Authors: Sally Painter
“You mean hold down a job and provide
additional income?” Ellen asked.
She clicked the crystal again.
“That was when I began to believe you could
actually pull this off.” She restarted the hologram.
“I don’t know that I’d go so far as to say
we could put them in the workforce, but my plans are to have him fully
functional as a companion, not just a robot sex toy. He’ll be intuitive and
able to learn on his own.” She bit her lip.
Randi felt she’d revealed more than she
intended, yet not enough to tip her hand.
“I can’t believe this. I mean, do you
honestly think you can deliver all this?” Ellen stood from the table, shaking
her head.
“The first years of my career were a
learning curve. But for the last six I’ve been working toward this vision.
You’re the first person to know the capabilities I have planned for this
prototype. I want this job because Sexed Up is the only company in the world
that can provide everything needed for this model to become a reality.
Everything. From the R&D division, to the marketing.”
Ellen sat back down in the chair and
crossed her legs. She rubbed her chin with her fingers as though trying to
decide.
“When could I expect the operational model
for demonstration?”
“If all goes well, two months from start
date,” Randi said.
Ellen hit the crystal several times and the
images disappeared.
Randi looked over at her.
“That, Randi, is why you’re here. I have
complete confidence you can deliver the product and the hybrid organism we
discussed when you signed our employment contract. The future of our world
depends on your success.”
Randi swallowed the lump choking her.
Perhaps it was time to “fess up”, as her ancestors would have said.
“Now tell me more about the test sample our
R&D provided.”
“That sample convinced me Sexed Up can make
this happen,” Randi said and took a deep breath before continuing. “The
material was just enough for my experiment.”
“What?” Ellen’s mouth tightened.
“I had to know the quality of the sample
and the only way to truly know was to begin incubation.”
“You took such a gamble with our sample?”
Ellen was clearly upset. Her stare hardened on Randi. She’d expected surprise
from her new boss, certainly not anger.
“I assumed that was the purpose of giving
me the sample.”
Ellen straightened in the chair and gave
her a tense smile.
Randi glanced down, noticing Ellen gripped
the arms of the chair so hard, her knuckles turned white. Why was she angry?
Could Randi be misinterpreting anger for excitement?
“Go on, Randi,” Ellen coaxed.
“Well, the model is further along than I’ve
led you to believe.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Ellen leaned
forward with a look that sent a chill down Randi’s spine.
“Just…that I’m working on the project. It’s
impossible to accurately assess in sterile conditions so I’ve always worked on
prototypes from my home lab.”
“So two months?” Ellen asked, referring to
her earlier comment on when the first model would be ready. “You need two
months to do what exactly?”
“I’ve had the skeletal framework for over
two years, Ellen. As I said, I’ve attempted DNA enhancement previously, on my
own.”
“I understand. But if you’re further along,
why do you need two months? We should begin the DNA enhancement in our lab
immediately so we can grow the flesh over the titanium frame—”
Randi took a deep breath. This was where
she knew she’d end up at odds with her new employer.
“Randi?”
“I was hoping I might be allowed to do the
initial stages in my private lab.”
“Out of the question. The security risk is
too high. We are talking about illegal—”
“Please hear me out, Ellen,” Randi
interrupted.
Ellen stopped talking and nodded.
“The fact it’s illegal is exactly the
reason I wish to conduct the work in my home lab. I have the latest security
system on the market. It’s the Valente Demarko system.” She paused when Ellen’s
eyes widened. Randi had purchased the system right after signing her employment
contract, using a large portion of her sign-on bonus to pay for it. “It was
tested three times by three independent contractors. None of them were able to
breach the security.”
“Go on,” Ellen said, relaxing in the chair.
“If you allow me to conduct the work in my
lab, your company has plausible deniability. I’m sure your legal council would
agree.”
Ellen stiffened.
“And if you can say you didn’t know I was
doing this work then I will be the one to take the fall—”
“And you could go to prison for the rest of
your life, Randi,” Ellen said.
“My employment contract has a legal
assistance clause. I’m not a fool. I have no intention of serving time in
prison. Besides I don’t think the world will allow it once we go public.”
“But why would you be willing to take all
this on your shoulders?” she asked.
“Because it’s my work, Ellen. I believe in
what I’m doing. I’ve spent my entire career getting to this point. Can you
assure me that no one in R&D will leak the information? Think about it.
Once they see what is being created and just how successful it is—”
“My people go through the most rigorous
background and interviewing process—”
“I know,” Randi said, trying to stave off
the rising indignation in her new employer. This was not how she wanted their
first meeting to go. “But we both know how industrial espionage can be. I have
a lot of competitors who would love to ruin my career or steal my work.”
“I think your project will be safe in our
hands,” Ellen smiled.
Randi rushed to drive her point home.
“Let’s say you hired someone who passes all the security checks and goes
through the process, but that someone was hired several years ago. What if a
competitor selected one of your R&D employees with the intent to groom her
to be a mole?”
“Randi, do you know something I don’t?”
Ellen tensed, her lips pressed firmly together.
“Yes.” Randi sighed and tapped the button
on her palm-sized brief case. It expanded and returned to full size. Placing it
on the table to open, she removed a square chip. “I came prepared this morning
to share the information with you.” Her hand shook as she handed the chip to
Ellen. It was the only way she knew to convince the CEO. “I just received it
late last night from the investigator I hired.”
“You hired an investigator?”
“This is my baby, Ellen. I’ve protected my
research by hiring my own security specialists and investigators. I don’t mean
to be insulting, but I don’t trust anyone or anything when it comes to my
research. I can’t afford to.”
Ellen placed the chip on the table in front
of her and tapped it. A hologram opened.
“Do you recognize her?” Randi asked as the
miniaturized female with dark hair materialized above the table.
“That’s Doctor Eastman. She’s been on staff
for five years. I know her personally.”
“So do I,” Randi said. “And I always
believed she was pro-male. We often bumped into each other at conferences.”
“I remember when you were introduced in the
lab and you commented you knew each other. I was surprised, but pleased you
would have someone familiar on your team. Are you saying she’s a mole?” Ellen
laughed as though she found the accusation incredulous, but the worry in her
eyes betrayed her.
“I was out sailing last week and passed her
rig. I only got a glimpse of the woman with her, but I thought I recognized
her, so I had my investigator check into it. The next vid you’re going to see
is the one she took this past weekend.”
A new scene opened in front of Ellen. The
brunette was with a taller woman on the deck of the sailboat.
Ellen squinted and tapped the chip to
enlarge the images.
More video showed the two women kissing,
oblivious to the investigator filming them from a nearby boat. When the other
woman stood to trim the sails, the image zoomed larger.
“Oh my God, Agnes!” Ellen gasped. The color
drained from her face. “That’s Agnes Lechum.” She looked past the hologram to
Randi. Fear shone in her eyes. “She’s the daughter of the Anti-Male movement’s
founding mother.”
“And known for her talent—”
“In industrial espionage,” Ellen finished.
“How could my security not be aware of this?”
Randi shrugged, knowing Ellen would be
replacing her security staff the moment she left the office.
“I’ve seen enough.” Ellen tapped the chip
and the hologram disappeared.
“The relationship is only a month old,”
Randi said.
“So Lechum made the first move around the
time I hired you,” Ellen said more to herself.
“This is why I must insist you allow me to
continue working from my private lab. I have everything I need.”
“You’ll need to divide your time between
both locations.”
“I can do that. It’s nothing new.”
Ellen grew silent and seemed to be mentally
struggling with the request. At length she took a deep breath and nodded.
“Very well, for the time being until I can
be assured my company is free of moles, you may work from home, but once I’m
convinced everyone checks out—”
“I understand,” Randi said, knowing it
would take some time for a thorough sweep to be completed within an
organization as large as Sexed Up.
“For the time being, I think I’ll keep Dr.
Eastman close to us. Feed her some juicy misinformation while you work secretly
in your lab. She might prove very valuable to us. Do you have any kind of model
we can use as a decoy project?”
“I have three. You can select which one you
want to use. The specs are here.” Randi handed her another chip, relieved Ellen
was agreeable to her request.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have some security
issues I need to address.” Ellen stood stiffly from the table.
“May I suggest something?” Randi asked.
“What?”
“Well, it may sound odd, but why do
anything?”
“Excuse me?”
“It might tip our hand to security. If no
one knows but the two of us, then they will believe they are safe. It’s
unlikely any of your security personnel are aware of Eastman’s betrayal. In all
likelihood she is working by herself. Lechum is known to work with only one
mole. Too many people involved means a greater risk of discovery. If anyone
else in your company is involved, she’ll reveal herself soon enough.”
Ellen folded her arms over her chest.
“They’ll make a mistake if they think no
one is on to them.”
“I like the way you think, Randi. For the
time being, all of this will remain just between us,” she said and held out her
hand.
Randi clasped it in a firm handshake.
“I’ll review the projects and let you know
by this afternoon which one we’ll use. Thank you, Randi, I’m glad we’re on the
same team.”
Randi smiled, relieved her project would
remain in her private lab until she was finished. Her thoughts rushed back to
the man she’d left in her bed, waiting for her return. What would happen when
his mind caught up with the nanites currently supporting all his bodily
functions? Would he learn to override the remote control? How much of his body
would continue to develop? Would he grow organic organs to compete with the
mechanical ones the nanites had built?
Her theory encompassed brain development.
She believed as he grew stronger and his body matured that his brain would
continue to develop and integrate fully with the nanites. His mind was the
overriding component she had focused on, leaving the bodily functions to the
nanites. It was the only way she could stabilize the incubation. In theory,
once the process was completed, the brain would eventually take over and the
nanites would become more of a backup system. In theory, Randi reminded
herself.
Right now, he was an organic machine with
steel components, even though his brain was one hundred percent human. She
gnawed on her lower lip. Whatever he was, it was clear he was more than ready
to prove his sexual prowess. Well, she’d have to wait until she returned home
to discover just how human he was.
* * * * *
Randi took a deep breath and held her
finger poised over the “on” switch. Excitement snaked up her spine as she
recalled the morning’s accidental demonstration. So they would just pick up
where they’d left off and she’d see what he could do. She stared at him.
His hair was light brown and neatly cut,
not too short, but falling just above his ears, which was perfect for the
overall design of his face. She couldn’t have chosen a more classic look had
she been able to program it. That ability would come later when she began
second generation DNA cloning. The physical result lying in her bed was the
direct result of pure DNA. She was just lucky the subjects originally selected
for sampling were above-average males. This one reminded her of the Greek
statues recovered after the cataclysm and on display in the Museum of Lost
Civilizations. While donors had traditionally been screened with very high
standards, there had been no guarantee how he would look.
With second generation DNA, gene
manipulation would assure buyers had at least three choices of facial features
and body build as well as hair and eye color.
She remembered his rich, deep chocolate
eyes and her heart pounded harder. She couldn’t wait to see how he performed
intercourse. Edgy heat twinged between her legs. If it was anything like his
oral demonstration then she’d never get out of bed again. Her pulse raced when
she tapped the “on” button and he moved underneath the covers.
“What is going on?” He sat up with his
erection poking the covers into a tent below his waist. “How did you get
dressed so quickly?” he asked and looked about the room. A frown creased his
face when he saw the clock. “You turned me off.”
“First day on the job. Remember? Besides,
you aren’t human—yet. So for now you need to do as I instruct.”
“Like a fucking robot?” he clipped.
His response shocked her. “Hey, watch that
language, I didn’t program you with that vocabulary.” She recalled he’d used
the word that morning, too. Her pulse quickened as she recalled exactly how
he’d said it.
“I am a fast learner. You used the word
when you dropped the remote.”
“Well, delete it from your data banks.” She
snapped back to the present.
“I do not think so. I like the word. It can
be used as a curse word, a word of exclamation or I can modify it, like this
morning to say, ‘I want to fuck you, Randi.’ Which I still do.” He jerked the
covers away and swung his feet over the bed to stand in front of her.
“Your programming is going to need some
adjusting, so follow me into my office.” She turned to lead the way, but his
fingers closed around her wrist, making her drop the remote to the floor.
“Not just yet, love. I am going to fuck you
first.” He picked her up and lowered her onto the bed.
“We really need to work on the command
matrix,” she giggled as he peeled the silk stockings down her legs before she
could sit up and move away. “Hmm…no panties,” he smiled and hastily unzipped
the snug skirt, tugging it from her.
“You’re programmed to obey my commands.”