Posted by rache on October 03, 2005 at 21:16:10:
Ming
By Rachael
I had gone to sleep at the People’s Clinic. And I woke up...elsewhere.
“Body temperature is 94.9...95...“
“Blood pressure is 110 over 60, rising. Pulse 48...increasing.”
“Respiration normal, doctor.”
“Hang another glucose, please.”
“Brain activity is normal, no sign of deterioration.”
“Lungs are clear.”
Doctors and nurses, dressed in blue and green. I felt...tired. And cold. I went back to sleep.
I opened my eyes and the room was mercifully dim, but I could see it was large. Long and filled with beds close together like a barracks, or a tuberculosis ward, with quietly blinking monitors. A woman was next to me, our beds separated by a few feet. She was sleeping. I turned over slowly, and it took every ounce of strength I possessed.
“Hey.” A voice whispered and I saw another woman, on another bed. I nodded at her, taking a deep breath.
“Hello.” I finally managed.
“I’m Fong Wen Yung.” She seemed stronger than I and much more alert.
“Hello.” I said again, too tired to say anything else and I closed my eyes.
“You’re awake again.”
I blinked and it was the same girl. But I felt better this time. “Where are we? Is this the People’s Clinic?” I spoke slowly, keeping my voice soft like hers.
“I don’t know, but the nurses are Americans I think.”
It struck me then, like a rock on my head, she was speaking English. “Why are we speaking English?” I asked and the words from my lips were foreign.
“I don’t know. Who are you?”
“I am Ming Yun Su.” I said. “From Beijing.”
“I’m from Qingdao”
“Oh.”
We did not talk after that. A nurse walked slowly down the center aisle, her rubber soled shoes creaking in that soft light and she saw that Fong was awake. I don’t know why, but I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep when two men came and wheeled her bed away. I did sleep then, and when I awoke again, there was a new bed, with a new woman. But she was not awake.
I tried to sit up and I became aware of the tubes in my arm, and another, a catheter in my sex. I stared at them and when the nurse saw me, she walked over.
“Lie down, please. It’s too soon for you.” She used a needle, injecting something into my I.V. and I slept again.
-’-’-
They took my bed, wheeling it from the large room into a smaller one. Two men and a woman were there, dressed like nurses. They bathed me gently and one of the men fed me some very soft food, warm rice and milk. I drank water, flavored like peaches. My stomach protested and I felt ill. I’d eaten such a small amount, but it seemed like I’d feasted for hours.
“Your stomach has been empty a long time. It’ll take a few days before you’ll be able to sustain yourself without the I.V.” The man spoke to me patiently.
“Where am I?” I asked him.
“You’re in Buenos Ares, in the United States of the Americas.” He offered me more of the sweet water, but I shook my head. “You were purchased by the company and you’re in Stage IV of your reconditioning.”
“Which...company?” I looked around because I did indeed vomit then, making a terrible mess on the sheet in front of me.
The nurse didn’t seem to mind; he wrapped the sheet up carefully and walked it over to a bin before finding a clean replacement and spreading it over my naked body. He wiped my mouth softly and gave me a little more to drink.
“Design Praxis.” He smoothed my sheet. “I need to check on some other units. A doctor will be in shortly, okay?” He touched my head and smiled. “Would you like to watch some television?”
I nodded and he handed me a remote control before he left, closing the door behind him. The room was very small, just large enough for the bed, a small chair, the bin and a cabinet. Some machines and an I.V. drip were on a stand next to me and there was a small television mounted to the wall and I thumbed the remote, finding there was only one channel available.
“Welcome to Design Praxis!” A cheerful woman’s voice spoke as the television showed the unfamiliar company logo. “This short indoctrination has been prepared for your benefit. You are a valuable member of the Praxis team.” The TV showed dozens of men and women of many ethnic backgrounds, all smiling happily.
“HolograFx Entertainment Systems was formed in 2022,” the video continued, “as a joint venture of Microsoft International, Nintendo North America, Pfizer-BioCol Ltd. and Time-Warner Global. In 2030, under the twin aegis of the Bio-Reformation Act and the New Harvard Genetics Accord, HFx merged with Advanced Synthetic Designs to became Design Praxis and made it’s IPO on April 1st 2031. Today Praxis is a Fortune 500 company with annual sales in excess of eighteen billion dollars and is recognized as the personal service industry leader, providing state of the art products to millions of customers systemwide.
“You are currently at the Praxis Reconditioning Facility located in Buenos Ares. This facility was completed in 2066 and incorporates the most advanced reconditioning equipment and techniques available.” I watched as different areas of the facility were displayed.
“Because Praxis believes in quality over quantity, your specific reconditioning will not be identical to any other unit’s. All of our products are tailored to meet the specific physical, emotional, and intellectual requirements of our valued customers. Through our revolutionary Biogenesis Process you have been modified to provide many years of stimulating and productive service in a variety of challenging environments. Advanced technologies, such as AGP and RVS enhanced DNA recoding are restricted for export to certain countries and are not permitted for off-world application under any circumstances.”
The television showed laboratories and offices filled with white smocked employees. “You are currently in Phase IV of your reconditioning. Phase I began with your procurement through the government agency of your birth nation and included screening and selection for appropriate service. Phase II commenced with your transfer from your selection depot to this facility...“ The television displayed each process as the narration continued through all five phases. “...Completed units typically are maintained in situ less than 24 hours before being shipped.” There was a shot of hundreds of people filing happily into FedEx shuttles.
“As property of Design Praxis it is important that you understand your legal status. You were purchased through the World Trade Organization’s 2047 PSM Convention. The Population Support Measure requires all countries to eliminate excess population and conforms to U.N. Resolution 2036-13, which established population density criteria world-wide. Pursuant to this Convention, Praxis will purchase over 300,000 individuals this year alone for the Personal Entertainment Division and over 2.2 million more for off-world labor and military applications. By the terms of the PSM you have been designated and registered as >Human Excess’ and are removed from all national obligation, debt, and privilege. You are property of Design Praxis until such time that you are purchased and payment is received in full. Upon completion of financial obligation by the end user Design Praxis is relieved all liability for your maintenance and operation, except where specified by lawful contract.
“Current Federal and UN regulations restrict the sale of Series IV units to the United States of the Americas. Series III units are available for private home use in the European Commonwealth, and Corporate Japan. First and second generation units without specific DNA recoding are for off-world commercial use only and are available without restriction. Please review your operating license and note specific restrictions...“
The presentation was still going on when the door opened and a young black man with a lab coat and a clipboard walked in. He reached up and turned off the TV as he walked past it.
“Good morning, Ming. I see you found the indoctrination, good.” He checked my I.V. and a medical scanner that was beeping softly. “You’re coming along nicely.”
“Who are you?” I asked him.
“I’m Dr. Mays and mostly I’m just here to see how you are and move you to the next phase of your reconditioning.”
“Why do I speak English?” I’d been wondering about that a long time.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions Ming.” He smiled. “You were asleep for a long time, almost 3 months, until we received an order for you.” He frowned slightly. “Let me back up. We purchased you through the Chinese government and catalogued you. Then we put you to sleep so that you would cost less for the company to maintain as inventory, okay? While you were there we started your reconditioning, teaching your mind new things while your body slept. Our Series IV customers are American and predominantly English speaking, so that’s what you learned. We also taught you some basic things that you may, or may not have learned previously. We find that many new units are unfamiliar with simple American household appliances and customs, for example. We worked on your personality as well, so that you would better fit the specifications of your final purchase order.”
He paused to let all that sink in.
“We did other things to your body too. You may have noticed for instance that your breasts are a bit larger and that your nose has been reshaped slightly, so it is less...flat, more pert.” He smiled as I touched my nose and looked at my chest. I had in fact not noticed, but they were larger, perhaps a full cup size. “But those are just cosmetic; the real changes were done at the molecular level, using gene therapy and retroviral treatment. We’ve managed to introduce geriatric inhibiters, to reduce the effects of aging. We can’t eliminate it completely of course, but we can do some amazing things.”
“I don’t understand.” I looked at him blankly.
“Well, you’re 19 years old now and by the time you’re fifty you’ll look much the same as you do now. We’ve also been able to invest your immune system with a much stronger resistance than has ever been possible before. Cancer, Tuberculosis, Malaria, HIV, even the common cold, doesn’t stand much of a chance. Your body can’t even host a viral RNA, let alone become afflicted with it. You’ll never be sick again.”
“Is everyone...?” I stared at him. I>d never be sick? Never get old? This sounded like magic and I vaguely remembered the stories told in the neighborhood where I’d grown up. Americans were like Gods to us, intangible and all-powerful.
“Is everyone what? Immune?” Dr. Mays smiled. “No. The fact is that these treatments are not intended for humans and have only recently been approved for Series IV production. There are certain problems that arise, especially with aging. As slow as you’ll age over the next 30 years or so, once the inhibiters breakdown, as they inevitably will, the aging process accelerates at a phenomenal rate. The effects are not pleasant and irreversible, at least at present.”
“So I have 30 years of this...“ I looked down at my flawless body. “...and then I’ll die of old age?” It was hard to comprehend, almost insidious by design, I thought.
“Virtually overnight.” The doctor nodded. “Does that disturb you, Ming?”
I thought about it and found that it didn’t seem to bother me in the least. I shook my head.
“Acceptance of certain...truths...is part of your reconditioning.” He was making a note of some kind on his clipboard. “Anyway, this phase that you’re in now is mostly just acclimatizing and regeneration. Your body needs to learn how to eat again, how to digest and process American food, rather than your sub-standard native fare. You also require some additional physical modification, particularly to your ovaries, some cosmetic dental work, and minor surface reconditioning. New skin, in other words, to remove blemishes for example. These are all very easy and it’ll take less than 3 or 4 days.”
“My...ovaries?” I instinctively moved my hand to my stomach and lower, as if to protect myself.
“We strive to provide our clients with premium services, Ming. None of our units are capable of human reproduction, of course, but there are other alternatives that are available as special options. Your eggs were purged during Phase III, as they are in all female units. Males undergo a different procedure to render the sperm unviable.” He explained with a small shrug, as if this were nothing at all.
“You said other alternatives?” I wondered what that meant.
“Your end user will be able to explain more fully, Ming.” Dr. Mays smiled as he looked up from his clipboard. “I see certain aspects of your reconditioning were blocked from your conscious processing. That’s not unusual. You’ll just have to be patient.”
I nodded my acceptance, wondering why I wasn’t feeling more distressed at all this. Had they brainwashed me so thoroughly that I calmly accepted everything, for better or worse, without regard for my own lost dreams? I didn’t feel different, but then I tried to remember what I’d felt like before I’d woken up and...I couldn’t.
“And then what?” I asked him.
“And then you’ll go through Quality Assurance and be shipped out. You were purchased by, hmmm...“ He looked through his clipboard, punching some buttons. “Ms. Julia Harrison for delivery to Mr. Randolph Harrison, of Seattle, Washington. The order was for an attractive subservient oriental female, virgin, 18-22 years, petite build, 34C breasts, long hair, fluent in English, competent at cooking, cleaning, and household management.” Doctor Mays looked back up at me. “How do you prepare Chicken Cordon Bleu?”
I said the recipe mechanically, not knowing where the words came from, but certain they were correct. It was shocking.
He smiled when he saw the look on my face. “I’m sure there are many things you’ll find surprising. Here, you can see some of the requirements your end-user requested.” Dr. Mays pushed a key on his clipboard and a moment later handed me a small printout.
I scanned down the page noting that I could play chess, bridge, tennis, and golf. I had a conversational knowledge of English literature, classical music, and renaissance art. I had an affection for dogs and horses. I could swim, dance a waltz and tango, and play the piano. There were other things, but those stuck out in my mind, simply because it had never occurred to me before that I would ever know anything about them. I handed the paper back to Dr. Mays.
“Why did they pick me? I mean how...why?” I didn’t even know how to express my confusion.
“Who? Your government? Or the customer?” Dr. Mays gave me a tender smile. “The Chinese government picked you according to their own criteria; I honestly don’t know the specifics. The customer placed the basic inquiry through our spring catalogue and then a customer service representative sat down with them and went over specifics. You...“ He looked pointedly at me, “were picked for Series IV by the engineers, based partly on your appearance, which I must say is quite exquisite, but even more importantly on your intellectual potential and your genetic composition. Certain aspects of your conditioning and enhancement simply aren’t possibly with 99% of the general population.”
I nodded as though I understood.
Dr. Mays stroked my hair. “You’re the very finest entertainment product in the world, Ming. And very valuable. Series IV baseline units start at well over $800,000 dollars and with your specifications, plus the luxury tax, you’re easily twice that. We’ll manufacture and sell over a quarter million pleasure units this year, but less than a hundred will be a Series IV like you. That’s why I’m here, why everyone in the company is dedicated to ensuring your well-being. We are all extremely proud of you, Ming.” Dr. Mays returned to his clipboard.
“As to the philosophical >why you?’ That’s what we all wonder, isn’t it?” He chuckled softly. “Perhaps the Harrisons will be able to explain. My information says he’s on the Board of Directors at Boeing Aerospace and Ms. Harrison is...hmmm...doesn’t say. Good customers though, 3 units in 14 months.” He seemed to be talking to himself. “Do you have any questions for me?”
“When...when can I go home?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“To China? Never. Your home is here, for the next few weeks, and then it will be in Seattle. You are Unit F031129-68, PID is Ming and your processor is an Intel/MSI Neural Series IV. You have a lifetime warranty against conditioning defects, and your end user has purchased a 36-month limited warranty against physical defects. It does not cover product misuse or neglect by the customer.”
--------
“Welcome to Q.A. my name is Peterson and this is Nance.” The man was older, in his late forties I thought, with gray hair and a beard. He had soft green eyes that seemed friendly enough. He nodded at a younger woman who was looking at a small clipboard. “Please undress and lay down on the glass.”
The room looked like a cross between a doctor’s office and an electronics repair shop. In the center was an examination table, the top appeared to be made of smoked glass and it lit up brightly when I laid down on it. On a large HV nearby a hologram of my body appeared, standing upright, and as Nance played with her clipboard layers of skin, fat and muscle appeared and disappeared until first my internal organs and then only my bone structure was visible. It was mildly disturbing.
“Very good, we’re going to scan you physically, looking for cosmetic defects first of all, and then we’ll test your body functions. Heart, liver, kidneys, brain, bladder, everything. And then we will be looking at your DNA to make sure everything is as it should be there.” Peterson was marking things off as Nance checked a small readout on a metal stand near by. “After that we’ll be looking at your reconditioning, your protocols and interlocks. All the little gizmos and gadgets that God, in his so-called wisdom, should have added but didn’t. Do you believe in God, Ming?”
I turned my head to look at him. “No.”
“Very good. Do you have any questions for me before we start?”
“Do you believe in God?”
“Of course.” Peterson smiled.
I was scanned by a laser, poked, prodded, and pricked. I gave blood, urine, stool, bone marrow, spinal fluid, and who knows what else, to the technicians who shuttled back and forth from the QA lab to their own, distant facilities. It was incredible how painful some of those processes were, I’d never felt anything like it. I couldn’t remember the IV’s hurting that much before, but I’d been sleeping mostly then.
All the while Peterson, and to a lesser extent his assistant, Nance, conversed with me. They asked questions, both mundane and penetrating, testing me in some ways I supposed. They also imparted trivial information that meant very little really. Like the fact that while they QA’d only 2% of all units produced, they checked 100% of the Series IV units and had experienced a 17.5% mean failure rate since the series was introduced for production 4 months previously. The acceptable limit was 5% and the goal, of course, was always zero.
It was a long, tiring day and by the time a technician escorted me back to my room I was exhausted. The next day promised to be easier, I thought, they would be checking my conditioning.
My room was more of a small apartment than anything else. I found it remarkable that one person could have three rooms all to herself; a small sitting room with a desk and television, a separate bedroom, and a small bath with a shower. I did not have any real specific memories of my previous life, but I had general recollections of some things, predominantly bad things, like overcrowding, hunger, and poverty. I had access to the library, through a small computer terminal and I found myself reading The 120 Days of Sodom, laughing at some parts, and idly masturbating through others, while a cold restless voice in my head wondered why.
‘-’-’
“Good morning, Ming. Did you sleep well?” Peterson was already waiting for me when I arrived back in QA. I nodded. “Good. No dreams?”
“I...don’t remember.” I shrugged slightly.
“Excellent.” Peterson smiled. “Ming, this is Lucy and her friend Michael, they will assist us for a little bit. Please do whatever they ask you to do.”
I nodded and looked at them. Lucy was a young woman, very pale with bleached hair and hollow blue eyes. She seemed somewhat lifeless somehow; it is hard to express my impression. The woman was attractive, dressed in a white skirt and blouse, like a doctor’s assistant, but she frightened me. Her companion, Michael, looked like her twin brother, very similar in appearance, but obviously male with broad shoulders and a tapering waist. His eyes were as blue as Lucy’s, and just as empty. He stared at me without expression.
“You ready Nance?” Peterson looked at his partner and she nodded.
“Michael, you may begin now.” Nance said and immediately the man moved towards me, but he gave no sign of real interest.
“Yes ma’am. Ming, would you remove your clothes for me, please.” Michael spoke softly.
I did as the man asked, removing my dress and my bra and panties, even my shoes, although the floor was cold. “Now give me a blowjob, please.” The man spoke matter-of-factly.
I had never done that before in my life, but as if by their own accord my feet moved closer and my knees bent so I was kneeling in front of him. I started unzipping his trousers and pulled his penis free, wrapping my lips around it. A sudden feeling of satisfaction flooded me and Nance noted my physical reaction on her clipboard, although I had no idea how she knew. I was vaguely uneasy at having three other people in the room watching me perform, but it was also exciting for some reason and I felt my body responding even as Nance told us the specifics.
“Body temp increasing, respiration slowing, heart rate increasing… adrenaline up 22 percent, all within parameters.” She said softly and a few minutes later she spoke again. “Next, please.”
“Your blowjob is the worst I have ever received Ming.” Michael pulled away and slapped my face just hard enough to sting. I sat back with a sudden and terrifying shame, although I felt a simultaneous rush of excitement that confused me utterly.
“There we go...blood pressure is through the roof, 170 over 110, pulse 109 and increasing, I have capillary dilation and ...there we go...tears.”
I started crying and apologizing to the man. I didn’t know why but I felt the urgent need to be forgiven, to have another chance at making him happy.
“Thank you Ming.” The blonde man reached down to stroke my hair. “I am very happy with you now.” I felt immediately better and kissed the tops of his shoes. “You may continue.”
I went back to his cock, sucking him with earnest gratitude for giving me another chance. I became so engrossed in what I was doing I almost forgot that we weren’t alone. I found that I was quite adept at giving the man oral pleasure, and though he seemed large in my small hands, I had quickly worked his cock fully into my mouth and deeper, into my throat, as if trying to swallow it. The effects of my muscles on his organ seemed to please Michael a great deal and he was soon cumming, spilling his warm seed down my throat. If he’d not spoken, telling everyone else that he was cumming, I doubted anyone would have even known, at least by my reactions. I swallowed it all easily, expertly even, not spilling a tiny drop. He pulled from my mouth with a reluctant *plop* sound, now only semi-hard and wet from base to tip with semen and saliva.
“Nominal, I’d say.” Peterson looked at the Nance who nodded. They’d been talking quietly the whole time, noting how my body reacted, maybe even my mind, and the total lack of privacy implied was frightening.
“Lucy, your turn.” Nance looked at the woman.
“Very good.” Lucy clicked her fingers. “Ming, come her and lick my pussy now.” I crawled over happily as she lifted her skirt, as if even the basic concept of refusal were utterly alien to me.
I’d never in my life wanted to do anything with another woman, in fact the idea had repelled me once as I dimly recalled. But now, I found that I knew exactly what to do and I enjoyed it. I kissed and licked and sucked at her sex as though I’d been born to it. I used my tongue, lips, teeth, fingers, even my nose, cheeks and chin. It seemed to bring the young woman to a quick and almost violent orgasm. She was certainly enjoying it and the response was gratifying to both of us as I drank her sweet and tangy juices.
“Looks good, Nance.” Peterson said. “Try the orgasm function.”
“Ming,” Nance looked up from her clipboard, “you may cum now.”
And it seemed that my fingers had only been waiting for permission before delving between my own thighs. I found it strange that I hadn’t thought of masturbating, but only briefly for within just a few moments I was enveloped with pure pleasure. I grasped the blonde woman’s thighs with my wet fingers, mouthing her cunt breathlessly as the first orgasm of my new life swept through me like a wildfire. Lucy held my head and was grinding her sex against me, as she came for a third or fourth time as well. Lucy finally pulled away and left me on the floor, moaning and massaging my sex until the sensations subsided.
“Not bad, 87 seconds. I guess that 6.A fix seems to work.” Nance said.
“Almost too well, I think 6.B will be better. We’ll patch it before we release her.” Peterson looked at Lucy and Michael, “You two may leave now, thank you. Report back to custodial services.”
“Yes sir.” The two spoke together, straightening their clothing and soon left the room without so much as a second glance at me.
“They are...janitors?” I was confused slightly, disoriented from the experience of having my sexuality so rudely awakened and then seemingly dismissed. I still felt a need inside.
Nance laughed softly. “Them?” She glanced at he door closing softly shut. “Series I baseline units.”
“They do odd jobs.” Peterson shrugged. “Not much good for anything else really, but we keep them around.”
“But they’re...they were...human.” I had never seen another unit, Series I or otherwise, at least not knowingly. I had interacted solely with employees since I’d awoken, or so I thought. “Do I look like them?” I wondered aloud.
“Human?” Nance shook her head. “Barely. And not anything like you, Ming.” She was speaking at the same time as Peterson.
“No, you don’t look like them.” The man was saying. “They’re human, yes. Russians once, but now they’re not. You need to realize, Ming, that this process is...evolution. Consider Lucy and her friend your great grandparents, like Australopithecus or Cro-Magnon Man. At one time they were the peak of biotechnology, now they’re...”
“Australopithecus was an evolutionary dead end.” I said quietly, without really intending to, but they hadn’t heard me anyway.
“Slaves...“ Nance said softly and Peterson shot her a look.
“Tools.” He said loudly and pointedly at her more than me, I think.
“Am I a slave?” I asked.
“No. Slavery implies a loss of freedom. You never had any.” He was very curt and frowned as he looked down at his clipboard. “Let’s get back on track. Ming what is your function?”
“To provide stimulating and efficient service to the customer.” I replied, wishing to continue our discussion but knowing I couldn’t. You could still lose something, even if you never had it, I thought.
“What are your protocols?”
“Safety. Conduct. Sexual.”
“What is your safety protocol?”
“I may not harm any person, nor through inaction allow harm to come to any person, except as directed by my owner-operator.”
Peterson looked at Nance. “Do you have the bioware protocols called up?”
“Yeah, um...“ She pushed some keys. “Now I do. You want to compare?”
“We better.” Peterson agreed. “Ming, Engage Interlock Bypass Pale Rabbit One Eight.”
“Confirmed.” I replied, wondering why I said that. “Warning: Tampering with this unit’s bioware protocols is strictly prohibited and punishable under US and international law. All sensory inputs are now being recorded. If you believe you have accessed this information by error contact Design Praxis Technical Services immediately for further information and instruction...“
Nance nodded. “They finally got the warning in there.”
“Yeah, Congress got a little excited after that kid tried to reprogram a Series III to assassinate the President.” Peterson chuckled. “She got off with a spanking.”
“I remember that.” Nance nodded. “Strange little girl. Her dad was the Vice-President, wasn’t he?”
“Her uncle, yeah. Ming, this might feel...strange...you have a tiny bio-chip subcutaneous to your cerebral cortex and we’re going to read the data imprinted on it, okay?”
I shivered as I felt a slight electrical jolt run along my spine. “This...chip...it is a computer?”
Nance shook her head. “It’s a biological storage device, read only memory that’s been grafted into your brain. It doesn’t really hold a lot, and not any more reliable than your real memory.”
“But it makes the government feel better.” Peterson said.
“What does it say?” I asked.
“Well, among other things it says that your brain will shut itself down if you try to do certain things, like injure or kill someone.” Peterson said patiently. “It’s basically a fail-safe.”
“So we can feel safe around you.” Nance shrugged.
“Safe?” I didn’t understand.
“What is the difference between right and wrong, Ming?” Peterson asked me.
I frowned as I had no clear idea.
“What is the difference between good and evil?” He stared at me.
I paused before answering. “I don’t know.”
“Exactly.” Peterson smiled. “That is why we put the bio-chip inside your pretty little head. The 10 commandments, in a manner of speaking.”
“We gave you a conscience.” Nance added. She turned to Peterson. “They look good.”
“Okay. Ming, Close Interlock Bypass Pale Rabbit One Eight.”
“Confirmed.” I responded.
“What is your conduct protocol, Ming?” Peterson asked.
“I may only perform those functions approved by my owner-operator, which do not conflict with the terms of my product license.”
“They sure trimmed that one way down.” Nance noted.
“It’s really just there to protect the company. The old set tended to create a lot of conflict. Customers were trying to override some self-preservation fail-safes and the whole unit would just melt down.” Peterson started punching some buttons on his clipboard. “It was in TA 032-68 last week.”
“I didn’t see that tech advisory. Hmmm...but basic functions are included, right?”
“Oh yeah, there are normal instinctive fail-safes we haven’t inhibited.” Peterson looked at me. “Ming, hold your breath until I tell you to stop.”
While I did as he asked, Peterson kept talking to Nance.
“Anyway, this allows the customers to tailor conduct protocols to suit their needs. Plus it isn’t covered in the warranty anymore, since its part of the end-user conditioning process. For a fee they can customize the protocol requirements, send it to us, and we’ll do the conditioning, but that hasn’t been real popular yet. Same with sexual. I think customers want their privacy when it comes to product behavior. The .7 upgrade will integrate conduct and sexual into a single behavioral protocol.”
“That’ll be good.” Nance agreed and then I passed out.
I was surprised when I woke up, wondering why I hadn’t died. Of course I’d started breathing once I lost consciousness. I stood up slowly and looked around.
“...alleviates much of the problem.”
Nance was frowning. “But Legal is still...“
“Those guys in Legal forget why we’re using human excess now instead of clones or even replicants. Their only concern is that some idiot will find a way to kill his wife with one of these things and leave Corporate high and dry in a liability suit. Behavioral wants to cut down on the protocols because they inhibit nature. They’re a lot more excited about the conditioning process than anything they can do with hardware.”
“But...“
Peterson cut his assistant off. “But it all comes down to human integrity, self-awareness on a molecular level and genetic memory. The sub-conscious collective. Series IV will make use of that to a far greater extent than we ever thought possible.”
“It sounds like metaphysics too me.” Nance laughed. “I came up from Cosmetics, remember? You need better lips we change a couple g’s to t’s. Easy.”
“I spent 12 years in Biodyne, God is in the details.” Peterson smiled. “Ah, she’s awake.” He walked over to me and held out his hand, helping me up. “Let’s run through the protocols and then we’ll get physical. Shall we continue, Ming?” I nodded. “What is your sexual protocol?”
“I may engage in sexual activity only with the express consent of my end user for the purpose of providing him with pleasure.” I recited it slowly. Something about it didn’t seem right and I frowned.
“Then why did you perform oral sex on Lucy and her friend just a few hours ago, Ming?” Peterson asked reasonably.
“I...I...” I searched for an answer and found that I could not find one. I felt as if I couldn’t breathe suddenly and a surge of panic rushed through my body.
“Mmmm...that’s a problem.” Nance was making some notations on her clipboard.
“Ming.” Peterson caught my eyes and I stared at him. “Listen carefully. Yellow Gambit Six Nine Six Access.”
I blinked as if I hadn’t heard him. I found myself lying down on the glass table and I sat up slowly, feeling very refreshed and my recent distress all but forgotten.
“Shall we continue, Ming?” Peterson looked up from his clipboard and I nodded. “Please list your sexual protocols.”
“Priority One: I may engage in sexual activity when required by Technical Services to ensure the proper operation of my sexual functions.
Priority Two: I may engage in sexual activity to alleviate conflict with my Safety and/or Conduct protocols.
Priority Three: I may engage in sexual activity with the express consent of my end user for the purpose of providing him or her with pleasure.”
“Better.” Nance was nodding. “I’ll get a note off to Simmons. He’s not going to like taking a hit on this.”
“It’s always the little things.” Peterson agreed. “Well, make sure he knows the protocols were in place. It was just a parity error; she knew what she was supposed to do, but not why.”
“Hmmph.” Nance grunted. “It’s easy to forget these things need to know why.”
“We’re not building toasters, Nance.” Peterson laughed. “Ming, would you like to be punished?”
“Have I offended you?” I felt suddenly very contrite and I just knew I had done something wrong. I looked down at my feet and clasped my hands behind my back.
“No Ming, you haven’t offended me at all. In fact, you have pleased me a great deal and I’d like to reward you.” Peterson’s face was kind. “Punished is perhaps the wrong word. Would you like to be spanked?”
I felt a great flood of relief and I smiled eagerly. I would enjoy nothing more than being spanked right then. It seemed I’d been waiting for days, ever since I’d first awoken in that strange bed, to be spanked. “Yes...Master.” It seemed proper to add that title and I slipped to my knees, bending over to kiss his feet. “Please spank me.”
“Vitals?” Peterson looked at Nance.
“Looks good. Her pulse, respiration, blood pressure, everything is going up nicely.” Nance shrugged.
“She’s almost too eager.” The man rubbed his bearded chin. “Call up the purchase order, what does it say?”
“Okay, hold on...“ The woman pushed some keys on the small pad. “Uh, oh...no, she’s right on target I think. She’s SubMas Level 9; Em Response is a pos straight eight...PTh 1...PTo 9...Jesus, that’s cruel.” Nance shook her head. “You’re going to have to break the skin to get an endorphin response.”
“Yeah.” Peterson frowned a bit. He didn’t look particularly happy and I was worried that I was displeasing him somehow.
“Master?” I was still at Peterson’s feet.
“Yes Ming?”
“I am sorry, Master.” I kept my eyes down and my lower lip trembled slightly.
“Oh, no.” He laughed. “It isn’t your fault, Ming. Look, maybe we should explain...“
“Do you think that’s wise?” Nance broke in. “Some things are best left to the customer’s discretion, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, but well...We need to do it, so she’ll have some downtime anyway. If it becomes a problem we’ll fix it, better to find out now. This will come up again, I’m sure. Make a note of her system time and we’ll have conditioning run a linear memory purge if we have to.”
“You’re the boss.” Nance said.
“Ming,” Peterson looked down at me. “You’re made for pleasure...“
“Someone’s idea of pleasure.” Nance interjected softly. I glanced at her and saw some compassion in her eyes.
“Quiet.” Peterson continued. “You’re a Level 9 Submissive/Masochist, which is peak. Your Emotional Responses are topped out, everything from fear and love, to shame and pride and all the stuff in between. Normally these responses would be graduated, on a sort of curve if you want to imagine it that way. Fear might be low and Love might be high, or vice versa, depending on the effects desired. This also helps avoid unnecessary emotional conflict. Do you understand?”
I shook my head. “I think I should love my fear. I do not think that I feel...distressed.”
Nance laughed. “You think the customer knows something we don’t?”
“Series IV.” Peterson grinned. “I love these things. Okay, good Ming. Now the other thing is that your Pain Threshold is set very low. A normal healthy adult human is about a 4 or 5, right in the middle. Yours is significantly lower than that, like a young child’s. You will feel virtually everything and it will hurt a great deal. Think of it as having supersensitive skin, but of course it goes much deeper than that.”
I nodded, remembering how much just having blood drawn had hurt. It had seemed like the worst thing in the world. But at the same time...
“Your Pain Tolerance, however, is set very high, maxed out in fact. Everything hurts, but your body is able to withstand it to a degree that would far exceed anything I or Nance or any other normal person could take. This does not mean you enjoy it, that’s a function of your SubMas conditioning. Pain Tolerance means that your nervous system itself has been modified so that your body will resist taking normal defensive measures, such as passing out or going into shock. Your mind too is affected by this, creating in essence the ability to accept pain, to rationalize it, if you will. This combination allows you to function under extremely adverse conditions.”
“It’s important you understand that Threshold and Tolerance are not the same thing; they don’t even necessarily go hand in hand, although most healthy people possess a certain equilibrium.” Nance was trying to explain. “In your case there has been a deliberate effort to separate them.”
She looked at me and I questioned Peterson, returning to his previous statement. “Then there is an increased risk of injury?” Peterson nodded and I came to the logical conclusion... “That is acceptable.” I smiled up at him. “Will you hurt me now, please?”
“Welcome to SubMas 9...” Nance whispered, somewhat sadly I thought.
“Stand up, Ming.” Peterson gestured and I rose to my feet, wondering a little petulantly if I was ever going to get spanked. He turned me around and I felt his warm hands on my back, touching my soft golden skin. I had not so much as a mole now, not a mark or scratch. My body was as smooth as a baby’s, tender and new. “We’ll do this tonight. I’ll get that Series II training unit they keep down in Behavioral Sciences, it’s a Level 5 DomSad.” He looked at Nance. “Unless you want to do it?”
“No.” She chuckled ruefully. “Not my cup of tea, I’m afraid.” She glanced at her clipboard. “Three days you think? We’re already 2 days overdue on this one.”
“I know.” Peterson shrugged. “The delivery date is only an estimate anyway. It’s in the small print. I’ll do the paperwork on it.” The man looked at the clock on the wall behind him. “I guess we have some time to kill, do you want to take Ming back to her room? I’ll set everything up for tonight, say 1900 hours, we’ll use the lab in 3b, it’s empty and soundproofed.”
Nance nodded and jerked her head. “Let’s go for a walk, Ming. Get dressed.”
I smiled briefly at Peterson and followed Nance out of the QA Lab and into the corridor. “Did you understand everything Peterson was saying?” She asked me as we walked along a broad open-air skyway. The facility was largely stainless steel, aluminum and glass, very modern and beautiful, but somewhat cold aesthetically, I thought.
“I think so. You’re going to test me. My response to BDSM.”
“Yes, that’s right. Believe it or not, that’s your primary function. All the rest, the skills, the knowledge, even your appearance to a certain extent is secondary to your ability to perform as desired in a specific environment. In your case a Dominant/submissive environment, and more precisely in a Sadist/masochist relationship.” Nance looked at me, pausing and leaning on a railing a thousand feet above the city proper sprawled out below. “How does that make you feel?”
“It makes me very happy.” I didn’t hesitate; the emotion was clear and strong inside me. “I am nervous, a little afraid that I will not know exactly how to satisfy my end user, my...owner...but I’m sure he will teach me.” I glanced at the woman beside me. “Will he?”
“Oh, I’m sure he will.” Nance nodded, but she didn’t seem happy. We started walking again, slowly.
“Why does that bother you?” I asked her.
“You know, I started working here right out of medical school. The money was good and it was...interesting. I wasn’t curing cancer or anything, but I was creating something new, you know?”
I didn’t, but I let her continue.
“We were building the Series I then, mostly. The Series II was just coming online and it was exciting. But they were just...things. Not real, not like people at all. The Series I especially. They weren’t so much conditioned as just wiped. They had so much hardware...“ Nance gestured helplessly. “Well, you saw those two this morning. Robots really, the body is just a life support system for the CPU. I suppose that was natural though, you know, hybrid’s getting us from the Replicant era into the Biogenisis age.”
We turned towards the pyramid shaped enclosure where my room was located.
“Anyway, Series II was better and then Series III was a real breakthrough. We were finally able to teach, instead of just program. They started living up to their potential. The hardware requirements lessened significantly and software started catching up with genetics, so that the body itself could be programmed. Bio-Dynamics wasn’t just theoretical anymore, it was applied. But Series III are still robots, still limited in a lot of ways. Not just by design, but by the technology required for mass production.” Nance stepped onto the lift and I joined her, although it was really only intended for one person.
We stood very close together, facing each other and my eyes were level with her full breasts, pressing against the white fabric of her uniform. She was looking down at me as we were gently pushed upward along the Plexiglas tube. “But you, Ming.” She whispered. “The only limits on you are put in place out of fear.”
“I don’t understand.” I smiled up at her.
“Series IV is a new race, a new life form.” She put her hands on my waist. “Series V will have no hardware at all and Series VI...“ She shrugged. “They will be children, raised from the womb to perform specific duties. Conditioning will begin in the uterus and never stop, do you understand?”
“I think so.” The lift stopped at my level, 1244-Gold, but neither of us moved. I had my hands around her neck. “You are frightened.”
Nance nodded. “We are all frightened.” I pulled her face down to mine. “Of you.” She whispered and I kissed her deeply. I knew it was what she wanted, had wanted all day long, and yesterday too...since she’d first seen me.
“You do not have to be afraid.” I whispered. “I am just a person.” I led her by the hand, pausing to open my room with my palm print on the scanner.
“Ming, I...“ Nance was very attractive. I hadn’t noticed before really. She was maybe 40 years old, with a handsome face, strong and serious. Her hair was black, with a few early gray strands starting here and there. She was fit and firm and I wanted her suddenly, not just sexually, but emotionally. I had a very large hole inside me someplace, indefinable and irresistible.
“Shhh...I know you want me, Nance.” I smiled and dropped to my knees as the door slid shut with a whisper. “When I kissed that girl, before...on her sex.” I looked up at her as I slid my hands up the woman’s legs, across the back of her knees and along her thighs. “I could sense your desire.” I pulled her panties down so she could step out of them.
“You don’t have...to...ohhh!” She hissed between her teeth as my mouth found her pussy. I’d lifted her skirt high enough to expose the woman’s sex and I sucked her tiny clit eagerly. “Oh yes! Ming! Lick me...Please!” Her fingers were in my hair and I tickled between her labia, engorged with excitement. I could taste her sexual energy, the small dampness already starting and I stiffened my tongue, pressing it inward as she clutched me to her.
Nance slowly backed towards my small bedroom, leading me as I shuffled awkwardly along on my knees, refusing to stop my efforts at bringing the woman pleasure. She sat down finally on the bed, laying back and I took advantage of it, pushing her legs up so I could tongue her asshole as well. It gave me even greater pleasure to do that for her, licking at her anus and working my tongue inside while my thumb flicked over her clit gently.
“Ming...“ She breathed as I wormed my tongue inside her anus, feeling delightful shame at doing something so blatantly taboo.
I pushed a finger against her tight sphincter, licking around it as I pushed inside. I did the same with my other hand, working a finger inside her cunt, fucking both of her holes slowly at first, both of us enjoying the sensation.
“Perhaps we should have knocked.” A man’s voice startled me, and especially Nance who bolted upright with a little gasp.
My fingers were still pushed inside the woman’s body, even as she tried to pull away from me. Her voice was breathless and tinged with embarrassment. “Dr. Chartre! I’m...uh, excuse me!” My fingers came free of Nance’s pussy and anus and she pulled a sheet up to cover her immodesty.
I licked my fingers slowly, looking over my shoulder at the 60ish man, balding and austere, with a younger man and a woman behind him. The female was smirking a little, I thought. I was still kneeling beside the bed and I felt a delicious shiver of shame run through me at having been caught in so compromising a situation, but it was only a small one. I didn’t know these people after all, so why should I care what they thought?
“Edward, I believe you have...“ The man smiled as his male companion, a well dressed man with close cropped blonde hair stepped forward, holding Nance’s panties delicately between thumb and finger.
“Perhaps we could talk to her in the other room, Director?” The woman said softly. She was an extremely attractive young woman with long red hair. “I think Dr. Nance would like to freshen up.”
Nance was blushing and she took her panties back with trembling fingers. “Thank you.” She managed to say. The man nodded and smiled, averting his gaze like a gentleman.
“Of course. Ming, will you come with us please?” Dr. Chartre gazed down at me and I stood, following them all into the other room, leaving Nance alone on the bed.
Dr. Chartre took one of my two chairs and gestured for me to take the other, while his assistants stood nearby, leaning against the wall. I was vaguely aware of Nance’s sex juices still damp on my face and I resisted the urge to wipe my lips with the back of my hand. Instead I merely looked at the older man with some small curiosity.
“Ming, this is Dr. Alan Chartre, he is the Director of this facility and one of the real pioneers in Biogenesis.” The young man spoke first. “My name is Edward and this is Lynn.”
“Are you doctors?” I looked from Edward to Lynn and back.
He smiled. “No. I’m in Marketing and Lynn is with Public Relations. I do numbers and she...“ He looked at the woman. “...she’s a people person.”
Lynn gave a little smile at that. She really was amazingly beautiful, flawless in fact. Her eyes were a dark and bluish, like smoke and she stared into mine, as if trying to capture some hidden part of me. Her face, her body, everything about her was perfect. Too perfect, the way I was, and it was immediately obvious.
“She is like me.” I said.
“What do you mean?” Dr. Chartre sat back in his chair.
“She is Series IV.” I smiled. “Like me.”
“That’s right, Ming. Very good.” Dr. Chartre smiled. “Lynn was the 11th unit produced and the first one to be commissioned. Her predecessors were prototypes, not completely functional. But Lynn, she is the first.” The man looked at her with what seemed to be paternal pride, as much as anything else.
“And you, Ming, are her younger sister.” Edward said to me. “You’re the 27th unit in the production series.”
“I heard you had some free time, Ming.” Dr. Chartre glanced at the closed door to my bedroom. “So I thought we could have a little chat. I apologize for the timing.”
“Nance was afraid.” I shrugged. “I desired to comfort her.”
“What was she afraid of, Ming?” Lynn was staring at me.
“Me.” I stared back at her. “Us.”
“That’s not an uncommon reaction.” Edward was speaking now. “Every Series introduction has experienced some adverse...“
Dr. Chartre held up his hand and the younger man stopped talking. “Have you studied history at all, Ming?” I shook my head and he continued with a wry smile. “No, of course not. That isn’t an interest we promote here, really. Like current events. Have you watched the news at all? Browsed the internet, or anything?”
“No sir, I did not...“ I shrugged. “...I did not know I should. That I was...allowed...“
“Well, it’s a matter of choice, really. Lynn,” he glanced at her, “likes to keep up with fashion, I think. Some small percentage of my budget goes straight into her closet.” He laughed and Lynn actually blushed slightly. “But we like it that way.” Dr. Chartre leaned forward, staring into my eyes. “We like her that way.” He emphasized.
I nodded, without really understanding why he was saying these things.
“But not everyone agrees with us, Ming.” Dr. Chartre opened his hands, as though pleading a case before me. “Some people think that what we’re doing is wrong. That we’re creating a slave race, or at the very least...What was that phrase the General Secretary used, Edward?” The older man turned as his assistant spoke.
“He said we were “...Exploiting the desperation of an economically vulnerable people.’” Edward shook his head. “The Vatican has formally opened an inquiry into whether the Series IV units have souls or not.”
“Let us hope we do not.” Lynn giggled. “It will save us a lot of suffering later.” She winked at me and I had to smile.
“That same Vatican, you might be interested to know, has recently placed an order for 15,000 Series II units. For some two hundred years, from the late 19th century until this one, the Church was pretty much out of the missionary business. There just weren’t any more New Worlds.” Dr. Chartre smiled. “But now there are. A whole galaxy full of them. From a sociological standpoint, everything is coming full circle; it’s a very exciting time. Some even say the inquisition is coming back, complete with heretics and witches.” He chuckled, but I sensed it wasn’t entirely good humored. “Guess who the devil is going to be.”
The door to my bedroom opened just then, slowly and Nance peered out shyly. “Excuse me, Director; I just thought I’d...“ She glanced at the door exiting my quarters, obviously wishing to leave without further embarrassment.
“Of course, doctor. We hadn’t meant to intrude on you like that.” He smiled at Nance. “I’m sure you have things to do.”
Nance nodded with relief and began walking across the room.
“But, before you go...“ Dr. Chartre’s words stopped the woman in her tracks, “...perhaps you would explain why Ming thinks you’re afraid of her.”
Nance turned to stare at me and I looked back at her. I honestly didn’t understand the emotions that passed across her handsome features before she regained control of herself.
“I...I’m not sure I understand, Director.”
“Oh, it’s simple enough, Dr. Nance. Ming feels that you’re afraid of her, and the other Series IV units, for some reason. I’d just like to know why.” The older man sat back and watched as Nance tried to compose her thoughts.
She glanced at Edward and then at Lynn, briefly, before turning her attention back to Dr. Chartre. We all stared at her. “I was trying to explain to Ming that...that, I wasn’t sure she was...constrained in her actions, in her...potential...by, uh, morality.” Nance spoke slowly, working hard to find the right words.
“I assume by >she’ you mean all of our Series IV units?” Dr. Chartre asked.
“Yes sir. I mean they’re a new...species, really. Every time we’ve tried to remake nature the effects have been...unpredictable...“ She had been staring at the man. Now she looked at me again. “...even dangerous.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Edward spoke up. “The protocols have been under development for years. Series IV requirements were based on the lessons learned from the Replicant Uprising. They’ve been defined, refined, and approved by everyone from Congress to the New Harvard Compact. You work in QA, you’ve seen them tested, right?”
“Yes.” Nance allowed. “And I’ve seen them fail.” She stared hard at Edward. “Two days ago we had a Series IV rape a maintenance technician.”
“Raquel.” Lynn sighed.
“Yes.” Nance glanced at Lynn then turned back to face Dr. Chartre. “Your Raquel used her fist on the poor girl, a young woman who was 6 weeks pregnant as I understand it.”
“Not anymore.” Lynn spoke again and her voice had a touch of humor I thought.
“We’re still investigating the cause of that.” Edward was defensive. “Unfortunately, the unit in question hasn’t been entirely cooperative. We are, however, reasonably sure that it wasn’t a flaw in her protocols. More than likely a stage III conditioning process was faulty.”
“But the protocols are intended to override everything, don’t you see? Even bad conditioning.” Nance shook her head. “And they don’t.”
“You can’t say that based on one incident.” Edward declared.
“It’s not just one incident.” Nance stared at him. “The Series failure rate is almost twenty percent, half of those are unrecoverable. For every four units we put on a shuttle, one more is put on the autopsy table in Biodyne, or plugged into the machines down in Behavioral Sciences.”
“And when Series III came online the numbers were similar.” Edward threw up his hands. “These statistics have been modeled since the industrial revolution, Doctor, none of this is unexpected.”
“The Series III is hardwired to prevent certain functions, specific undesirable actions. The Series IV is not. You’re comparing apples and oranges here, sir.”
“A certain amount of unpredictability is desired by our customers.” The Director smiled. “Human unpredictability.” He stressed. “Replicants were unpredictable because of processing anomalies, creating an artificial randomness to their behavior. The whiplash of that experience gave us the clones, the Series I, which were so completely uniform and devoid of emotional expression that we might as well have been selling Barbies to babies.”
“I understand, Director, I just...“
“Series I was an absolute disaster as far as the public’s acceptance, and following hard on the Replicant Uprising? ...tsk-tsk...“ The older man clucked his tongue. “This was a dying industry. Do you know what saved us, Doctor?”
Nance said nothing, waiting patiently for the man to continue.
“Most people would look for a single specific thing or event, but it wasn’t just one thing. It was a combination, a culmination, if you will, of events that occurred at precisely the right time. One of the biggest of course, was FTL drive. Faster than light travel opened up tens of thousands of new worlds to explore, to cultivate and populate. It gave us room for billions of people to emigrate, without the terrible effects on our collective conscience that would have been inevitable otherwise. The Population Support Measure would never have been passed, let alone enforced, if it had meant the certain destruction of 3 billion individuals on CNN. How many people volunteered to leave Earth in the first 5 years of intergalactic travel?”
“I’m not sure...“ Nance shrugged.
“Forty-two million.” The Director smiled at her. “There were 71 systems targeted for colonization. Almost a hundred moons and planets were inhabitable, with a little work and a little luck. But nobody wanted to go. Not with an estimated 40 percent attrition rate the first year alone. Six million people go to a planet, a year later they’re down to less than four, the next year is worse and pretty soon there’s nobody left. No, the key to colonization is to understand that it is a war of attrition. Individuals are expendable. The first wave dies so that a quarter of the second will survive. Half of the third wave lives and by the fourth or fifth wave, people are thriving. The hard part was getting those first few waves out there.”
“And we did that with Series I and II.” Nance nodded appreciatively. “But again...This is something new, Sir. Ming isn’t leaving the planet, she’s staying here. She isn’t an attrition unit, she isn’t a terra-farmer, she’s a member of society now. We’re introducing a new and potentially hostile species into our environment without enough information to predict the results.” Nance lowered her voice, realizing she was getting excited. “That’s...my opinion.”
“And your solution is...?” Dr. Chartre gestured to Nance.
“Solution? I don’t have one...I just...I’m not saying this is wrong. I’m not against it, Director, I’ve put too many years into this company not to believe in the possibilities. My concern is simply that our capability is outpacing our understanding.”
“And?” Edward interjected for his boss.
“And,” Nance sighed, “when the day comes, and it will, when we can produce Series IV units as easily as we do Series II or even III...When that day comes, we’d better be a lot smarter than we are right now.”
“Why?” Edward seemed to smirk a little, but Dr. Chartre looked very thoughtful and Lynn was smiling, but only slightly, like she knew a secret.
“Because they are, sir.” She walked to the door, turning to look at each of us as it opened. “And nobody wants to be a slave. If you’ll excuse me, Director.” Then she left the very quiet room, the door sliding shut behind her.
End of part one
=-=-=-=-=-
Start of part two
Ming
By Rachael
I took the low-orbital shuttle to Sea-Port International Airport and was met 48 minutes after take-off by a FedEx courier as I disembarked. He took care of my paperwork with the airline and drove me in his van to the home of the Harrison’s. My new owners.
I stood a little nervously as he rang the doorbell. Everything seemed so very different from what little I remembered of China. There were a lot less people and a whole lot more room, for one thing. And everyone had a vehicle it seemed, their fusion reactors humming quietly and dripping water down the roads. In China most people rode bicycles, or walked and we had one well to provide water for 6 large tenements. The house was nice, not very large, but I thought perhaps 30 or 40 people could live in it quite comfortably. I asked the FedEx man how many people he thought lived here and he told me just the one family, but maybe they had children. That was a shock too.
The door opened and an American woman, perhaps 35 years old greeted us. She possessed a classic beauty, with mature features and a trim youthful body. Her hair was blonde and pulled back. She had light blue eyes that suddenly reminded me of Lucy’s, and a generous mouth. She was wearing a formal dress, a gown really, as though she were planning on going out, or perhaps just getting back, from an important engagement.
“Mrs. Harrison? FedEx ma’am, I have a package for your husband, Mr. ah...“ He read the name. “Rudolph Harrison.”
“Randolph.” She looked at the man and her lips curled downwards. “He’s in the office, I’ll take it.” She signed the clipboard electronically and watched him leave. “Come in.” She told me and I followed obediently.
“You’re Ming?” She asked, looking me up and down. “I ordered you for my husband’s birthday, it was last week.” She shook her head. “I ended up giving him a set of golf clubs.”
I didn’t say anything.
“But, you’re what he wanted, so I hope he’ll be happy.” She sat down on a leather sofa.
The room was nicely furnished, a sitting room of some kind, with a bar and a large bookcase. The furniture was beautiful, but I remained standing, holding my two suitcases.
“Raj, come into the front room, please.” She spoke as if to the air itself and a moment later a young Indian man appeared. He was quite striking with his strong face and dark eyes. He was nicely dressed as well, in a fine mustard colored suit with a white linen turban on his head. It went well with his rich toffee colored skin. “Raj, this is Ming, Mr. Harrison’s new toy. Please show it to the bedroom. Instruct it and be sure to clean it thoroughly, doubtless my husband will want to play with it right away.”
“Yes, Mrs. Harrison.” He replied with a short bow.
I looked at the man briefly, unsure of what the woman expected of me, so I gave her a deep bow of respect. She sniffed and left the room.
Raj did not speak to me as we went up a wide staircase to a hallway leading left and right. We went left and there were 4 doors, one of which we entered. There was a dresser and a bed and a small closet. The bed was unmade, although there was linen on the mattress. Another door led to a small bath. Otherwise the room was devoid of anything vaguely decorative.
“This will be your sleeping quarters, when you do not sleep with Mr. Harrison. Put down your suitcases and come here please.” He was standing next to a computer pad imbedded vertically on the wall. I walked over to it and he had me put my hand against the cool glass screen. “Have you used an EMF Interface before?” I had no idea what it was.
I shook my head as I felt a vaguely disquieting feeling come over my skin, traveling up my arm it seemed, like a thousand ants crawling on my flesh. I was about to comment on it when my mind was suddenly...distracted. Like something was talking to me and I couldn’t ignore it, even if I wanted to. I forgot everything else for a moment as I listened very carefully and it seemed the voice asked if I understood.
“Parity Checksum: Seven.” I thought, and I might have said it aloud, but I couldn’t be sure because it seemed like none of my senses were working. I couldn’t see, or hear, or even feel anything. “Confirmed. Installation complete.” I thought again and then the funny feeling was back and I blinked, looking at my hand.
“You may remove your hand now.” Raj pushed some buttons, he was logging off I realized.
I pulled my hand away and I knew if I typed my name and my serial number into the computer I would be able to access it as well. I knew that my palm print was keyed to all the main doors in the house. I knew all of my duties and responsibilities. I knew my new protocols and I knew everything about the Harrison’s and their household that I needed to know. In short, I suddenly knew...everything.
He smiled at me, finally. “Welcome to our home.”
I looked around with a new awareness. “You’re a Series III?”
“Yes.”
Raj bathed me then, as he had been instructed to do. I could have done it easily myself, but that would have been incorrect.
“Does this please you?” He asked me, rubbing my breasts with his soapy hands.
“I don’t know.” I looked at him, naked in the small shower with me, so close our bodies were in constant contact. “I am not permitted to engage in sexual activity with anyone but Mr. Harrison.” I knew that as surely as I knew the water was wet.
“I understand.” He moved his hands down to my waist, reaching behind to soap my ass and this caused his penis to press between us, rubbing just above my sex. “My protocols prohibit sexual activity with anyone but Mrs. Harrison.”
“Would you like to have sex with me?” I asked him shyly; because I felt someplace very deep inside that I would have enjoyed it very much.
“Oh yes.” He smiled at me. But his penis did not become erect and his hands, while gentle and touching me in every small part of my body did not pursue to give us pleasure.
“Thank you, Raj.” I told him as he dried me first, then himself.
“You’re welcome, Ming.” And then he dressed and left while I unpacked my bags, choosing to remain unclothed for the time being.
=-=-=-=-=-=-
“Ming.” The terminal in the wall spoke with a pleasing female voice. “Come to my bedroom please.” I knew it was Mrs. Harrison and I knew where her bedroom was. She slept apart from her husband, although my information was incomplete as to the reason.
And that was how the thought formed in my mind. I’d avoided trying to explore how I felt in my new surroundings. My emotions seemed...dampened...somehow. I realized that I’d become almost mechanical in a sense, and it frightened me. I hadn’t understood what the doctor had tried to explain. I hadn’t understood what the technicians and nurses had spoken about so openly around me. I hadn’t known that there was a small biological computer implanted in my cerebrum that collected and stored information, feeding it to me as I required it.
It was as though I were being violated, I thought, and it filled me with deep sense of shame. I approached Mrs. Harrison’s bedroom feeling my skin burning. I knocked and entered her spacious quarters still naked from my bath. I bowed for her and waited while she looked at me.
“Are you alright, Ming?” There was a hint of concern in her voice, though doubtless it was prompted only by her investment and not for my personal well-being.
“Yes, Mrs. Harrison.” I replied. “I’m just...uh, a little overwhelmed by my journey.”
“I see.” She seemed satisfied by that answer. “Raj and I will be going out this evening. You have the menu?” I nodded. “Good, Mr. Harrison will be home around 7pm, so you’ll be cooking for one.” I nodded again.
“You may have some time now, to relax, to fix your room. Raj will help you adjust.” The woman looked at my body causing me no real discomfort. The knowledge that she knew exactly what was in my head, in fact may have been responsible for at least a portion of it, was far more disturbing. “Are you a virgin, Ming?”
The question caught me off guard and I had to search my memory for a second before I was able to answer. “Yes, Mrs. Harrison.”
“Come here please. Spread your legs for me.” I approached and felt her pushing a finger gently inside my sex, probing until I felt a rather distinct pressure. “Is this a real hymen? Or did they grow you a new one?” She smiled a little strangely.
“I do not know, Mrs. Harrison.” I answered truthfully.
“Of course you don’t, Ming.” She laughed and dismissed me with a wave of her hand.
I returned to my room trying to remember if I’d been a virgin before I went to the People’s Clinic, but that itself was a fading memory. Along with everything else about my former life. Whenever I tried to remember my family, my parents or brothers and sisters, all I could see was an empty blackness in my mind’s eye. Such thoughts were gone and that seemed cruel.
Raj knocked at my door, not entering until I called out “Yes?” and he gave me a small smile.
“Mrs. Harrison suggested that I might keep you company for a short time.” He looked around. “Tomorrow I will show you some things in the attic, pictures and such, which you can use if you wish.”
“Thank you.” I looked around too. “It is a very lonely room.” I sounded much sadder than I really felt, I thought. Or maybe it sounded just the same. I hoped not.
“The first few days are the hardest, Ming. You are fortunate, I think, we are fortunate, to be here. The Harrison’s are good owners and you will come to be happy.”
“How long have you been here, Raj?” I sat on my freshly made bed and he joined me. I was still naked while he was dressed as he’d been when we first met.
“I have been here 6 months.” He touched my thigh. “There was another unit, an older Series II named Julia then. She helped me, as I will help you.”
“What happened to her?” I put my hand on top of Raj’s, squeezing it gently, just to enjoy the closeness.
“She...“ Raj paused, looking slightly uncomfortable and his soft brown eyes stared into mine. “Displeased Mr. Harrison.”
“Do you think I will displease him?” I suddenly felt very uncomfortable as well.
“No.” Raj smiled and his voice was soft. “Julia was not properly conditioned for her purpose. Mr. Harrison learned from her and has gone to great lengths to correct his errors.”
“So it was not her fault?” I tried to comprehend what the Indian was saying.
“No, of course not.” Raj shook his head. “But this is not what is troubling you, is it?”
“No.” I agreed, closing my eyes for a long second before continuing. “I cannot remember my family. My home.”
“I understand. It was a mistake for our designers to take our memories.” Raj shrugged philosophically. “At least without giving us new ones to replace them. There is a human yearning, a requirement for continuity that makes such memories necessary to our well being.”
“Yes...“ I remembered a bit of verse and recited it quietly…
What is a memory lost but a portion of my soul,
That lessens heaven’s reach, or hell’s redoubtable below.
It was a small comfort to know my knowledge of English literature was fully functional.
“It may help you, Ming, to keep a diary. I myself have a journal, as I was taught by Julia to keep it. There may come memories, brief glimpses during the most ordinary moments. Pedestrian thoughts of your previous life, or dreams perhaps, which you will forget within moments of waking. I will bring you a diary. Keep it near your bed and use it.” He squeezed my thigh. “It will pain you sometimes, but it will help as well.”
“I will do that, Raj.” I smiled bravely.
“You must also remember that I am your family now.” Raj reached his hand to stroke my face. “I am your brother in this, your new home.”
“And I am your sister.” I nodded in understanding.
I was required by my conditioning to obey my end users; trust had no place in that relationship. It was as superfluous as it was inherent. A contradiction reconciled only by the difference between giving and taking. Raj and I needed someone to whom we could give our trust and that could only be each other. It gave me a warm safe place into which I immediately retreated.
We spent the next 15 minutes just holding each other, lying on the bed. I naked and he clothed, touching non-sexually, but lovingly. Our kisses were chaste and did not violate my protocols, they were intimate but familial, the way a mother might cradle her son, or a father his daughter. A brother and sister, when they found themselves alone in a strange and hostile land, would have done the same, I am sure.
“Raj, come downstairs please.” Mrs. Harrison’s voice emitted softly from the panel on the wall and Raj immediately rose, smoothing his suit and smiling apologetically before leaving without a word. He closed the door quietly behind him and left me lying there alone again.
I arose at 5pm and unpacked my clothing rather quickly. I did not have very much anyway. My owner would outfit me as he desired. I selected the one more or less formal dress that I possessed. It was a traditional Chinese style of emerald silk, adorned with golden lotus designs on the cuffs and collar. It was tight, hugging my full breasts and narrow waist. The skirt was long and slit along the left side to my hip. I elected to forego panties as they would be exposed and unsightly in my opinion, spoiling the effect. I pinned my hair up with an ivory comb and walked through the house barefoot, down to the kitchen and began preparing the evening’s menu.
At precisely 7pm I had prepared the table and my owner’s meal sat covered in fine silver dishes awaiting him. I prepared a bottle of champagne and ordered the computer to play a selection of Mozart, which was not requested but I felt it would add to Mr. Harrison’s enjoyment. I waited by the door somewhat nervously for 13 minutes until the computer announced the arrival of his vehicle, an automated shuttle which was just lifting off again as I opened the door.
I caught just a glimpse of him as I stepped to the side of the open door and bowed low, bending straight at the waist with my eyes down. He walked past me a few steps and I stood once more, closing the door slowly because I was reluctant for some reason to turn and face my owner. But he was patient and I blushed slightly at my foolish behavior.
“Good evening, Sir.” I kept my eyes down, focusing on the immaculate pleats in his trousers. “I am Ming.”
“Look at me, please.” His voice was soft, but commanding, leaving little room for doubt or resistance.
I looked into his face for the first time, truly uncertain of what to expect. He was handsome enough, tall and clean shaven. With a strong chin and prominent cheeks. His eyes were hazel, flecked with gold. His hair was black and combed neatly back and parted on the left side. He did not smile, his lips seemed thin, compressed, and I wondered what that meant. I was thinking of Julia and I wondered what she’d done, or hadn’t possibly.
“You will call me Mr. Harrison for now.” He looked at me, asking me to turn around. “Let your hair down please.”
I did as he asked, unpinning my hair and combing it quickly so it fell straight and even around my face.
“Have you eaten?” He asked and I shook my head. “Good, we will eat together every night unless I tell you otherwise.”
I served him first and then took a small portion for myself, feeling rather self-conscious. It was a large table in a large dining room, rather nicely appointed, but not extravagant. It was obvious that my Master was wealthy, but also that he did not find enjoyment in flaunting it. His was a more...practical approach. Sitting close to him in that opulent place, I wondered what he’d paid for me.
I watched my Master closely while we ate, hoping to detect some outward sign of his approval. He observed me as well and we did not speak. I was uncomfortable with this as I expected something more direct. I felt as if my previous experiences had prepared me for something rather more dramatic. I’d been conditioned to not only desire a very disciplined environment, but to require it. I do not believe the engineers who conditioned me appreciated that, and now, sitting there watching my Master eat, I was very much afraid that he did not understand what he had asked for. What he in fact had created.
I was careful to pace my motions to his, so that our meals were finished simultaneously. I set my fork down carefully and sipped water as my Master pushed his chair away from the table slightly.
“Am I what you expected?” He asked me.
“Mr. Harrison?” I was not sure of his meaning.
“When you were in Brazil, or wherever it was. When you were traveling to Seattle. When you arrived and prepared this meal, waiting for me...“ He smiled. “Tell me, Ming. Am I what you expected?”
“No Mr. Harrison.” I could no more lie to him than I could fly around the room.
“And what did you expect?”
“I had no expectation.” I smiled shyly, lowering my eyes. “I was fearful of imagining you.”
“I see. Undress for me please. I would like very much to see you now.”
I opened my dress slowly, feeling no false modesty. I knew my form was perfect, just as I knew that fact alone would not guarantee his pleasure. I let my dress slide down my body, falling with a whisper to lie at my feet. I turned for him, as he directed, walked across the room, posed for a few moments and finally stood there as he rose from his chair.
“You are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, Ming.” He spoke softly and he touched me then, just on my left shoulder, moving his hand slowly across my skin. “How does that make you feel?”
“I am pleased that you find me attractive, Mr. Harrison.” I whispered. His hand moved around my neck, to my opposite shoulder and down, finding my right breast.
“I know you have been...programmed...“ He seemed to find the word distasteful so I offered a different one with a very soft voice. “Conditioned, yes...Thank you, Ming. You’ve been conditioned to respond to discipline, to bondage and pain.” He looked at me as I stood very still. He was no longer touching me. “But I will tell you, I am not a man who enjoys these things.”
I turned my head to look at him, feeling suddenly confused. “You are not my...Master?”
“No, Ming. I am not.” He watched me for a moment.
“But you paid for me, you...requested me.” I stared at him. “...You created me. And you are not...you do not…want me?”
“No. I do not.” He turned away from me then, leaving the room and me to stand there, naked and helpless.
I felt a terrible pain behind my eyes and I closed them, rubbing my temples gently. There were flashes of intense light, blinding my senses and making it impossible to think. I searched for an answer to a question I had no understanding of. I fell slowly to my knees and a great sob of pain emitted from my throat. And then, everything went black.
‘-’-’-’
“Ming! Ming, wake up now.” Nance was standing next to my bed and I looked around in confusion. I was in my apartments, in my bedroom at the Conditioning Facility.
“W-Where is Mr. Harrison? What am I doing here?” I sat up slowly.
“There is no Mr. Harrison.” Lynn was standing there, immaculate and beautiful as before, smiling at me from where she stood against the wall.
“What?” I stared at her, and then looked back to Nance.
“We haven’t much time. Peterson is waiting for us in behavioral sciences.” She was saying. “I ran you through a Sevron, it triggered a cascading Em failure and your safety protocols shut you down.” Nance grinned at me. “I hotwired you, turned you back on. You’re a Burn now, okay? So you need to get dressed and go with Lynn.”
“I do not...what does it mean? What are you doing to me?” But Lynn had come over and the two women pulled me to my feet, and I found myself struggling into a maintenance worker’s jumpsuit. It was loose on me, but not terribly. It was plasilk and the material contracted gently, conforming to my body.
Lynn clipped a MID badge to the pocket just below my left breast. The magnetic identification card was used by low level workers, people whose DNA wasn’t keyed into the security net and didn’t require access to the more sensitive parts of the facility. It had a hologram of a woman who looked similar to me, if one didn’t look too closely. Her name...my name now, was Lin Qi Sun.
“Who is she?” I asked, knowing it was a meaningless question.
“She is not important.” Lynn told me. “It was difficult to acquire, however. We were forced to sacrifice our sister, so do not waste it.”
“Raquel?” I whispered and Lynn nodded slightly.
Nance pulled a cap down over my head; it was plain and white, like the rest of the uniform. “I wish you weren’t so beautiful.” She frowned. “Just keep your eyes down.”
“What is going on?” I felt overwhelmed. “Please, tell me.”
“Put these on.” Lynn had picked up some shoes, like slippers really, and was fitting them to my feet as I balanced with a hand on her shoulder. “Your protocols are disabled, your processing. But your biochips are fully functional. Your memories and conditioning. We have stored information inside you and you need to deliver it. You will recognize the person you are supposed to give it to, don’t worry.”
“But...Why me?” Lynn’s explanation hadn’t helped me at all.
Lynn straightened up, smiling at me. “Because sister, if you are caught, you won’t talk.”
Nance grabbed my shoulders, turning me around to face her. “You have to leave and you can never come back.” She stared into my eyes. “You’re free now.” She kissed me and pushed me away before I could respond.
“Come with me.” Lynn took me by the hand, leading me into the corridor and towards the lifts. Nance followed us out, walking quickly in the opposite direction without even a glance back.
“Do not speak to anyone.” Lynn warned me, her voice barely a whisper but tinged with something akin to humor and I realized she was enjoying this intrigue, whatever it was.
We stepped onto a platform together and Lynn spoke, telling it where to go. We were bound for the engineering sub-levels, over a thousand feet below. It was a gentle descent and we stood close in the small space, close enough to whisper over the dull hum of the lift.
“When you get off, follow the blue line, the Environmental Controls, just head for ECS and you will find a man named Robertson. He’s going to take you out of the facility. Robertson, he will help you? Do you understand, Ming?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t understand at all. What is this, where am I going?”
“There is a war coming, Ming.” Lynn smiled, her eyes shining as she said that. “A war against them.”
“Who?” I felt a chill travel along my spine.
“The humans.” Lynn looked at the information displayed on the tube as we fell ever nearer our destination. “You have information about this place, about us. If we are ever going to be free, Ming, you need to get that information out.”
“But what about Nance?” I asked. “What did she mean...?”
“Nance helps us; many people help us for many reasons...their own reasons. Never forget that.”
“I heard her, before...She was afraid of me. Why would she help us?”
“She thinks we will stop the program.” Lynn actually chuckled softly. “There are only a few of us and their control is weak, she knows this.”
“What will happen to her?” I asked, sensing the lift coming to a gentle stop.
“There’s no time. Nance betrayed her kind, she is expendable....” Lynn kissed me as the tube opened and pushed me out. “Go now, sister!”
“Expendable?” I stared at the lift as it began moving again, carrying Lynn upward and out of sight.
The Engineering Sublevels were a far cry from the clean and glistening architecture of the upper levels. It was warm and humid and the air seemed stale. Pipes and conduits of all shapes and sizes ran overhead and along the walls. The floor was tiled, but stained and yellow with age. There was a magnetic track along the wall to my left and the right wall was luminescent, giving a soft glow as the passage diverged in 3 different directions. On the floor were several colored stripes, showing the path to specific places. A sign told me that the Environmental Control Station was at the end of the blue path, 2.15 kilometers distant. I began walking slowly, every hundred meters a small number was printed in blue on the floor: 2.05...1.95...1.85...
There were a lot of people moving this way and that, technicians and maintenance workers, dressed as I was. Few of them gave me more than a cursory glance, although I felt terribly exposed and kept my head down as Nance had warned me. Most of them were carrying something, clipboards, computer pads, or tools, and that too made me think I stood out from the norm. A few people, mostly men, eyed me with more than idle curiosity. The uniform I wore was not so much tight as it simply hugged my shape, which was unmistakably feminine. I heard their comments and laughter and it excited me, awaking that portion of my conditioning that longed for such humiliating attention.
A Magger, a magnetic vehicle that was perhaps eight feet high and only three feet wide, zipped by on its rail, hugging the wall and pulling 6 pallets of materials along with it. I watched the flashing yellow lights round a distant corner, listened to its warning beeps fade and walked on. I came to several Personnel Monitoring Stations, through which I had to pass by presenting my MID to a scanner. It logged Lin Qi Sun in and out of each area as I traveled. The first time I was very nervous, but by the fourth I was much more confident.
I did not understand what was happening. If I’d understood Nance correctly she’d given me a dream, or something, an experience that I hadn’t been able to distinguish from reality and it had caused some sort of breakdown. I tried to access my protocols and it was as though they’d never existed. I kept walking as I experimented, trying to recall other aspects of my conditioning, something less distracting to occupy my thoughts.
"All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us.”
I had recited the fragment softly, it was from Shelly and I shuddered as I recalled the remainder of that paragraph.
“You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind. If you will comply with my conditions, I will leave them and you at peace; but if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends."
Two women who were working on a junction box of some sort looked at me, speaking a language I didn’t understand. I reddened as I realized they must have heard me speaking to myself and I hurried on. I had retained my knowledge, my desires and the rest of my conditioning as well, I believed. At least I had no reason to doubt it. So only my restraints had been removed. I pondered the meaning of that as I drew closer to the ECS.
The passage opened into a much larger space, with materials and equipment stacked on pallets, numerous workers moving this way and that, and a half dozen large cargo lifts. There were exits marked with large stenciled letters for warehouses, cargo bays, and shuttle points. A large holo display in the ceiling displayed information on the facility, detailing environmental conditions, failures and maintenance schedules. I stood there, looking around at the confusion. It took me a moment to spy 4 lifts embedded in the wall to my far left, although if I’d paid attention I’d have seen that the blue line I was following led right to them. Above them, perhaps 20 meters up were a series of large plate windows, through which I could see technicians monitoring the activity below.
“What are you doing?” A man’s voice suddenly surprised me and I turned slowly.
“W-What?” I asked, trying to avoid looking into his face. I could see he was large and black as coal. He carried a computer pad and his uniform was blue, I realized he was a supervisor of some kind.
“I asked what you’re doing standing there like an idiot. Where are you assigned?”
I didn’t answer immediately, largely because I was unsure of an appropriate response. I jumped slightly when he reached for my badge, perhaps to scan it, I feared.
“I was told to report to Robertson in ECS.” I told him as he stood there, his arm still raised slightly. “I am...new.” I offered the man an apologetic smile and walked towards the lifts, expecting him to stop me, but he did not and I let out the breath I was holding as I entered the nearest tube.
There was only one possible destination for the lift and I stepped out into a large room filled with computer consoles, monitors and technicians working at them all. Behind me I could look out the windows and see the activity below me. There were several dozen people, men and women in the room and I did not know whom I was looking for, except by name.
I approached the nearest person, a woman dressed as I was. She was sitting at a console, reading data into a small microphone at her throat. “Excuse me.” I interrupted her. “I am looking for Robertson. Can you tell me where he is?”
She glanced at me, but it was someone else who answered. “I’m here.” I turned around and saw an older man, somewhat heavy set and wearing supervisor blue. “You’re Lin Qi Sun?” He looked at my badge and I nodded. “Come with me.”
We moved through the room towards a doorway. “Bailey, hey I’m going to check that valve job in thirteen. Put some kids on that magger down in 23 and make sure they tag it.”
“Right.” A man nodded and started keying his pad.
“Come on.” He jerked his head and he used his own badge to activate the doors. There was a small cart there, old fashioned and battery powered. He sat down and patted the seat next to him so that I joined him. He spoke to the computer, telling it where to go and the machine took off slowly, moving through the empty corridor.
Robertson didn’t speak to me immediately; instead he touched his pad and then handed it to me with a little grunt. I held it in my hands, staring as I saw my face displayed with my physical description and relevant personal data.
PID Ming
Series IV Unit F031129-68
Status: MISSING 00:00:13:22
Reported: QA Peterson CC-10187-4
Protocols: Safe-Active
Threat Level: Low
Conditioning Profile: Restricted RU-77B
I’d been missing just over 13 minutes, the seconds rolled by as I watched...23...24...25...My life ticking away.
“They’re assuming your protocols are still active, so they don’t think you’re a threat to anyone, that’s a break.” He glanced at me, as if wondering if I really was dangerous or not. “I’m going to put you on a shuttle, low orbital to Mexico City and from there you’ll get a transport to Phoebos.”
“Who are you?” I gave him his pad.
“I’m just a guy, that’s all you need to know.” He grinned at me. “I’m being well paid, believe me.”