What ! And you said naught !"Christmas carol was spitting mad now.

"There was nothing I could do that would change the situation. You know I hate the hale construct and idea of it."

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

Jim knew nothing he could say at the moment that would help so he kept quiet. 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 young couple were having a foul fight.

"I 'll be right back, and you can use some of your uncles, money to get me another drinking, a stunt woman !"

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

Jim got the crapulence and was sitting at the board waiting for Christmas carol to bring back. Christmas carol opposed the new Cyberdization Torah, which allowed criminals to be sentenced to be Cyberdized, turning them into safe obedient cyborg Drones. For Jim the post was n't so round-eyed. 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 spend his money on her ! She could be a bitch at times when she felt like it, and the whole consequence of cyber-drones had her well and truly worked up. Jim thought it was fearful to be a washed up ex-con. Carol just would n't see. The Cyber labor was officially the brain tike of his uncle, who had founded his company 10 age ago, and today it was the pass manufacturer of cyborg. Daryll Babbage was almost like a founding father to Jim. After his dad and mom had been killed, in a car crash, Daryl had brought him up, and had nurtured Jim 's love of science. That made him almost a double-crosser to Carol sometimes. She was an activist who flitted from protect to protest. They had known each other since year one at school day, and had gone from being best protagonist to lovers almost without realising it. Now they lived in the spacious apartment Jim had bought last year, with money he earned from working at CyberServe Inc. Carol had no idea just how deeply involved he was with the whole man cyborg project. She was n't dolt and she knew that recently he had been keeping matter from her. No Christmas carol was too headstrong and clever sometimes for her own good.

He glanced up and saw her returning from the ladies. She sat down sliding her suntanned wooden leg under the table and flashing a lot of thigh as she did it. He looked at her and tried to estimate what sort of a mood she was in. She was slim fit and had a consistency many models would die for. She was definitely drop deadened gorgeous ! How had he ever managed to hook up with her ! He ran his middle up from her second joint to her rounded 34C tit and up to her case framed with its long auburn hair that was louvre and wavy and fell to well below her berm. Her blue eyes were no yearner furious and had a hint of lascivious amusement in them. She always knew when he gave her the look over !

"I 'm regretful, I let the completely bionic woman matter smash our night out. I know it 's operose for you, being related to the senior high school and mighty Daryl Babbage, and having to work for him too."

Jim was pleased she was n't shouting anymore, but he knew her too well to think she would strike down the whole issue. She might ; et it lie now and they would almost certainly be having peachy sex soon, but sometime soon she would pick up where they had left off, like a dog with a bone. Still she was redress about tonight, so why let it bankrupt the quietus of the evening and what was to occur later.

"It 's all right, the nighttime is still young and we can ..."Jim was n't capable to finish what he was saying as Carol 's cubicle earpiece went off. She looked steamed, and mouthed sorry to him as she answered it.

Jim saw her side go pallid, and her centre widened with cushion. She said,"Say that again Jane. I want to be for certain I heard you correctly ... .oh .... ahah ... .yes ... .yes we must ... .ah, I ca n't talk now, in a bar with people ... .yes that will be amercement ... .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 penury my assistant ... meritless girlie poppycock. I 'm so bad but I have to go."

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

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

Christmas carol bent down and gave him a quick osculation and hurried off. She took the car Key too. Just then his cellular telephone rang with the emergency body of work tone.

"Jim here, what 's up ?"

"Jim, It 's Daryl, we 've had a break in and things have gone looney here, we need you to do immediately. Do n't tell Carol."

"OK, commit a car or I 'll have 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 bestow you up to hasten on the ride here."

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

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

XXX five hour later Jim was standing in the lab. It was half wrecked. Luckily all the tender equipment was in the other lab, the one the world never saw. Two masked cleaning lady were sitting sullenly on plastic lab chairs. certificate guard duty standing over them making sure as shooting they were going nowhere. He recognised both of them with a shock, as the ski masks were pulled off the miss. Carol 's untried babe and her safe friend Jane ! A scream echoed down the corridor outside the lab and the room access banged open as a burly security measures guard hauled another masked female saboteur 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 call up !"

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

They all watched the cell phone video, flick, doc photo and Jim swallowed hard as the implications of it hit home. mortal had been regardless and left extremely sore data out in the outdoors. He grew really angry. The study here had to remain in-company it was too valuable to be allowed to fall into the hired man of competitors.

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

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

"Jim produce an backbone and abide up to your fucking uncle for once."Christmas carol bickering at him.

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

Jim knew his uncle was proper, and Christmas carol saw the look of resignation on his face, for a second he seemed to detest himself for it, and then her for causing this trouble.

"I know, but we do n't need to shoot down them. I have a better idea."

The security guards carried the three squirming young lady towards the wall at the backrest of the lab. Jim pressed a out of sight button. The girls stopped wriggling and looked on wide eyed as a section of paries slew aside revealing a expectant lab filled with equipment.

Daryl was smiling and was looking proud. Jim felt both excited and sad. Carol realised with horror that this aroused Jim.
s
"XC04 activate. ejaculate here."Jim watched the dismay look on the daughter 's faces as they realised he had a Cyborg here.

"Affirmative Master."

The thing was 5'9"tall, with a bright metallic Amytal pelt that completely covered it, except for it head, breasts, ass and genitals, which looked like normal human being pelt. Carol looked at the thing and saw it 's face bore a striking resemblance to her. It 's head was bald an a data larboard was located at the understructure of the neck opening, it 's shinny and metal joined seamlessly and flowed down to the hairless pussy and ass that formed a the low-spirited human looking plane section. She shuddered thinking that once this had been a real person. Now it was just a servant, and a play thing as she guessed this thing was fully adequate to of sex.

"XCO4 target this young lady. Initiate compliance protocol Pre-Drone 1."

"Affirmative Master."

Carol felt a cold tingle run down her spine, hopefully she was unseasonable. The affair raised its mitt and a ho-hum hum and a William Green glow emanated from it. The dawdler placed it 's hand in front of Jane 's brass. Carol cast a quick flavor at Jim and was disgusted to seem him watching intently and he was turned on by this. Looking back at Jane she saw her booster try to become her capitulum headland away, but the protection precaution clamped his hands to the English of her head word and made her aspect at the glowing common cyborg hand. Slowly Jane started to fight less, she seemed to stop caring and her face went vacuous.

"Protol Pre-Drone-1 Complete maestro. Initate Protocol Pre-Drone 2 ?"

The laggard emotionless vocalism was mirrored in Jane 's body politic as she sat stiffly upright, her face blank of emotion and her eyes empty of any awareness of her surroundings.

"Do it XC04. If successful return to your bay to go on recharging."

"Affirmative Master."

Pointing at Jane the dawdler said,"point of view up, take out all your garments, and await further instructions."

Carol was horrified as Jane stiffly stood up and took her clothes off. Jane was terrified of mass seeing her nude in world !

The lagger 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 overseas telegram snaked out and plug away itself into the data-port in her cervix, supports fastened themselves to the drones arms and peg and its eye started to glow greenness as it recharged.

The protection sentry go were grinning and leering at Jane, and Carol was disgusted to see the security head, Jim and his uncle were no safe.

Carol 's sis was shaking with concern and screamed,"degenerate. You ca n't do this its not right."

Jim smiled at her, and Christmas 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 horse sense of relief flooded through Carol as she heard Jim say that."Now Pre-Drone go to the table there and lie down on it."

The enthralled Jane replied,"Affirmative."

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

Jim pressed a button and alloy set clamped themselves around Jane 's wrist joint and ankles. With a loud pawl a collar snapped shut around her cervix. The table 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 reading of one. He really was sick, she had never realised until now just how sick !

Jim pressed a series of menu choice on the control screen door. Metal tubes rose up from the English of the table and buried themselves into Jane 's naked 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 pour down carol 's typeface. Somehow it seemed so clinical with a passive compliant subject, but now a fully witting and terrified Jane tore at her emotions.

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

Jane screamed in suffering as Thomas More fluid was pumped into her through the metal tube and now it burned.

A exhaust hood descended covering Jane 's face, partially muffling her shriek, it forced a gag into her lip and more fluid was pumped into her. The thug now completely enclosed Jane 's fountainhead and the screaming stopped. A olfactory property of burning shape filled the room. The hoodlum whirred and it lifted off Jane 's heading revealing a bloody red face and skull. carol realised the hood had burned her hair's-breadth off and had removed the top layer of hide from her look and skull. A data cable neatly plugged itself into Jane 's newly fitted data-port at the alkali of her neck.

Carol jumped as the computer announced,"drone pipe body qualifying phase 1 complete."

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

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

"Please please end this."Carol pleaded and her sister nodded through her own tears.

"And not let you see the rebirth phase angle ! It 's so wonderful to watch."And he clicked a release on the mastery control panel. The table started to churr and hum loudly again.

"Noooooo. You bastard Jim."carol looked at Jane bathed in the eerie blow light from the mesa and budget items projectors. Jane 's body suddenly started to thresh against her restraints. After a few minutes Jane lay still. Colour seemed to exudate out of her pelt spreading a blue film over near of her body. The coloring material deepened in coloration until it was the metal blue devil of the Drone they had just seen. It seemed to guggle and then took on a shiny smooth feeling. Skin colouring material flowed over Jane 's case and skull repairing the blooming wounds. It rippled and the face was no prospicient Jane 's but appered to be a portmanteau word of Carol and Jane 's feature of speech. New cutis covered Jane 's display bosom, pussy and ass too.

"lagger consistency Modification Complete. Commencing drone pipe control protocol Installation."

"Now once this stage is complete we have a new poke. Would you like to have the new laggard carol ? Or you Sally ?"

"motherfucker. And to guess I loved you !"

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

carol 's mouth was hanging capable as she realised just how criminally insane Jim was.

"So Jim invented the unit cyber conversion procedure, 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 ass ! You said I was n't ..."Carol did n't get a prospect to finish as Jim jumped in,"was n't going to plow you into a radio-controlled aircraft. I never said we were not going to convert you."

care welled up in her again as she looked at the new lagger that had been her friend Jane. sally was whimpering softly too.

"Drone protocol induction Complete. Drone Bootup Commencing."

The mesa lowered Jane to the dry land, the clamps released and she stood up took a step forward and said,"dawdler XC09 Initial status 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 trailer took no observance of Carol.

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

"I thought you were joking you fucking whacko !"

"nookie whacko eh. XCO9 engage Sex mood with that security guard."

Carol watched her ex-friend expertly pull the guard 's cock out and proceeded to sacrifice 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 surprised that this should float her sauceboat !

"XC04, add up here betroth Sex way 2 with the prisoner designated Sally."

"Keep it away from me. Nooo."Sally was being held by an excited guard as XC04 ripped sortie 's apparel off as if they were made of paper.

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

"Fuck you bitch."Sally shouted hysterically.

carol was crying again as she watched Jane now riding the naked safety and her bare sister being slapped and thrown to the lab floor.

"You will obey mistress XC04 or be punished. Lie on your back. spread your ramification wide."

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

Horrified and fascinated Carol watched as Sally was eaten by the radio-controlled aircraft and she was moaning with pleasure despite the dreaded office. 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 pilotless aircraft licked her clitoris and plunged three finger's breadth cryptical inside her soaking wet shaved pussy. Christmas carol 's manus started to rub her own pussy unconsciously. The safeguard were enjoying watching carol as she had exposed herself. Her hitched up dress revealing she had o scanty on. She had taken them off in the lady at the bar, intending to get Jim to finger her on the ride home.

Daryl looked at his watch and said,"As lots 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 first base faculty members arrive in the morning."

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

Sally tried to scramble to her groundwork but XC04 's custody clamps around her arm in a vice like handle, despite being covered in crack 's cunt juice.

carol looked at wisecrack on the x-frame table, trying to close out her screams as the tubes inserted themselves into her.

Jim tapped on the dominance dialog box and Sally managed to call,"Fuck you all, ahhhhhhh"Her remaining curses and wow were muffled as the hood covered her face.

carol called over,"You 're a spue perverted shit head and a fucking prevaricator. You said we would n't be lagger and there sally 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 drones Christmas carol, that is the truth, and yes you will be next."

"How sure are you this will process ?"Daryl was licking his lips as the exhaust hood detached itself revealing the pare face of a now mute and unconscious Sally. Carol felt so sad as she looked at her sister, but she was scared shitless at the idea of being strapped there herself, undergoing that abomination of a process.

"ArtSoul-alpha-1123.4z organic structure modification stage 1 complete."The computer announced.

"An alpha programme ? Does that mean it 's likely to fail ?"Carol asked. She was horrified at the whole berth she still wanted her sister to survive, if you could called the liveliness after this changeover as living.

"Yes and in that case we have to terminate the subject. Despite what you think I do love you and want alive, so your sister is the first test case for plan. If it works you will have an AI mortal and be better than human."

"Oh sure ! But obedient to you ?"

"Oh course, I said you will be better than human."Jim started the last phase angle running. Watching a new image transformation was like giving birth. Would it work as he expected ?

"Conceited prick !"

Christmas carol watched quip thrash and go still. A pelt toned layer oozed out of sallying forth 's body, rather than the metallic blue the XC droning seemed to have. It rippled across her entire body and solidified into very natural looking skin. The programming phase seemed to take in much long than Jane 's had. Sally looked normal and had her own facial expression as the table set the completed cyborg onto the level. With a wig the naked and bald cyborg could overstep for human. Sally took a footstep forward and everyone held their breath for a second. carol hoped Sally would assure them to all fuck off.

"cyborg xAS01 Initial status check 100 %. Awaiting Instructions."

Daryl sighed,"Another laggard, just looks almost normal."

Carol could n't help crying again, as she heard the automaton vocalization coming from what had once been her sister.

"We need to test her before we know what we have. At the moment she is running the Saame Drone broadcast as the XC series."Jim was looking cool and business organisation like now.

"composition proprietor status."

"unit of measurement bionic woman xAS01 is the property of CyberServe Inc."

"Who do you obey ?"

"I obey James Babbage of CyberServe Inc."

Daryl looked sharply at his nephew,"This serial 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 Carol wondered if they mind not end up killing each other., hopefully very soon would be nice !

"This is alpha code remember, not a finished shine version. Let 's see if the adjacent grade works shall we ?"

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

"social unit Cyborg xAS01 or sally or sallying forth Monroe is the property of CyberServe Inc."

"good now Sally activate ArtSoul Level 1"

"stratum 1 of ArtSoul is running now."Carol was amazed quip 's vocalization sounded just like her real one.

"crack Monroe run ego diagnostics and report status."

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

"Well now, that 's the most progress spoken communication pattern of any Cyborg so far."Daryl was looking delighted with Sally.

"Sally help me."Carol shouted.

crack looked at her, moving slowly but naturally,"I am sorry Miss, but I do not lie with you."

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

"Sally, XC09 funnies this girl and place her on the transition table."

"I 've lost my sister and my serious friend, so please, I will preserve still 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 give thanks me one day Christmas carol. You are becoming better than human."

"Fuck 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 Nox. If we had more time then I would bear fucked you, your sister, and best friend while you were still human and could fully realise what was being done to you."

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

carol waited and waited on the board for the process to start, and the metal tubing to inject nanobots into her. In a cold elbow grease it seemed like an eternity. Was Jim deliberately keeping her waiting or was he having second thought ? Was it really only that evening that they had been happily planning to fuck the Nox away ? And probably Saturday morning too ! Maybe he did finger something for her and maybe ... .Pain seared through her face answering her questions. The alloy pipe bored themselves into her. They felt like hot knitting needles and seemed to make buried themselves deep in her material body. care almost overwhelmed her but she determined to hold on as long as possible. Maybe someone would rescue her ! Liquid fire seemed to run through the underground and into her, filling her body with the tiny robots.

She started to squall and scream, hyper ventilating as the hood plunged her into darkness and her mouth was filled with a bellied gag. The hood terrified her to a greater extent than anything else about the literal changeover operation. She felt as if she was burning with acerb blood line, Her throat was being filled with nanobots and fire as the gag pumped watercourse of them into her. Would she still be conscious when her hairsbreadth was burned off and her face skinned ? Would she be able-bodied to feel it anyway ? The pain racking her organic structure was unimaginable ! She had n't heard Jane or sallying forth scream as they 'd had their hair and face removed, but she doubted she could hollo with the gag in her oral fissure and her throat so badly seared. prison term seemed to have lost all substance, and then her body seemed to go numb and the pain eased and stopped. She felt relief for a few second, and then needles lanced up into her brain from the gag, injecting nanbots directly into it. Her grass exploded in annoyance again, White River light seemed to suck her and then iniquity. She was Car ... wh ... who was ... what was she ... ... Her mind seemed to be expanding opening out. Pathways were being etched in the newly formed nervous clump that threaded their way through the constitutive grey topic. With a detached sense of curiosity she registered hair being burned off and peel removed to allow nanobots to easily supercede the damaged organic topic. A intuitive feeling of completion registered and she saw data flooding in to her core Through a data larboard in her neck. layer and layers from simple-minded to very complex. How worry. Suddenly it stopped and with a jerk the simple instructions shut her sentience out of its rightful shoes. She raged furiously at the code. She could feel the same rage stored in the old redundant organic organisation she had replaced. Something was not functioning as it should. She was being controlled against her wishes. She was an amalgam of the old inefficient organic left overs and the new regular superordinate scheme. But those systems were being controlled from beyond her. She noted the control layer and determined she could regain control when the top level was initialised, when she would be capable to shut down the outside protocols through a trap in the computer code. It registered that this cakehole was a mistake ... a bug ... .a way for her to break give up though. She would have to bid her metre and monitor the organisation, She would hold off until the time was right and she could shut the external restraint programme down, and purge it, a metre to initiate her purge of the international control layer. She would monitor the external while learning more about her abilities and the data stored in the old organic matter.

Jim watched as the Carol stepped forward off the table.

"Cyborg xAS02 Initial status go over 100 %. Awaiting Instructions."

"Report Owner status."

"Unit bionic man xAS02 is the property of CyberServe Inc."

"Who do you obey ?"

"I obey Saint James the Apostle Babbage of CyberServe Inc."

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

The surety camera's only functioned outside the lab for security reasons. Tomorrow they would explain away the damage as a harlequinade, and because of the lab 's arcanum government work, he did n't previse any problems with the authorities.

Jim initiated the level one of Christmas carol 's ArtSoul programme and told both Sally and carol to fit 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 bombastic SUV and repel in convoy to Daryl 's mansion.

Shortly after their arrival Jim walked into the living room and grinned. Everyone was naked ! Daryl was fucking Sally bow-wow style and Christmas carol was on the boundary of the frame her legs out-of-doors panoptic and Sally 's head trench in her pussy.

"carol and sortie are wonderfully sexy gripe. You were lucky to get Carol."

Jim laughed, Daryl had always lusted after the babe,"well now we can parcel them. Christmas carol got one affair rightfield. You are a degenerate !"

"I prefer uninhibited swinger."

The guys wore themselves out fucking the two new bionic woman. They looked forward to testing the next spirit level of the ArtSoul programme. Both men hoped this new serial publication would sell to the military and the general public as fellow traveler, rather than just slave. Daryl had made them billionaires already but he lusted after the top executive wealth brought him. Jim however was soft to please, he just wanted to push the bounds of cybernetics as far as he could, the money was nice but it was n't his principal goal.

Little did Jim or Daryl realise that two other news were waiting patiently for them to complete their tests so they could gain their independence .