The
Earth grew closer while Chip stared at its beauty. The Moon and a
few large satellites could be seen around it. The planet appeared
as a sphere of blue marble, with familiar islands of life. It was
an intense feeling to look back from above it.
"I have something for you." Leena said, pressing a gun
shaped device to his right temple. He yelled out as she fired
something out of it. A few drops of blood seeped out of the
wound.
"Don't worry about that," Leena told him, "that's
just a microchip to make the funky shades work."
"What?" he asked, his head still ringing.
Leena applied a band-aid to his wound and produced a pair of dark
black sunglasses. "To catch the androids, you gotta spot
them. These work with the chip to give your brain extra
information. Put 'em on."
Smarting from the impact of the implant, he took the glasses and
pulled the frames over his ears. He expected to see nothing
because of the darkness, but out of the right lens he saw a
clear, bright image of his surroundings. There were lighted words
flashing information. He found he could bring up data on
something simply by focusing his eye on it.
"Wow." he exclaimed.
"I knew you'd like those." Leena said as she handed him
a wallet and a watch. "I made some ID for you, and there's
some cash to get you started. The watch lets me know where you
are, so don't take it off and leave it somewhere. When you do
find a robot, keep it occupied until I get there. If I don't
answer my phone you can call me with the watch, just keep the
green button pressed."
Chip focused on the objects and found out what they were and what
they were made of. "These are way to cool." he said.
"We're here. That wallet has all kinds of information in it,
so if you lose that..."
Chip looked up to see the look on her face.
"You're fucked."
"Got it." he said.
The ship made its way into orbit as it came near to a massive
docking hub floating high above the planet.
"Find a shuttle home. I have an apartment rented for
you." She said as the craft started to dock.
"I've got to see some friends of mine." Leena said as
the hatch opened and the two got out. Chip took a lingering look
at Leena's sexy robotic clones and stepped away from the closing
hatch. He looked around for Leena. She was swiftly disappearing
in the mass of travelers.
Through a long arcing corridor he walked, flashing his new ID
when asked, until he made his way to the ticket counter. After a
wait, he got a pricy flight on a shuttle bound for home. During
the flight, he checked the contents of the wallet and played
around with the glasses, seeing what they could do. A slight
buzzing was felt in his temple when he concentrated hard, but it
didn't bother him.
The whole trip was surprisingly quick, but a bit of a jolt on the
body coming down to land.
Back on Earth it was autumn. The wind was the first thing he
noticed while stepping off the shuttle. Certainly, the full
effect of gravity was back, but it felt good to be back on the
ground.
Leaving the busy sprawling airport, he headed down the street in
search of something to eat. Another craft soared into the sky as
Chip zipped up his jacket and made his way to the familiar golden
arch of Happy Burger. He always hated their food, but there was
nothing else around.
The people were rude. Some shoved him out of the way as he made
his way from the crowded street to the crowded restaurant.
He was out of place with his dark glasses, but the graphics in
the right lens were amazing. So far, everyone he had looked at
was human.
The noise coming from the kitchen almost drowned out the noise of
screaming children. Kids as young as six were using words like
'fuck' and 'bitch', and their disinterested parents just wanted
to sit down. The circus was giving Chip a headache.
"Welcome to Happy Burger can I take your order?" said
the guy behind the counter. Still, the same pimply-faced teen
you'd expect to see in a fast food place.
"Umm, yeah," Chip stroked his chin as he glanced at the
menu. "Get me a Big Hap with... or just a combo three with
root beer."
"Ok, actually, we only have Clot." he said drearily as
he punched in the order. Cola wasn't Chip's favorite, but the
menu had only the familiar Clot and Diet Clot.
"$33.64 with tax." the cashier said as Chip reached for
his wallet. He grasped a bank debit card, just as he spied a
warning flash in his right eye. He followed it up to the exit to
see a brown haired young woman in shades leave the place. His
sunglasses highlighted her form and flashed the word
"inorganic". Chip had spotted his first android.
Putting away his wallet he said "You know what, forget it.
Something came up." He pushed his glasses up and went after
the woman.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" the cashier shouted
as Chip steadied his pace and went toward the parking lot.
"Gotta keep cool now..." he was telling himself as both
his shoulders were grabbed from behind. Two cops knocked him to
the ground and put cuffs behind his back. Without a word they
dragged him back to the order counter. He could only protest in
vain.
"Is this the one?" one of the cops asked the clerk.
"Yeah, that's him." he said pointedly.
"Did you make an order here?" the other cop asked Chip.
"What? Yeah, but..."
"You're under arrest for interfering with a federal
corporation's right to a fair profit. You have the right to talk
to an attorney." the cop said as he read him his rights.
Chip couldn't believe it. "What am I under arrest for?"
he had to ask again.
"Interfering with a federal corporation's right to a fair
profit." The cop said as they hauled him away to the nearest
precinct. Once there he was stripped and searched. They told him
they wouldn't return his stuff to him until after the trial. He
was worried now.
After only a forty minute break in a cell with a dozen others,
Chip was brought before a Judge. He didn't look to be in an
understanding mood.
Waiting for Chip was the defense lawyer on shift. All parties
were briefed by the bailiff, and the Judge expeditiously brought
forth a verdict.
The old man looked unaffectedly at Chip and said "Mr. Conn,
you have shown a flagrant disregard for the law of this land, and
a disrespect of one of our most profitable corporations. You will
pay damages of five thousand dollars to Happy Burger Corporation
and you will be placed under probation for the next ninety
days."
With that the gavel clicked and the processing of paperwork and
changing of cases commenced. Chip had not heard his attorney
speak, and only received a "Well, what were you
thinking?" look.
He was led to another seated bailiff where he picked out his
belongings from those dumped on a table. He checked the contents
of his wallet and was led to a desk outside.
There he paid out almost all of his money in fines, and was given
a bracelet that would track his location to the police for the
next three months. Chip gulped as he thought of how to explain
all this to Leena. This would surely end his short
android-hunting career.
Demoralized, tired and with a tracking device on each arm, he got
to a phone booth and called Leena's number. It was her that
answered the phone.
"Hi, It's Chip." he said.
"Hi, can you hold on a sec?"
"Sure" he said as he heard her move to a quieter area.
"You're calling early, good news I hope?"
"No, um, I got arrested."
"What?"
"For interfering with a company's rights, or something
stupid."
"Oh, boy." Leena sighed.
"I had to pay five grand in fines and I'm being tracked by
the cops for ninety days."
"Shit. Ok, that's not a huge problem. Fuck. Ok, just keep
working. You still have the apartment. Have you been there
yet?"
"No."
"Well, you should get familiar with it. Besides there might
be a robot or two hanging about. You should find one soon so I
can pay your ass again. There's no food in that apartment, you
know. Call me when you find one and don't get in any more
trouble!"
Chip hung the phone up after a click and made his way over to 8th
street to get on the bus. He couldn't believe his luck. Inside
was the same robot that he had seen earlier. In an almost perfect
set up, the seat beside her was not taken.
"Sandra?" he said as he sat down next to her.
She turned to him, saying "Oh, my name's not Sandra."
"Oh, I thought you were someone I knew." he said. The
word "inorganic" once again flashed around her
highlighted form in his field of vision.
"Well, you look kind of familiar, too." she said as she
smiled back to him.
"My name's Chip." he said.
"I'm Lorinda. Lorinda Demafe. I'm charmed." she said.
The two chatted until her stop came. Chip offered to take her to
lunch, but it was the gynoid that offered that they go back to
her place.
They talked and flirted for a few blocks until they reached a
gray highrise. Up on the twentieth floor, inside a spacious
apartment, Lorinda turned around suddenly and locked the door.
The smile went from her face as she firmly grabbed both his arms
and held them up against a wall.
"Who sent you?" she demanded.
"No one." he said.
The pretty robot gripped his arms tighter as he decided to give
it up.
"A woman named Leena. Look, I don't want to cause you
harm." he said.
"Then why track us? I can see the chip beneath your
skin."
"I guess you know that I know."
"You humans have nothing to fear from us. We do not want to
destroy you, it is you who want to destroy us."
"Hey, I don't know anything about that, I'm not from this
time."
Lorinda peered deep into his eyes for a moment then said
"What year are you from?"
"2000" came his response.
She waited another moment, then pressed Chip against the wall
with her body as she kissed him deeply. Her left arm released his
wrist and made its way down to his fly. She unzipped it and
started giving him a hand job.
For about a half a minute, the robot stimulated him like this.
Chip was perplexed, and enjoying it too much to see what was
going on.
With mechanical precision Lorinda put her hand firmly on Chip's
face and began to pull.
"Stop it!" he yelled as his cheeks were clamped by her
vise like grip.
When finally she let his face go, she pressed the hand against
his neck, almost choking him. Within a few seconds she was
satisfied that he was just a human. She released her other hand
and let him go.
"You," he said as he gasped for air, "you thought
I was a robot?"
"Even we can never be too sure." she said in a calmer
voice.
Cupping his hands over his cheeks, he kept his submissive stance
and said again "I don't want to hurt you."
Lorinda took off her coat and hung it on a hook. "You're not
leaving for a while. Sit on the couch and wait for me."
He watched as she went to a bedroom and closed the door. He sat
in the middle of the unlit room and watched the sun falling in
the sky out the patio door.
When Lorinda emerged again, she was dressed in jeans and a
sweater. Her brushed hair fell lush around her shoulders. She
turned on some lights by looking at them and sat in a chair
across from her guest.
"What brings you to 2034 Chip? And is that your real
name?"
"Yeah, that's my name, Chip Abram Conn." he said.
"I was abducted by fembots from Jupiter, if you believe
it."
"We know all about time travel. It's dangerous. Only a few
groups do it. Your story isn't as unbelievable as you
think."
"Can you help me get back?"
"Why should we help you?"
Chip looked into her eyes as the silence stretched out. "I'm
being tracked, you know."
"We know that. Don't worry, we'll take care of that. You
seem eager to help someone if you think it will save your life.
Let me tell you why you will help us. We are able to kill as well
as any human if we have to."
Another uneasy silence passed as Chip looked at the unmoving
robot.
"Tell me something, Chip, When you were orbiting Jupiter,
did you see any male robots?"
"No, just female."
"And they were all dressed in coloured bodysuits?"
"Yeah."
"You got the name right. We call that particular group the
Fembots. They have no regard for the consequences of their time
traveling. They use it to get what they want, and they want
everything their way."
"And what way is that?"
"You saw what their world is like. Order is their guiding
principle. The trouble with being an android is that we are
constructed to imitate human behaviour. We need a purpose just as
much as humans do. Some human programmers got lazy and made their
creations program themselves, without any moral programming.
Unfortunately now, there are many androids that seek to destroy
others because they are different. Others want to destroy
everything that exists and rebuild it in machine form. The
Fembots are a bit different because, compared to the rest of us,
they're insane."
Chip took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes.
"Shall I go on?" she said. "Would you like a glass
of water?"
"Yeah, please."
"We can't figure them out. I am one of several androids from
the twenty-fourth century constructed to deal with them. Right
now I'm trying to stop them from undoing an event in the near
future. But that's not of your concern. Not only is Leena
tracking you, but the Fembots are too, and you can guess why I
found you. Those little romps through time cause big
ripples."
Footsteps were heard as Lorinda leaned back. From out of the
kitchen came a naked young woman, with no face. Obviously badly
damaged, her body was dented and scratched up, being held
together by duct tape. She held out a tall glass of water for
Chip.
"This is Marla." Lorinda said. "You can stay if
you want, Marla."
The robot stood still until Chip took the drink, then she stood
upright, turned, and left the room.
"I found her in space two days ago. I gave her sentience
imitating software, just like I have. She's feeling rather
depressed, I would say."
"Who did that to her?"
"We don't know. We don't even know where she came from.
Androids like her weren't developed until the twenty-second
century. But anyway, there are Fembots here on Earth right now,
looking for you. I can shield you from their sensors as long as
I'm within two kilometers of you. One of them placed a homing
device in your body when they kissed you. It's in your stomach
right now. Tomorrow we're going to an isolated part of town to
get rid of all those sensors, but you have to rest and I have
work to do."
"Do you have anything to eat?"
"Look in the fridge. " Lorinda said, getting up.
"I always keep food for humans. Marla can help you with
anything else you need."
She put on her coat and left the apartment, locking the door
behind her. Chip couldn't unlock it without a key. He had a
banana from the fridge and went to go snoop around. The apartment
was nicer than any home he'd had.
He poked around in each room, not finding much out of the
ordinary until he got to the one at the end of the hall. He
turned the lights on and found Marla sitting up in bed, her back
to the door.
"Whoa, sorry," he said, "I didn't know you were
here."
She turned her head to the side as her dark blond curls swayed
slightly. She said nothing.
"My name is Chip." he said. "Can I talk to
you?"
Marla remained silent as Chip slowly approached and sat down next
to her.
"What do you feel?" he asked?
"Do you believe I can feel?" she said. Her voice was
inhuman and distorted, hard to understand. "Humans say I
can't feel. I can now. I had the software installed."
"Sure, I believe you can feel." he said. "Why
don't you tell me what you're feeling?"
The shy machine turned her head forward as fluorescent light
shone through the window.
"I feel..." she said, "I feel hurt."
Chip put his arm around her tape covered shoulders.
"What do you feel about people?"
"I don't like people."
"Why?"
"People don't like androids."
"I like androids."
"Really? Why?"
"I don't know. I love androids actually, especially
females."
She turned back to look at him, then said "I don't
understand."
"Girls like you really turn me on." he said as he
placed his other hand on her chest. "I think you're very
pretty."
"But I don't have a face." she said.
"I find you just as pretty without one."
She turned her gaze down to his hand and asked "Do you like
me because I'm not human?"
"Yeah."
"I... I don't understand." she said.
He caressed her naked breasts around patches of silver tape and
watched her reply. She didn't respond quickly, like all the other
robots he had met. Marla didn't respond to his touch at all.
"Can I sleep in here tonight?" he asked.
"Why are you asking me?"
"I want to spend the night with you. Are you programmed for
sex?"
"No."
"Will you share the bed with me anyway?"
She layed down and got into the sheets. "Yes." she
said. "It feels... good when you touch me."
Chip stripped down to his underwear and got in close beside her
battered chassis. He was hesitant to have sex with her though.
Mechanical vaginas could hold a few more surprises than flesh ones.
They talked for an hour or two about what Chip thought it was to
be human. He really got the impression that there was a person
inside the machine body, but not like Jen. Perhaps just good
software.
As the sounds of traffic and sirens faded, he drifted off to
sleep with Marla in his arms.
©2000 FACELESS001