The Apocalypse Watch

by J Foster Ward

  “You shouldn’t have risked yourself,” he told her. “Not again.”

  The synthetic girl had brought him back to life when sub-commander Whiteman had led a mutiny with the sole purpose of making sure Jake didn’t get resurrected. That mutiny was the reason Whiteman and most of the other clones in his action team were still undergoing virtual psycho surgery.

  “Systems are unable to connect with Cool Breeze. Most of them will function autonomously in standby mode, but something is clearly wrong. I had to find you.”

  He grabbed her in a hug, happy beyond words he wasn’t stuck in this alone. It was like hugging a football player in full equipment.

  “Who are these people?” the android asked when he let go.

  “I’m not a hundred percent sure but I think these are humans from the surface world, brought here as slaves and food for those ball-licking mutant dog bastards. For all I know this is what’s left of humanity.”

  “What happened?”

  “I thought Milan was in here, so I got into a fight, killed the bad guys. But she’s not. There’s some creepy wizard who took her out of the Tomorrow facility and they’re bringing her to some crazy post-apocalyptic doomsday cult.”

  “You saved these people?”

  “Yeah, and that one with the sword is their leader. Some sort of barbarian princess. She pledged her tribe to my service.”

  “This is so lucky!” Synthetica exclaimed.

  “How?”

  “Now you have an army!”

  “This is not an army!” Jake dragged her aside where they could have a hushed conversation. “Look at these people.”

  “Dirtworms,” she corrected. “None of them are registered citizens of Nevermore. It was intended that Nevermore return to the surface and provide guidance and control to unregistered future dirtworms.” The android seemed perfectly unaware of the corporate line she was repeating.

  “I’m a dirtworm!” he hissed at her angrily. “They’re filthy, wounded, abused and – oh yeah – they are a bunch of gullible primitives.”

  “Exactly why we can use them as followers!”

  “No!”

  “What is this mission of yours anyway? You still haven’t said.”

  Was she changing the subject? Jake decided to let the argument go.

  “Cool Breeze is in trouble. His main liquid core, or something, is in danger. Or at least that’s what he said before he vanished. Have you been able to contact him? Or get him to unlock any systems? I think he’s offline.”

  “If that is what happened we’d be trapped. Defenceless.”

  “Pretty much. So yeah, I was trying to get into Alpha module to fix him. But that’ll have to wait.”

  “What?” Synthetica seemed shocked. “Why? You have to fix him. Now! It’s your duty!”

  “You don’t demand anything from me!”

  “I can and I will! I’m an authorized Nevermore representative. An asset of the Tomorrow Program! You said it yourself; Cool Breeze gave you a mission. You have to follow orders!”

  Well wasn’t that a fine thank you. In that moment he was overcome with fury about the injustice of people telling him what to do for his entire life.

  “What do you know about it?” he yelled, losing his temper. “I’ve been treating you like a person and now I’m not so sure. Because a person wouldn’t be so quick to take advantage of these people. A person wouldn’t be so quick to ignore Milan being taken to some cult headquarters.”

  The android looked stricken. Synthetica backed up, clearly frightened, and retreated to the dormitory. Jake suddenly felt horrible for yelling at her. It wasn’t her fault, exactly, she was the product of the useless 23rd century society that made her.

  He went after her.

  “Wait,” he called at the android girl. “I’m not explaining it right.”

  Synthetica paused to listen.

  “Milan being captive out there is bad news. Worse than Cool Breeze going silent. They told me there’s some sort of civilization up there. Some cult that wants to find out what she knows. She could bring every mutant in a thousand miles in here, trying to get what we have. We have to get her back. Fast.”

  “How would you even know the way?”

  “These blue people come from there.”

  “So you admit, we must use them for your army?”

  “It’s not like that!”

  She paused. Open her mouth to reply something else and Jake snapped again.

  “I said we’re going to get her back!” he suddenly shouted. Found himself standing with fists balled up.

  Synthetica shrank back, terrified of him. Why was he so angry?

  “I’m sorry,” he said, shakily. His hands were slightly twitchy as he pressed the heels of his palms to his face.

  But Synthetica wasn’t upset. She’d approached and cupped his chin kindly.

  “You’re looking really unwell. Let me check you out,” the synthetic woman said professionally.

  “I’m fine. It’s this modified fight or flight instinct. It’s got me… so angry. All the time.”

  “That’s not how that biomodification works,” Synthetica said and took him by the elbow.

  Leading him back up the corridor she found a room that was almost empty except for the inert black glass slab of a holographic desk interface. She directed him to sit and opened the Krisis-kit, extracting some device he couldn’t identify. She hovered it in the air over his body.

  “What do you mean, that’s not how it works?” he asked.

  “I’m aware of the biomods you’ve been given and none of them would explain this level of instability.”

  “Really?” he asked. He’d just assumed the mood swings were from the tweaking they’d done to his body and brain.

  “Sit still, breath deeply,” the android told him kindly. Producing the medscan from the Krisi-kit she passed it over him thoroughly. Took a swab of his saliva and looked in his throat and ears.

  He was beginning to worry.

  “Well, that would explain it, but I’m unsure how you reached these levels.”

  “Am I sick?”

  “Not in the slightest.”

  “What then?”

  She met his eyes a moment and looked puzzled. “This is not a common diagnosis in the 23rd century medical lexicon. Let me scan for a term from your era.”

  Her body froze but she got a faraway look, like she was lost in thought. “Ah. I think in your era they had a colloquial term for it: blue balls.”

  He began to laugh, then saw she was serious.

  “Your hormone levels are extremely high without any release. They were already higher than you would remember in your original body. Part of the modifications you’ve been given are for increased libido, to assist with repopulation efforts once we begin recolonizing the surface. Have you been suffering from any frustrated or incomplete sexual encounters?”

  Jake felt a sudden bout of modesty. “Uh, no… I mean. I think I’ve been doing okay.”

  “When’s the last time you had intercourse or climaxed sexually?”

  He felt strange talking to the android girl about his sex life but shrugged it away. “I had sex in the virtual reality simulator before my consciousness was reloaded into this body. Circe said it was an experimental treatment for the psychosurgery.”

  “Really? Fascinating. I’d love to talk to her about it; that’s an area of research sadly neglected in the 23rd century. Who did you have sex with?”

  “With Circe.”

  Now the android seemed genuinely surprised. “I would not have imagined her operating parameters would have allowed that. Perhaps she developed some non-standard personality behaviours during the long period of solitude. She and I will definitely have to discuss your sexual performance. For medical research, of course.”

  Jake was feeling more embarrassed by the second. Great, now they were going to grade his performance for science?

  “But I now understand how your hormone levels have reached this un
balanced state. You see, virtual sexual encounters are just that – not real. You can no more reduce sexual hormone levels in virtual reality than you can satisfy your body’s need for sustenance by eating a virtual meal. Your mind felt like it was having sex, but your body remains unfulfilled.”

  Jake blinked, now fully embarrassed. He knew what the prescription was going to be. What was the clinical term for ‘jerk one out’?

  “You should relieve it right away.”

  “Got it. I’ll need a bit of privacy.”

  But as he watched, Synthetica began stripping off her splat armor and stacking it neatly aside. When she unzipped her coveralls he saw she was entirely naked underneath.

  “Don’t worry, Jacob. I’d be more than happy to assist you.”

  “Oh. Well, you know, it’s not… I can take care of it…”

  Naked, the android girl stepped closer to him and he lost his words. Artificial or not, she was still a near-perfect woman. Long body, narrow waist, curvy hips and wide shoulders. He couldn’t be sure but… her tits looked bigger than the last time she’d ‘thanked’ him for saving her from being disassembled. Had she modified them? The thought of the intense sexual pleasure she’d brought him to the last time made him suddenly aware of how his cock just grew two sizes at the sight of her.

  “For best results, you require the serotonin and oxytocin release that comes from physical contact with a sexual partner,” she said huskily, and stood on her toes to kiss him lightly. “Feel that?”

  Her lips were soft and warm. His cock twitched. “Oh… yeah,” he breathed out.

  “Please be sure to exert as much aggression as possible during the encounter,” Synthetica said in a whisper. “For maximum effect. My body is extremely resilient.” She kissed him again. “You cannot hurt me.”

  He hesitated. But far less than was polite. Then grabbed her by the waist and dragged her naked body against his. One hand under her knee he drew her close until she was split like a tree fork, her bare cunt pressed to his thigh. He kissed her, hard, and she gave a moan, head back, meeting his lips while he rocked her back and forth on his leg. Somehow his jumpsuit was unzipped and he shrugged it down off his shoulders.

  With a quick reverse he had her pushed hard against the wall, still standing, and she let out an exclamation of desire as he reached between her legs, slid his fingers upwards to the soft, real-as-human flesh of her cunt. She groaned as he stroked her, slid a finger inside and was met by the warm, wet rush as she lubricated in anticipation.

  He was filled with enough strength for three men, and hard as a stick shift. Gripping beneath her thighs he lifted her in the air and sank her down on his straining cock.

  The android girl gave a moaning cry of overwhelmed delight with each hard thrust that pinned her between the wall and his cock. God, he was filled with an overwhelming aggressive need, and with every pounding blow she whispered encouragement for more.

  It wasn’t enough. He staggered to the ancient control surface of the desk and threw her down on it, flipping her onto her stomach. Without any warning except a grunt of need he kicked her legs apart and entered her hard from behind. One hand full of her synthetic hair he banged her hard, body bent under his hands.

  Synthetica responded with supernatural appreciation. Crying out in moaning ecstasy as he stretched her synthetic cunt. She was almost helpless, toes scrabbling for purchase on the floor, hands gripping the edges of the desk, giving herself entirely to his human mastery of lust.

  When her body responded with a low, buzzing hum that reached up through the root of his cock and began driving him towards orgasm, he almost snarled.

  “Are you trying to make me come fast?” he demanded, grabbing her by the neck. “I’m not finished with you yet.” Then he pulled out.

  She whimpered in response, but moaned in delight, as he proceeded to take her in every conceivable position. Manhandling her without niceties or even giving her a chance to speak – sometimes literally as he used her mouth. It was a marathon of rough sex that the android girl begged to continue. Her artificial body was capable of orgasm and she came – yelling – three times before he was willing to finish. Before he was even close to feeling his aggression recede.

  When he did come, pinning her spread-eagled on top of the desk, it was with an explosive force he didn’t remember feeling before. Like his body was turning inside out. As they lay together, tangled and wet, Jake noticed the android girl didn’t breathe, so she wasn’t panting with exertion, but her eyes glowed with an internal light and she shivered randomly and uncontrollably, a red glow lit up her abdomen from the inside, like a heartbeat, giving him glimpses of her almost-human skeleton and internal pseudo-organic parts.

  “I can’t wait to discuss these findings with Circe,” the android girl purred contentedly. “I’m so glad we can collaborate to meet your virtual and physical needs.”

  Jake wasn’t used to having a reliable woman in his life, let alone two of them. He felt curiously selfish.

  “Of course, you will need organic, human-compatible partners,” she said reasonably. “For breeding.”

  “For what?”

  “Yes, for repopulation. In evolutionary terms single males with multiple female partners is ideal. One male can impregnate multiple females at the same time, but the reverse isn’t true; there are very diminishing returns for a female to have multiple male partners. She can only reproduce one at a time.”

  Jake gulped at the prospect of multiple wives, and multiple children. Well, it wasn’t like he had to worry about paying for a mortgage and college tuition.

  No, just atomic superbugs, mutants and the collapse of civilization.

  “Let’s wait on that for now, okay?” he asked.

  “It’s never too early to find viable breeding partners. I’d say at least five.”

  “Five?” he exclaimed, sitting up.

  “At least five. Ten would be ideal. But for now, let’s go help this interesting tribe of indigenous people you’ve discovered living in our bunker, and go find Milan duPont. Since you’ve already selected her as one of your mates, of course we will need to return her.”

  ***

  Chapter 9

  : Tox Contamination

  “She says, ‘this one (be) unworthy. Holy Voice deems none (for) me’,” Tesla translated with the seriousness of an evening news anchor reporting the vital steps required to sever the head of your loved ones when they die during a zombie uprising.

  Jacob had grown tired of using the wrist-buddy and it was faster having the girl interpret for him. And besides, the filthy scarecrow wouldn’t leave his side. Currently she was translating the speech of the young woman sitting cross legged among the blankets of the bunkbed.

  “What’s her name?”

  “Venti.”

  Jake sighed. “Tell Venti you are all worthy and let Synthetica see what’s wrong.”

  He’d been hearing a lot of that same objection while he and Synthetica doled out whatever medical supplies she could among the tribesmen. The K-kit had an extremely complete, but limited, supply of base drug elements that it could combine to build a wide variety of medical treatments. The cellular acceleration dose seemed to get the most use; it was some kind of booster shot that triggered the body’s healing and immune system.

  Not that these people needed much help. They were pretty healthy, under the dirt. Good teeth, good skin (even if it was blue). All young and disease free. But by the unwashed jockstrap of Robert E Howard, boy did they stink. Aside from the smell the ‘Obeyers’ seemed remarkably human for primitives. Certainly not grunting neanderthals or raving berserkers. He recalled the myth of the minotaur, where the young, healthy and beautiful were sent as tribute to Minos and fed into the labyrinth for the beast to feed on.

  Like cows.

  Jacob had made the decision to treat the primitives like any other person who just happened to speak a foreign language. And he wasn’t about to leave them with no protection. The Nevermore bunker was fal
ling apart, Cool Breeze was MIA and his original mission to Alpha module seemed impossible.

  But some things were within his power to do; the least he could do was deliver the poor bastards safely out of the of the Nevermore bunker. Then with native guides he could find his way and get Milan. The rationalization failed to cut the surreal edge of what he was doing. Namely playing great white hunter among a tribe of post-apocalyptic teenage cavemen.

  Yeah, and just pretend this decision isn’t because you’re sick of this underground tomb and you’re dying to know what the world looks like out there, he reminded himself.

  Synthetica smiled at the obeyer and handed her a chunk of sweetened protein bar. The woman eyed it suspiciously, then crammed it in her mouth, obviously starving. The android nurse had learned the trick by treating a half-dozen wounded from the battle. Now she and Jake were going among the rest. A few of them were terrified, and cowered away from them, but the rest gave him a wondering deference, like some kind of grey alien out of a flying saucer. Or, more accurately, like an angel with a flaming sword stepping out of a cloud chariot.

  As Synthetica gave the woman a quick health scan Jake watched. The obvious difference between the tribesmen and old-fashioned 21st century humans was the blue skin. But, like the clones, their ancestors had clearly benefitted from 23rd century genetic improvements that Synthetica’s gene-drive could identify by the patent number. A quick hair sample and the K-kit began to list off the modifications: redesigned joints to be more flexible and have better range of motion, strong bones (Synthetica’s scans didn’t show a single fracture among any of them), stronger hearts, lungs and better circulation. Better vision, stronger teeth, more resistant to disease. Individually the changes were small but the overall effect made the primitives appearance somewhat unearthly.

  And unlike the clones these tribesmen were obviously grown in the wild the old-fashioned way.

  While they all seemed to be similar, there were a few among them with genetic differences. Mutations or hybridization which must have cropped up over the years. One of them had asymmetrical difference in facial features, like a Picasso painting. Another was entirely missing a nose, reduced to merely nasal slits and had nictitating membranes on their eyes. The closest thing to changes that might be considered ‘dangerous’ was an example of a bony series of spurs or dew claws at ankle, wrist, knee and elbow. There were only three of them with the bone spurs and they all seemed related.