CHAPTER 165: NEW RECRUIT

It was Tuesday, and Jack was walking across the quad, headed to meet Robin for lunch.

He was barely a third of the way across when he heard a high-pitched voice say, "Hi! Um, can I talk with you while you walk?"

He turned and saw it was the ROTC girl from before, but instead of a uniform, she was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a light jacket.

Her expression was serious, and he didn’t see any signs of fervor or obsession.

"Sure, I can spare a few minutes. What did you want to talk about?"

"I keep replaying in my head the last time we talked, and I just can’t figure out why I said what I did. I thought it was a fluke, but when I saw you just a few moments ago, I felt the same thing."

"Hmm?"

"It... Um, I feel this inexplicable urge to call you sir. And at the same time I also feel this urge to offer myself to you. And not in a crude, spread my legs for you, kind of way, but as an offering."

He looked at her face. She was biting her bottom lip and looking at him pleadingly. She was hoping he could explain her reaction to him.

"I... I can’t get you out of my head. It... after meeting you, it’s like I discovered the missing part of my life. And I feel like a crazy person just saying that. Am I crazy?"

"No." Then teasingly, "Well, probably not."

She huffed cutely. "Seriously. Can you explain it?"

He could. But he would not risk doing it outside a simulation.

Since she was part of the ROTC, he assumed she was planning to join the military. Maybe she craved a sense of belonging.

"Why are you in the ROTC? I’m assuming you intend to join the military. But why? And don’t just say, ’I want to serve my country.’ Very few people join out of pure patriotism."

"I, um, joined a cult for a while. And when it fell apart, I was encouraged to see a therapist. She told me I had an unusually strong need to belong, to be part of something. So she recommended that I join the military."

She was a natural follower, desperate to belong. And now that she’d met him, she was at risk of becoming obsessed with him. Assuming that hadn’t already happened.

He had a sudden urge to soul bond her. To just throw the offer at her without saying anything, just to see what would happen.

If she accepted, he could try to create what he considered a follower bond, where he would be able to talk to her through their connection, like he could with Samantha, but without the insane devotion that Isabella showed.

Most people seemed to be okay around him. Only this girl and the Yokorian chick seemed to have an unusually intense reaction to him.

Eh, fuck it!

At worst, he’d have one less potential stalker. At best, he’d have a loyal follower. There were no downsides that he could see.

He sent her a soul bond request.

[Soul Bond Accepted: Page Johnson]

She accepted instantly. Even faster than Madison or Miranda.

He immediately felt the difference when their bond started forming. It was like her soul had already submitted to him. He would have to be careful with her, or she’d end up like Isabella.

He gently grasped her soul and pulled it towards him, and at the same time focused his intent on their forming connection. He wanted her to feel his emotions, like his other girls, and wanted to be able to speak directly into her mind, like with Samantha, but he did not want to dominate her.

He wanted a loyal follower, not a rabid zealot.

When the bond completed, he felt reasonably certain that it was mostly what he wanted. But it felt like his connection to her mind went a little deeper than he had intended.

As soon as the bond completed, he sent commands to her over their connection.

"Act natural, give no outward sign that something just happened."

Then he pointed at a nearby bench and said out loud, "Let’s sit for a moment."

She nodded, clearly trying not to show any emotion on her face, though her pupils were dilated.

Once they sat, he pulled them into his soul space, maxed the time ratio, gave her a quick description of parallel self, returned the time ratio back to 1:1, and enabled parallel self for both of them.

In the physical world, he said, "Let’s exchange contact information."

In his soul space, as soon as she appeared, she hugged him.

Before he could return her hug, she stepped back.

"Sorry, sorry, I just... I don’t know how to express what I’m feeling right now."

"I understand."

Through their connection, he could tell that she was feeling joy and gratitude.

He pushed deeper into their connection and found that he had access to her mind. He didn’t need permission, like he did with Samantha, and his access was deeper than Samantha, but not as much as with Isabella.

He could sense her surface thoughts, and had some impression of her deeper thoughts, but couldn’t access her memories.

She was happy that he chose her, but believed that she was not worthy of his attention and worried that he would realize she was worthless and discard her.

Finished with his examination of her thoughts, he gave her a quick explanation of Genesis Heart, his soul space, and soul bonds.

Then ended with, "Most people seem fine around me, but a few, like you, have an unusual reaction. I think I may need loyal followers in the future, so instead of letting you suffer, I decided to soul bond you now, as a test."

"Thank you, sir. I’ve always felt... empty, or like something was missing, but now I feel whole. It’s the most wonderful feeling in the world."

Through their connection, he could tell she was mostly feeling joy, relief, and gratitude. There were hints of devotion to him, but it was nothing like what Isabell felt. Her earlier worry that he would discard her had subsided, but wasn’t entirely gone.

"You’re welcome."

Then in a serious tone he said, "I want to know how you do on your own, without contact with me, so I’m going to block you from my soul space for the next few weeks. Only call me if you feel like you are struggling to cope."

"Yes, sir."

Through their connection, he could tell that she was still feeling some disappointment, but also determination.

"Um, sir?"

"Yes?"

"What about my plans? Should I stay in the ROTC?"

"Yes. We can discuss your career in more detail later, but yes, I want you to continue with your plans to join the military."

He didn’t know what he’d do with her, but thought having someone inside the military might be useful in the future.

"Yes, sir."

He disabled her parallel self, and blocked her access to his soul space.

In the physical world, they finished exchanging info.

He stood, said, "I’ll contact you in a few weeks.," then he turned and continued on his way to meet Robin.