"I have cramps. I'm fine. Go away." Cramps? Why would you have ... oh..." I hadn't even thought about her cycle. And Beth's was bad the first couple d...ays. "Ok. What do you need?" I need you to leave me alone."Alex comes out of the bathroom, dressed. I could still hear water running and realize that it's the room's hot tub filling. "Hey, Beth, I started the tub. You want it hot hot or just kinda warm?" I want a hot bath." She snaps at him. "Not so hot I can't get in it but hot. Is that too hard. I wondered if that meant anything as I called out for her to enter.As she come in I told her to close and lock the door. Not that anyone else would enter without knocking but I didn’t want any more surprises today.“Stand there for a minute and let me look at you.”She looked fantastic. She dressed exactly as I had instructed and the contrast between the white pants and red top were striking.“Turn slowly and stop so I can see your ass.”Without a moment’s hesitation she did as instructed and. "There is no 'at first, ' Roberta," Victor said. "This was your commitment. This was your duty. This was my experiment. I know the theory is sound. But now you saw fit to allow her independent thought. No, it was not just what you did recently. You've been slipping for some time. Such independence cannot happen with only a single month's failing. That is why I am so angry with you."Roberta cried out and fell like a rag doll to the floor as the rug of her artificial reality was pulled out from. I don’t think I could have rolled my eyes harder without straining a muscle. Well that sucked. The arcade was still noisy even when Boomtown was closed. Between the HVAC and the fluorescent lights, there was plenty of buzzing to keep it from seeming peaceful. I guess that meant I was alone.I sighed and got to work. It was a tight squeeze, but I could see why it made sense to have me do this part. Mr. Gadsten was too thick to get back here. I was lodged in pretty good and getting some good work.