Chapter 136: Argument and negotiation of mind control. Back to Dallas.

"Robin, please guide Rika to hunt down the zombies in the area - she can pretend they're me," you say evenly. "I'll make a Gate from the conservation room to just outside your motorhome for the night, you can transport as many books as you'd like into your apartment. Just don't forget to ask around - Rika, Nova, Sinon, Violet - to keep somebody on watch here until morning."

Robin nods slowly. "Understood." She glances at Rika, whose expression remains carefully neutral. "Come on."

You lead Rin, Kurumi, Maria, Albedo, and C.C. back down the stairs to the conservation room. The basement air still smells faintly of old paper and copper. Amanda's blood is a dark stain on the carpet.

"Gate." Mana drains. The shimmering portal opens, showing the exterior of Robin's motorhome aboard the Anchorage. "Let's go."

Your group steps through. The familiar hum of water on the ship's hull replaces library silence. You head directly to the command center, settling into chairs around the tactical displays.

Albedo's golden eyes track you as you settle.

You barely notice. "That was a mess," you begin aloud. "I shouldn't have accepted Rika's terms of consent before we left. Well-intended, but too restrictive for the situation without leaving us room to change."

Rin crosses her arms. "A mess maybe. Those consent terms were however important."

"Are you sure? When I first cast Charm Person, I could have just as easily cast Finger of Death, finishing her rejection of life right then. Instead we learned she knew she was being selfish and would have gotten over it, as everyone does. Later, when Rika put the gun in her face, she was still under Domination. She couldn't have begged to change her mind if she wanted to. I didn't release it because she'd already made her choice - when I should have killed her instantly."

Maria's violet eyes narrow. "You're rationalizing again."

"Rationalizing what... While I didn't plan on mind control tests when we went out, effectively when I cast Charm Person, I killed her. Rika just put a bullet through a zombie barely different from the ones she's hunting down right now."

C.C. leans back. "You're arguing that the dominated girl was already dead. That's convenient logic."

"Convenient, or accurate to the situation?" You retort, "Unless the mind control spells were accepted as a method of forcing the resurrected to live long enough to understand the new situation and properly consider. Is this what we intended to when we agreed to give the resurrected consent? No. This will definitely be an argument with Rika later."

Kurumi tilts her head. "I see several timelines where you have this conversation with Rika. Most end poorly."

"I have no doubt, it's difficult to converse logical solutions against ethics, often conflicting with years of opinion and ingrained education. That's why I had one-hundred percent confidence the girls would refuse half-naked sexual servitude automatically as the cost of staying with us, even though any bikini and strip clubs do the same thing daily, pure perspective... Any ideas on explaining how using mind control on the psychologically broken resurrected should allow them time to stabilize? Or should I avoid resurrection and wait until we inevitably have captured enemies I can mind control under war prisoners and indentured servants?"

Rin exhales sharply. "You're asking us to help you justify slavery."

You pause, considering that for a minute, the word a conditioned trigger. "Almost direct definition. Yes, I'd still have the government justification of not owning, but otherwise yes. Mind controlled for a variable duration depending on what the individuals need or other circumstances. With the benefits of enchantments while working and severance payment, they'd be better off than before the apocalypse. We can't save everyone who chooses death. But we could save most if given time to stabilize and a civilization to join after, instead of immediate survival in the apocalypse."

Albedo remains silent, watching your face carefully.

"Mind control is the most effective method to give the psychologically traumatized time to re-adapt," you continue, leaning forward. "We save the most lives. If they refuse after the estimated duration, we accept their refusal. Consent delayed isn't consent denied."

Rin's arms remain crossed. "You're still forcing them through that duration."

"Yes, I'm blatantly refusing the sit and talk to each one option, with no way of knowing how long each one will take, if they recover at all. And what about enemies?" you press. "When soldiers and assassins come after us - they will - should we accept the standard excuse of 'they're just doing their job'? Let them try repeatedly until they eventually succeed? We have an easy, safe method of temporarily removing them from conflict. The alternative is murder. Those are the only options I'm seeing."

C.C. tilts her head. "Strategic prisoners via Domination. That's actually coherent."

Maria's violet eyes narrow. "The resurrection context is different. Those women chose death. Soldiers choose combat."

"Soldiers choose employment, same as police." you counter. "Most would prefer not dying for their government's orders. Dominating them gives them the survival their superiors denied them."

The command center door opens. Rika enters, rifle slung over her shoulder, face carefully neutral. "College's clear. Eleven zombies down."

Albedo remains perfectly still, golden eyes tracking Rika's approach.

"Thank you for sharing the conversation, Albedo," Rika says quietly. "Saved me walking in blind."

You glance at Albedo, who meets your gaze without expression.

Rika settles into a chair, exhaling slowly. "I can't be angry when you're right at every turn, Brad. Charmed Amanda admitted she was being selfish. Dominated Amanda couldn't beg to change her mind even if she wanted to. Mind controlling enemies prevents unnecessary killing. Every single argument is logical."

"But?" Kurumi prompts.

"But I still don't like the result," Rika admits. "And that means future actions need more regulation than just us deciding in the moment. We need rules. Written ones."

Rin nods slowly. "Agreed. Brad's plan works until it doesn't. We need boundaries."

"What kind of boundaries?" you ask.

"Duration limits," C.C. suggests. "Maximum time someone can be dominated before mandatory release or re-evaluation."

"Witness requirements," Maria adds. "No solo domination decisions. Minimum two people must agree."

"Purpose restrictions," Rika says. "Combat prisoners, yes. Traumatized resurrection victims... that's harder. Maybe case-by-case with group vote?"

Albedo finally speaks. "You're constructing governance. Formalizing what was previously discretionary authority."

"Because discretionary authority led to Amanda standing in a doorway waiting to die," Rin replies. "Still dominated, still aware, unable to object."

You raise your hand sharply, cutting off the building protests. Silence drops like a stone. Your voice comes out cold, controlled. "Have I been conversing with the walls for the last half hour?"

C.C. leans back slightly. Rin's arms remain crossed.

"C.C., I mentioned duration limits several times. That's the next step after establishing basic parameters. Which is what we're doing now." You turn to Rin and Rika. "We argued before leaving and agreed there would be consent allowed for the resurrected. That was our written agreement. No clauses, conditions, terms or situational allowances."

Rika opens her mouth. You keep going.

"That is why after Amanda accepted death and I cast Charm Person, she was effectively dead. Everything after that point is rhetorical unless we had kept her alive - which would've broken our agreement again."

"Speaking of which. There were two other women in the initial Costco group who demanded to be sent back. Why didn't you execute them? Why did you let us move on without dealing with them? Why are they likely still sitting on the ground in that abandoned store?"

Your hand drops. The silence shifts uncomfortably. Maria's violet eyes narrow.

"Rules written on paper are either meaningless or harmful unless they cover every situation beforehand," you continue. "There's not enough information yet to finalize perfect regulations. That step has to come after we start, analyze, and adjust conditions."

You turn to Maria specifically. "You're thinking too small. We'll need a rotation like crew watch - three people, maybe two groups taking turns analyzing and reviewing the resurrected and captured enemies."

Kurumi tilts her head. "Observation shifts. Sensible."

"Proceeding this clumsily isn't clean or perfect," you admit, "but this is sadly how all rules and regulations have to begin. Just like we went out today - we converse as a group, adjust actions situationally, then debate and write it down later. If it was already perfected, we wouldn't be talking about it now."

Rin exhales slowly. "You're right. We didn't finish the job in Dallas."

"And the consent condition had no contingency for psychological breakdown," C.C. adds quietly. "It was assumed rational choice would be possible."

Rika's jaw works. "So we're building the rulebook as we go. As well as our own oversight."

"Yes," you confirm. "Witness requirements, was something I hadn't mentioned because I was already surrounded by my witnesses. Duration limits need to be a different conversation, I'll draft out a basic calculation that makes sense, then we can go over it before the next attempt. All of it gets formalized after we have enough data to know what works."

Albedo speaks for the first time in minutes. "You are constructing governance from experimental results. Pragmatic, if ethically uncomfortable."

Maria's expression remains cold. "The Dallas women still need resolution. If we're formalizing rules, abandoning traumatized resurrection victims at infrastructure hubs can't be standard procedure."

"Agreed," you reply. "I'll ask you, Rika and C.C. to come with me to appraise them, if the three of you deem they won't get up on their own. I'll dominate them and we'll bring them back as servants, while we begin discussing duration."

Rin uncrosses her arms slightly. "Fine. But we document everything. Every resurrection, every domination, every duration. Full transparency."

I hold my answer for a moment, "I can easily agree with recording accuracy and internal transparency, but Your usage of 'full transparency' suggests we'll be under a government. As Albedo has said we're already our own governance, albeit still very small. We're still in the not-advertising our full capability stage to the other nations or governments, definitely not giving others authority over our multidimensional group." you say firmly.

"I think we just found part of the problem, 'soldier girl Rika.'" You lean forward, grinning. "You're still thinking like you're one small part of a massive non-magical government, when you're actually next to the top of a newly forming multidimensional magic government. Would it make more sense if you were given the fancy title Minister of Defense?"

"Absolutely fucking not," Rika snaps before you finish the sentence. "I didn't sign up to be your government lackey."

You laugh outright. "Good, because we shouldn't get to the size of needing those titles."

"Title someone else," she mutters, though her expression softens slightly.

"Gate." Mana drains as the shimmering portal opens, showing the Dallas Costco warehouse interior. Before you can direct anyone, Albedo steps through immediately, wings flaring as she scans the space.

"Clear," she announces after three seconds. "Three subjects present. Two collapsed, one mobile."

You step through, followed by Rin, Maria, Rika, Kurumi and C.C. The warehouse remains as you left it - Shelves of goods empty, floodlights casting harsh shadows. Sarah Mitchell stands near a register, holding a can of soup. She startles when your group appears.

"You're back," she whispers.

Jennifer Hayes sits rocking against a clothing display, arms wrapped around her knees, staring at nothing. Kimberly Torres lies curled on the concrete floor twenty feet away, hands clutching her head, whimpering softly.

"Maria, Rika, C.C.," you gesture toward the three women. "Question and analyze whether they're functional or need intervention. Ah, one on the one rocking is Jennifer Hayes, the one curled up is Kimberly Torres, the one standing is Sarah."

Maria approaches Sarah first, kneeling to eye level. "How are you feeling?"

"I... I'm okay." Sarah's voice shakes. "I realized I'm not going to turn into a zombie. The resurrection was real... I just needed time."

Rika moves to Jennifer, crouching beside her. "Jennifer? Can you hear me?"

No response. Jennifer continues rocking, eyes unfocused.

C.C. walks to Kimberly, observing her for several seconds before speaking. "Kimberly Torres. Can you tell me what you're experiencing right now?"

Kimberly's whimper becomes a low moan. Her hands press harder against her temples.

"Sarah's recovering," Maria reports quietly through the Telepathy Web. "Self-awareness returning. She's processing trauma but functional."

"Jennifer's catatonic," Rika adds. "Zero response to external stimuli. Complete psychological shutdown."

"Kimberly's trapped in recursive pain memory," C.C. observes. "She's reliving the moment of death on loop. Mentally unfit for autonomous choice."

Albedo stands near you, arms crossed. "Two require intervention. One does not."

You focus on Jennifer first, "Dominate Person." Mana drains as the spell locks into place - forty-five points sliding away as she becomes yours to command. Reaching out telepathically through the Dominate Person spell.

Stand up. Walk through the Gate and wait in the command center.

Jennifer's rocking stops mid-motion. She rises smoothly, arms falling to her sides, and walks toward the shimmering portal without hesitation or awareness. Her eyes remain vacant.

Kimberly next. Another forty-five points of mana as the spell takes hold.

Stand. Follow Jennifer through the Gate and wait in the next room.

Kimberly's whimpering cuts off. Her hands drop from her temples. She stands, turns, and walks after Jennifer with the same empty compliance.

Both women step through the Gate and vanish into the USS Anchorage command center.

You turn to Sarah, who's watching with wide eyes, the soup can still clutched in both hands.

"I'm sorry we left you here," you say quietly. "You've recovered faster than I expected."

Sarah swallows. "I... I thought I was going crazy. Being dead, then not dead. But it's real, isn't it? The resurrection worked."

"It worked," you confirm. "Per the agreement we made before testing this - if there's anywhere you'd like to go, or if you'd like us to recommend a community, we'll see you on your way."

She looks down at the soup can, then back up at you. "What happened to the two of them?"

"Their deaths were slower. More traumatic. Their minds couldn't process what happened to them."

"And you just... controlled them?" Her voice shakes slightly.

"Yes, they'll be safe until its time to give them their choices."

Sarah's quiet for several seconds. "My roommate Mark killed me. Shot me in the head after I got bit. I remember him crying. I remember being scared. But when I woke up here... I realized I wasn't turning. I had time to think."

"That's why you recovered," you tell her. "Quick death. Less trauma."

"Where can I go?" she asks. "My family's in Austin. Mark would have left with our other roommate long ago - I don't know where."

Maria steps closer. "We have contact with survivor communities in multiple cities. Navy vessels with organized crew. Infrastructure hubs with enchanted facilities."

Sarah looks between you and Maria. "What about here? This place has food, water, power now. Could I stay?"

"Alone?" Rika asks sharply.

"Better than going somewhere I don't know anyone," Sarah replies. "I'm a barista. I don't have military training or special skills. I just... I need time to figure out what I'm doing."

C.C. observes quietly. "Isolation may not be therapeutic."

"Neither is being around people I don't trust," Sarah counters.

Albedo's golden eyes narrow slightly. "Your choice. But understand - we will not return here, regardless if you need assistance."