered. Going back months now, Mr. Holland would open his computer and click on a program and his then the image blurs and becomes inscrutable. This happens on several occasions. When Mr. Holland finally makes the visit to Mr. Stein to presumably show him this mystery file or program, Mr. Stein's footage blurs as well, and I don't think it's either of them. I'm not even sure if they know they have someone watching out for them."

The CEO looked more troubled at this news than anything else, and for several seconds no one said anything as this information seemed to hang in the air. "Based on the evidence we do have, it would appear they are trying to find a way to circumvent the leash that binds our society in peace. They are trying to push their signal onto someone else. Does everyone concur with this?

Section 12's director raised his head, then started talking when Chance shot him a reproachful look. "We do think that, yes sir, but there's one more thing. It's really the thing that made us zero in on this issue. Late last night, the Stevens family all went to the hospital. Their father insisted they all go get checked out because at some point in the last week, they had all been inflicted with missing time. All three suffered from at least an hour, or several hours of gaps where they could not remember anything that had transpired. When compared with the times of missing cyber footage, when the signals disappear from our industrious hackers, they match up exactly. Based on this, we're thinking that when someone's signal is hijacked, the victim's cyber brain is compromised in a way that keeps them from holding on to the memory of this time. That's all speculation. We could learn more if we bring everyone in and get to the bottom of it before we pass judgment."

Chance was already shaking his head before the director was done speaking. "No, everything we have discussed here goes no further. Whatever these hackers are trying to accomplish, we don't need to know the details of, and it stops here. They are potentially a threat to our national security and the peaceful world we have created. As such, Section 12, under cover of darkness this very evening, you will send a team to eliminate the threat, which at this point should only be Mr. Holland and his sister. Continue to monitor the rest closely in your sector. Please understand that this must all be done quietly. No attention must be drawn to this, but it is priority number one." All heads nodded in agreement.

Section 11's director spoke up. "Are we to eliminate the Holland boy in our sector?

"Yes, but I want to minimize the people involved in this. Since it's only a sector away, dispatch the same team that is to be used at the Stein's. Have someone close by if he tries to escape, but it shouldn't be an issue. He won't know it's coming. Good luck everyone." He then tapped his temple and pointed at his audience. "I'll be watching how this plays out very closely. Get to work."

To be continued...