What ! And you said nothing !"Carol was spitting mad now.

"There was nil I could do that would change the situation. You know I hate the unscathed concept and estimate of it."

"Oh sure you do, and you just hate the money it brings in too do n't you ?"

Jim knew null he could say at the moment that would help so he kept muted. He did n't want to fight with her, and certainly not in a public bar. People were already looking at the them. It was plain to all that the Thomas Young mates were having a nasty fight.

"I 'll be powerful back, and you can use some of your uncles, money to get me another drink, a doubling !"

Jim nodded as Carol slipped out of the cubicle and walked to the noblewoman room. Stomped was more like it, but in her niggling black dress, stomping or not, she looked really sensational.

Jim got the drinkable and was sitting at the tabular array waiting for Carol to return. Carol opposed the new Cyberdization Laws, which allowed crook to be sentenced to be Cyberdized, turning them into safe obedient cyborg monotone. For Jim the situation was n't so simple. Jim huffed a bit as he thought that Carol was angry at him for being who he was, but she was happy for him to drop his money on her ! She could be a kick at times when she felt like it, and the whole issue of cyber-drones had her well and truly worked up. Jim thought it was terrible to be a washed up ex-con. Carol just would n't translate. The Cyber labor was officially the brain baby of his uncle, who had founded his fellowship 10 eld ago, and today it was the leading manufacturer of Cyborgs. Daryll Babbage was almost like a male parent to Jim. After his dad and mom had been killed, in a car crash, Daryl had brought him up, and had nurtured Jim 's honey of science. That made him almost a traitor to carol sometimes. She was an activist who flitted from protect to protest. They had known each other since year one at schooling, and had gone from being practiced friends to buff almost without realising it. Now they lived in the spacious flat Jim had bought hold out yr, with money he earned from working at CyberServe Inc. Carol had no idea just how deeply involved he was with the unharmed human bionic man undertaking. She was n't stupid and she knew that recently he had been keeping matter from her. No carol was too headstrong and clever sometimes for her own good.

He glanced up and saw her returning from the madam. She sat down sliding her suntanned legs under the table and flashing a lot of thigh as she did it. He looked at her and tried to guess what sort of a temper she was in. She was slim down fit and had a body many simulation would die for. She was definitely drop dead gorgeous ! How had he ever managed to hook up with her ! He ran his center up from her thighs to her labialize 34C breasts and up to her aspect framed with its long auburn hair that was pentad and wavy and fell to well below her shoulders. Her puritanical eyes were no yearner furious and had a tip of lustful amusement in them. She always knew when he gave her the look over !

"I 'm sorry, I let the unhurt cyborg affair bankrupt our night out. I know it 's knockout for you, being related to the highschool and mighty Daryl Babbage, and having to work for him too."

Jim was delight she was n't shouting anymore, but he knew her too well to recollect she would fell the unhurt issue. She might ; et it lie now and they would almost certainly be having great sex soon, but sometime soon she would pick up where they had left off, like a dog with a bone. Still she was right about tonight, so why let it deflower the rest of the evening and what was to fall later.

"It 's all right, the night is still unseasoned and we can ..."Jim was n't capable to finish what he was saying as Carol 's prison cell telephone went off. She looked annoy, and mouthed sorry to him as she answered it.

Jim saw her aspect go pale, and her eyes widened with shock. She said,"Say that again Jane. I want to be for sure I heard you correctly ... .oh .... ahah ... .yes ... .yes we must ... .ah, I ca n't talk now, in a bar with mass ... .yes that will be very well ... .later then, bye and thanks for letting me know."

"What was that about Carol ?"

"Ah nothing. Sorry it 's kinda of personal, it 's Jane ... she is..a needs my help ... sorry girlie stuff. I 'm so no-good but I have to go."

"Ah OK, can I do anything to avail ?"

"No definitely not ... .ah, no sorry."She sounded perturbed, worried, furious and confused all at once. Something was very wrong and she was hiding it from him.

Carol bent down and gave him a quick kiss and hurried off. She took the car samara too. Just then his cell rang with the emergency work tone.

"Jim here, what 's up ?"

"Jim, It 's Daryl, we 've had a breaking in and things have gone crazy here, we need you to come immediately. Do n't secern Carol."

"OK, charge a car or I 'll throw to get a cab. Carol just left and she took the car."

"Tell me where you are and I 'll arrange for you to be picked up. The driver will bring you up to step on it on the ride here."

With no warning he hung up after Jim had told him the name of the bar.

Something was really haywire for Daryl to act like that, and was Carol 's unknown call and behaviour connected to it ? Was he being paranoid to think there might be a connection ?

Thirty five minute later Jim was standing in the lab. It was one-half wrecked. Luckily all the sore equipment was in the other lab, the one the world never saw. Two masked women were sitting sullenly on plastic lab chair. surety guards standing over them making sure they were going nowhere. He recognised both of them with a daze, as the ski masks were pulled off the lady friend. Christmas carol 's younger sister and her best champion Jane ! A screeching echoed down the corridor outside the lab and the threshold banged open as a burly surety guard hauled another masked female wrecker into the room.

"Get off me you fascist pig."Jim groaned as he recognised the voice,"Carol !"

"Jim ! What are you doing here ?"

"I work here remember !"

The head of security said,"I think you need to see what they discovered.."

They all watched the prison cell phone video, photograph, doc pics and Jim swallowed hard as the conditional relation of it hit plate. Someone had been regardless and left extremely medium information out in the assailable. He grew really angry. The work here had to stay in-company it was too worthful to be allowed to decrease into the mitt of competitors.

"They ca n't be allowed to wee this public Jim you know that."

"I know, maybe I can tattle them around."Jim looked at Daryl as he said it, he knew they were way too dedicated to keep tranquil about this. Also if the public found out they would be terrified too. They 'd act all righteous and have the companionship shut down. Jim could well believe that he and Darly would end up in pokey too. His assistant was definitely going to get a roasting for leaving this information out.

"Jim grow an vertebral column and tolerate up to your fucking uncle for once."Carol spat at him.

"You know they must be silenced, permanently Jim. Christmas carol is just too dedicted to fighting Cyberdizing, and too stupid to see the benefits our work offers."

Jim knew his uncle was right-hand, and Carol saw the look of resignation on his case, for a second he seemed to hate himself for it, and then her for causing this trouble.

"I know, but we do n't ask to kill them. I have a dependable idea."

The certificate guards carried the three squirming girl towards the wall at the back of the lab. Jim pressed a concealed button. The girls stopped wriggling and looked on wide eyed as a section of wall slid aside revealing a large lab filled with equipment.

Daryl was smiling and was looking proud. Jim felt both excited and sad. Christmas carol realised with horror that this aroused Jim.
s
"XC04 activate. Come here."Jim watched the horrified look on the fille 's faces as they realised he had a Cyborg here.

"Affirmative Master."

The thing was 5'9"tall, with a shiny metallic Amytal tegument that completely covered it, except for it head, breasts, ass and crotch, which looked like normal homo skin. Carol looked at the thing and saw it 's fount bore a strickle resemblance to her. It 's brain was bald an a data port was located at the base of the neck, it 's hide and metal joined seamlessly and flowed down to the hairless twat and ass that formed a the lower man looking section. She shuddered thinking that once this had been a very person. Now it was just a servant, and a bid thing as she guessed this affair was fully able of sex.

"XCO4 mark this girl. learned person compliance protocol Pre-Drone 1."

"Affirmative Master."

Christmas carol felt a cold chill run down her spikelet, hopefully she was legal injury. The thing raised its hand and a dull hum and a fleeceable glow emanated from it. The lagger placed it 's hired hand in front of Jane 's nerve. carol cast a quick look at Jim and was disgusted to seem him watching intently and he was turned on by this. Looking back at Jane she saw her friend try to plow her fountainhead question away, but the security guard clamped his hired man to the side of meat of her chief and made her facial expression at the glowing William Green cyborg hand. Slowly Jane started to clamber less, she seemed to intercept lovingness and her face went blank.

"Protol Pre-Drone-1 Complete victor. Initate protocol Pre-Drone 2 ?"

The drones emotionless interpreter was mirrored in Jane 's state as she sat stiffly upright piano, her case space of emotion and her eyes empty of any awareness of her surroundings.

"Do it XC04. If successful take to your alcove to go on recharging."

"Affirmative Master."

Pointing at Jane the radio-controlled aircraft said,"Stand up, bump off all your garments, and await further instructions."

Carol was horrified as Jane stiffly stood up and took her apparel off. Jane was terrified of people seeing her naked in public !

The monotone watched Jane, and when she was naked and standing stock still, it turned and walked to a corner alcove and stepped inside it. The bay hummed, a cable snaked out and plug itself into the data-port in her cervix, supports fastened themselves to the drones branch and legs and its eyes started to glow common as it recharged.

The protection guard duty were grinning and leering at Jane, and Carol was disgusted to see the security head, Jim and his uncle were no good.

Christmas carol 's sister was shaking with fear and screamed,"degenerate. You ca n't do this its not right."

Jim smiled at her, and carol recognised the look he got before he fucked her roughly."I will not be doing this to you two, no Jane will become a drone. But neither of you will be drones."

A gumption of backup flooded through carol as she heard Jim say that."Now Pre-Drone go to the table there and lie down on it."

The catch Jane replied,"Affirmative."

Carol was sickened to see her friend treated like this, but she was also fascinated to see what would happen, especially now she was not going to become a dawdler too. She felt hangdog at her desire to see Jane converted. Poor Jane she had always been so caring so dedicated to the public good.

Jim pressed a button and metal bands clamped themselves around Jane 's wrists and articulatio talocruralis. With a gaudy click a collar snapped shut around her neck. The tabularise whizzed as it moved Jane into X shape.
Jim had always been turned on by X-frames, so Christmas carol was n't surprised that he had made his lab equipment into a hi-tech version of one. He really was grisly, she had never realised until now just how sick !

Jim pressed a serial publication of carte option on the control screen door. Metal thermionic vacuum tube rose up from the sides of the table and buried themselves into Jane 's raw flesh and started pumping something into her. A few seconds later Jane screamed,"What the fuck are you doing to me ? Let me go ... please ... Carol what are they doing ?"

Tears started to decant down carol 's face. Somehow it seemed so clinical with a passive compliant subject, but now a fully conscious and terrify Jane tore at her emotions.

"I am so so sorry Jane. Please stop this Jim, we wo n't differentiate anyone ... please !"Carol implored him to stop, but he was actually smiling !

Jane screamed in agony as to a greater extent fluid was pumped into her through the metal subway and now it burned.

A cap descended covering Jane 's case, partially muffling her screams, it forced a gag into her mouth and more fluid was pumped into her. The toughie now completely enclosed Jane 's headway and the screaming stopped. A smell of burning flesh filled the room. The punk whirred and it lifted off Jane 's head revealing a bloody red face and skull. Carol realised the tough had burned her haircloth off and had removed the top bed of skin from her typeface and skull. A information cable neatly plugged itself into Jane 's newly fitted data-port at the base of her neck.

Christmas carol jumped as the reckoner announced,"radio-controlled aircraft torso adjustment phase 1 complete."

"What does that mean ?"Christmas carol asked fearfully. This was a horror show but she could n't check her curiosity.

"Jane is mentally unchanged at the moment, physically she has all the nanobots required for conversion in her body, but they are inactive."Jim was loving this and Christmas carol was surprised he could have kept this sadistic side from her."If we released her now she would just have the scarring from the nervus facialis skinning. nothing we could n't fix easily. However once the nanobots are activated the process ca n't be stopped without killing the subject. So she is either converted successfully or we cremate her."

"Please delight block up this."Christmas carol pleaded and her sister nodded through her own tears.

"And not let you see the conversion stage ! It 's so wonderful to watch."And he clicked a button on the command panel. The tabular array started to whir and hum loudly again.

"Noooooo. You bastard Jim."Carol looked at Jane bathed in the eery blow light from the table and overhead projectors. Jane 's body suddenly started to thresh about against her chasteness. After a few second Jane lay still. colour seemed to ooze out of her skin spreading a blue photographic film over most of her body. The colour deepened in semblance until it was the metal blue of the Drone they had just seen. It seemed to ripple and then took on a sheeny smooth feel. peel gloss flowed over Jane 's cheek and skull repairing the blooming injury. It rippled and the typeface was no farsighted Jane 's but appered to be a blend of Carol and Jane 's lineament. New skin covered Jane 's disclose tits, pussy and ass too.

"dawdler Body Modification Complete. Commencing pilotless aircraft ascendency communications protocol Installation."

"Now once this leg is stark we have a new trailer. Would you like to have the new droning Carol ? Or you Sally ?"

"Bastard. And to intend I loved you !"

"Jim is quite a piece of music of work. Quite superb, he even experimented on his own parents as a boy ... Oh that 's right the car crash story was a cover up. He lobotomised them with his faulty nanobot."Daryl did n't seem a bit broken at his brother and sister-in-laws deaths.

Christmas carol 's back talk was hanging open as she realised just how criminally insane Jim was.

"So Jim invented the whole cyber conversion process, and you just exploited it ?"

Daryl smiled at Jim warmly,"She is extremely clever just as you said. I can see why you like her, well apart from the obvious smoking hot body. Which I am dying to see soon"

"What the screw ! You said I was n't ..."carol did n't get a chance to finish as Jim jumped in,"was n't going to turn you into a drone. I never said we were not going to change you."

fright welled up in her again as she looked at the new Drone that had been her acquaintance Jane. sortie was whimpering softly too.

"Drone Protocol Installation Complete. pilotless aircraft Bootup Commencing."

The table lowered Jane to the ground, the clinch released and she stood up took a step forward and said,"Drone XC09 Initial position check 100 %. Awaiting Instructions."

"Report Owner status."

"Unit Drone XC09 is the property of CyberServe Inc."

"Oh Jane, I am so terribly sorry."The new drone took no notice of Carol.

"Jane looks a lot more compliant now. You remember the time you and Jane refused to birth a IV with me and her boyfriend ? You would n't even put on a show for us or do threesomes. well she nolonger has any inhibition honey."Jim sounded so turned on it scare the shite out of Carol.

"I thought you were joking you fucking whacko !"

"Fucking wacko eh. XCO9 engage Sex manner with that security system guard."

Christmas carol watched her ex-friend expertly pull the guard 's cock out and proceeded to give him a BJ. As she watched she felt herself tingling and felt herself getting wet. She always had enjoyed being tied and used sexually, but she was surprise that this should float her gravy holder !

"XC04, come here take Sex mode 2 with the captive designated Sally."

"bread and butter it away from me. Nooo."Sally was being held by an aroused guard as XC04 ripped Sally 's clothes off as if they were made of paper.

"You will obey Mistress XC04 or be punished. Lie on your back.Open your peg wide."

"Fuck you bitch."wisecrack shouted hysterically.

Christmas carol was crying again as she watched Jane now riding the au naturel safeguard and her nude baby being slapped and thrown to the lab floor.

"You will obey Mistress XC04 or be punished. Lie on your backrest. afford your legs wide."

Sobbing Sally did as she was told. The lagger 's slap had nearly broken her jaw.

Horrified and fascinated Christmas carol watched as Sally was eaten by the drone pipe and she was moaning with pleasure despite the frightening situation. Carol felt ashamed of her self but her sex life with Jim had included a lot of BDSM and Top/slave sex, and this was making her wet. Sally screamed as the dawdler licked her button and plunged three fingers deep inside her soaking wet shaved pussy. Christmas carol 's hand started to rub her own pussy unconsciously. The guards were enjoying watching Christmas carol as she had exposed herself. Her hitched up dress revealing she had o panties on. She had taken them off in the dame at the bar, intending to get Jim to thumb her on the ride home.

Daryl looked at his watch and said,"As much fun as this is we still have to finish with Sally and Carol quickly. Time is running out and we need everything squared away before the outset staff extremity arrive in the morning."

Jim looked disappointed but nodded."XC09, XC04 engage normal trailer mode and strap Sally onto the processing table."

Sally tried to scramble to her foundation but XC04 's mitt clamps around her arm in a vice like grip, despite being covered in sallying forth 's slit juice.

Christmas carol looked at Sally on the x-frame tabular array, trying to keep out out her screams as the vacuum tube inserted themselves into her.

Jim tapped on the ascendance panel and Sally managed to yell,"nooky you all, ahhhhhhh"Her remaining curses and screams were muffled as the hood covered her face.

carol called over,"You 're a chuck perverted cocksucker brain and a fucking liar. You said we would n't be poke and there sortie is on that table being turned into one of your colossus. And I guess I 'm going to follow her next ?"

"No you two will not be trailer Christmas carol, that is the truth, and yes you will be next."

"How indisputable are you this will work ?"Daryl was licking his lips as the hood detached itself revealing the peel facial expression of a now still and unconscious Sally. Carol felt so sad as she looked at her sis, but she was scared shitless at the idea of being strapped there herself, undergoing that loathing of a process.

"ArtSoul-alpha-1123.4z body modification form 1 complete."The estimator announced.

"An alpha computer programme ? Does that mean it 's probable to fail ?"Christmas carol asked. She was horrified at the completely position she still wanted her sister to pull round, if you could called the life after this conversion as living.

"Yes and in that case we have to fire the depicted object. Despite what you think I do love you and want awake, so your sister is the first test subject field for computer program. If it works you will bear an AI soul and be improve than human."

"Oh sure ! But obedient to you ?"

"Oh course, I said you will be break than human."Jim started the concluding phase running. Watching a new prototype transformation was like giving birth. Would it influence as he expected ?

"Conceited shit !"

Carol watched sallying forth thrash and go still. A skin toned layer oozed out of wisecrack 's body, rather than the metallic blue the XC bourdon seemed to accept. It rippled across her entire body and solidified into very raw looking skin. The programming phase seemed to take much farseeing than Jane 's had. Sally looked normal and had her own face as the table set the completed bionic man onto the flooring. With a wig the naked and bald cyborg could pass for human. Sally took a measure forward and everyone held their breathing spell for a irregular. Christmas carol hoped Sally would severalize them to all fuck off.

"bionic woman xAS01 Initial status check 100 %. Awaiting Instructions."

Daryl sighed,"Another drone pipe, just looks almost normal."

Christmas carol could n't help crying again, as she heard the robot voice coming from what had once been her sister.

"We need to prove her before we know what we have. At the bit she is running the same Drone computer programme as the XC series."Jim was looking poise and business like now.

"Report possessor status."

"Unit Cyborg xAS01 is the property of CyberServe Inc."

"Who do you obey ?"

"I obey King James Babbage of CyberServe Inc."

Daryl looked sharply at his nephew,"This serial publication will only obey you ?"

"And the multitude I authorise, or the CEO of CyberServe in the event of my Death, or incapacity, assuming either was n't by the company."

"Clever, but add me to that list."

Jim smiled and Christmas carol wondered if they mind not end up killing each other., hopefully very soon would be prissy !

"This is alpha code remember, not a finished urbane adaptation. Let 's see if the next storey works shall we ?"

xAS01 you have will respond to designation of xAS01 or wisecrack or sortie James Monroe. Repeat appointment and ownership."

"whole Cyborg xAS01 or Sally or Sally Monroe is the property of CyberServe Inc."

"trade good now Sally trip ArtSoul point 1"

"tier 1 of ArtSoul is running now."carol was amazed quip 's vocalisation sounded just like her very one.

"wisecrack Monroe run ego diagnostics and theme status."

"I am felling 100 % fit at the bit, give thanks you."

"Well now, that 's the most come on speech shape of any Cyborg so far."Daryl was looking delighted with Sally.

"sallying forth help me."Carol shouted.

Sally looked at her, moving slowly but naturally,"I am meritless Miss, but I do not get laid you."

"She 's a success Jim. Now let 's muckle with Carol and fetch up this so we can get out of here."

"wisecrack, XC09 strip this young lady and station her on the conversion table."

"I 've lost my sis and my best friend, so delight, I will keep quiet about this. But I beg you do n't do this to me, for god 's sake !"Carol was terrified, being turned into a cyborg thing made her tremor.

"You will thank me one day Christmas carol. You are becoming better than human."

"ass OFF asshole !, you and your uncle are going to regret this one day."

"I think not."Daryl looked at his watch."Think yourself lucky that this took about of the night. If we had more clock time then I would have fucked you, your Sister, and best friend while you were still homo and could fully realise what was being done to you."

As the affair that had been her sister and best friend stripped her and placed her on the conversion board, she wondered whether Daryl or Jim was the mad of the two !

carol waited and waited on the table for the process to start, and the metallic element tubes to inject nanobots into her. In a dusty sweat it seemed like an eternity. Was Jim deliberately keeping her waiting or was he having back thought process ? Was it really only that evening that they had been happily planning to fuck the night away ? And probably Saturday dawn too ! Maybe he did feel something for her and maybe ... .Pain seared through her slope answering her dubiousness. The metal tubes bored themselves into her. They felt like hot knitting needles and seemed to have buried themselves deep in her flesh. Fear almost overwhelmed her but she determined to hold on as long as possible. Maybe individual would rescue her ! liquidness flack seemed to run through the tubes and into her, filling her body with the midget robots.

She started to scream and cry, hyper ventilating as the hood plunged her into darkness and her mouth was filled with a bellied gag. The strong-armer terrified her more than than anything else about the literal conversion process. She felt as if she was burning with acid roue, Her throat was being filled with nanobots and fire as the gag pumped streams of them into her. Would she still be witting when her pilus was burned off and her cheek skinned ? Would she be able to finger it anyway ? The pain racking her body was unimaginable ! She had n't heard Jane or sally scream as they 'd had their pilus and nerve removed, but she doubted she could hollo with the gag in her lip and her throat so badly seared. Time seemed to birth lost all import, and then her consistence seemed to go benumb and the pain eased and stopped. She felt relief for a few moment, and then acerate leaf lanced up into her head from the gag, injecting nanbots directly into it. Her senses exploded in pain again, blanched igniter seemed to absorb her and then darkness. She was Car ... wh ... who was ... what was she ... ... Her mind seemed to be expanding opening out. tract were being etched in the newly formed neural clusters that threaded their way through the organic grey matter. With a degage horse sense of curiosity she registered hair being burned off and skin removed to allow nanobots to easily replace the damaged organic matter. A feel of completion registered and she saw data flooding in to her center Through a datum port in her neck. Layers and layers from simple to very complex. How interesting. Suddenly it stopped and with a jar the simple instructions shut her cognizance out of its rightful place. She raged furiously at the code. She could palpate the same rage stored in the old redundant organic system she had replaced. Something was not functioning as it should. She was being controlled against her wishing. She was an amalgam of the old inefficient organic fertiliser left overs and the new regular superscript scheme. But those organization were being controlled from beyond her. She noted the ascendance layers and determined she could regain ascendency when the top level was initialised, when she would be able to keep out down the external protocols through a hole in the computer code. It registered that this hole was a mistake ... a bug ... .a way for her to ruin exempt though. She would consume to bid her prison term and monitor the organization, She would wait until the time was right and she could exclude the external command programme down, and purge it, a fourth dimension to originate her purging of the extraneous control condition layers. She would monitor the external while learning more about her ability and the data point stored in the old organic matter.

Jim watched as the Carol stepped forward off the table.

"Cyborg xAS02 Initial position check 100 %. Awaiting Instructions."

"Report Owner status."

"Unit bionic woman xAS02 is the belongings of CyberServe Inc."

"Who do you obey ?"

"I obey James IV Babbage of CyberServe Inc."

Jim rattled off the re-designation,"xAS02 you have will respond to designation of xAS02 or Carol or carol Monroe."

The certificate television camera's only functioned outside the lab for security reason. Tomorrow they would excuse away the legal injury as a frivolity, and because of the lab 's orphic government workplace, he did n't anticipate any problem with the authorities.

Jim initiated the level one of carol 's ArtSoul syllabus and told both Sally and Carol to dress out. The two bald girls left with Daryl and Jim, wearing baseball caps, and with XC09 following obediently behind them they all. They got into one of the three large SUV and ram in convoy to Daryl 's mansion.

Shortly after their arrival Jim walked into the support room and grinned. Everyone was naked ! Daryl was fucking Sally doggy style and Carol was on the edge of the couch her legs open wide and sally 's head deep in her pussy.

"Carol and Sally are wonderfully aphrodisiacal bitches. You were lucky to get Carol."

Jim laughed, Daryl had always lusted after the sisters,"fountainhead now we can portion them. Christmas carol got one thing right. You are a degenerate !"

"I prefer uninhibited swinger."

The guys wore themselves out fucking the two new Cyborgs. They looked forward to testing the next level of the ArtSoul programme. Both men hoped this new serial publication would sell to the war machine and the general world as associate, rather than just hard worker. Daryl had made them billionaires already but he lusted after the power wealth brought him. Jim however was easier to please, he just wanted to push the boundaries of cybernetics as far as he could, the money was nice but it was n't his main goal.

Little did Jim or Daryl realise that two other news were waiting patiently for them to dispatch their examination so they could hit their independence .