3rd World Products, Inc., Book 4

by Ed Howdershelt

  "Yes."

  "Oh, my God," Myra muttered. "I can't believe this is happening. Stephanie, you're talking about millions of dollars!"

  "Yes, she is," I said. "Are you worried that she won't be able to raise the money?"

  "No. I know she can raise it." Myra shook her head and laughed. "Raise it. That was an appropriate way to put it, wasn't it?" With another little laugh she stood up and stuck her hand out to Steph. "I'm in," she said.

  Steph took her hand and said, "In that case, be ready to start in one month, at which time you'll assist in forming the company." She grinned and added, "For now, I have some things to discuss with Ed and Susanne. You still have your present job and a report to make, and Mr. Miller seemed impatient."

  Myra shrugged. "He's always impatient. He thinks his department is the only reason that agency exists." She picked up her purse and said, "But it wouldn't look good to my future employer if I stall him, so I'll get underway now. Thanks, Stephanie."

  "You're welcome, Myra."

  We walked Myra to the door and there was another round of thanks and goodbyes before she left, then we returned to the living room.

  "You were saying?" I asked Steph. "What things to discuss?"

  She smiled. "We'll think of something. I felt that it was time for Myra to leave. I also thought you and Susanne might like to get to know each other. That's why I'm going to disappear for a while to trade data with my station self."

  In some surprise I asked, "Disappear? Won't that be a little difficult to do with that silver thing inside you?"

  Steph shook her head with a grin and said, "Not at all," then snapped her fingers and vanished.

  I immediately sent several field tendrils swirling through the room, but none of them made contact with her.

  Keying my implant, I asked, "When will I see you again?"

  Stephanie appeared in front of me. "Anytime, Ed, as always. I'm simply taking my new core for a run as I talk to my other self."

  "Sara."

  "Not yet."

  "I'm going to call her Sara, Steph. It's easier than 'other self at the factory'."

  She smiled and shrugged, said "Okay," then vanished again and said, "You know where to find me. Spend some time with Susanne, Ed. She needs your acceptance."

  'Needs my acceptance?' I thought. 'She's got it. My flitter won't move without her.'

  Still, it was apparent that Steph was serious about leaving us to our own devices for a while. Her presence in my implant vanished as it had so many times in the past, but this time it seemed that she was more... gone... than ever before. My imagination?

  Pulling my briefcase down, I took out my coffee mug and headed for the kitchen to give it a rinse and fill it with coffee.

  "Sue," I said, "It's around three or four in the morning in London. I'll nap on the way over and we'll see what Jeffries has on his mind around ten their time."

  Susanne had been standing in the living room. She appeared next to me at the kitchen sink and said, "Okay," then watched me silently as I made my coffee. When I finished, I sipped it and looked at her for a moment.

  "My feelings about Steph leaving -- even though she apparently hasn't left -- aren't your fault, Sue, so if I seem to turn a little mean now and then, let me know. I haven't been weaned for a long time."

  She nodded and gave me a small smile. I returned the smile, then went to the bedroom and threw some stuff in my backpack, took a shower, ate a big can of veggie beef soup and tossed two more cans in my bag, then grabbed a bag of wavy potato chips and touched up my coffee.

  Tiger came to sit on the sink as I stirred and flicked off the coffee pot.

  "Tiger," I said, "Want to go to London for a day?"

  He blinked once at me, then turned to Sue and said something.

  Sue said, "He says he'd rather not, Ed; that he gets very... bored seems to be the word... with long flights."

  Looking at Tiger, I said, "Okay," and patted him, then filled his dishes.

  Susanne watched me as I put my stuff aboard the flitter, checked the cooler, and said, "Our first stop is the all night grocery at Mariner and Northcliffe."

  As we lifted for the two-mile journey I said, "They're used to seeing me with Steph. Don't be surprised if we get some odd looks."

  "Odd looks?"

  I grinned. "Yeah. They're gonna think I dumped one goddess for another."

  Sue canted her head slightly as she looked at me, then nodded. She landed us by the store's front doors long enough for me to hop off, then the flitter rose into the night.

  Sue appeared on my left and we headed into the store past a teenager who couldn't stop staring at her. Could be that her materialization had impressed him as much as her looks.

  Sure enough, night clerk Melanie's eyes got big when she saw that I was with another woman. She unnecessarily waved at clerk Janie to direct her attention to us and their eyes followed us as we headed for the beverage aisles.

  With a couple of six packs of Dr Pepper and canned tea and a twelve-case of Ice House beer we approached the number four checkout. Melanie's eyes traveled the length of Susanne and then fixed on me as we set the stuff down.

  I said, "Hi, Melanie."

  "Hi, Ed," she said, pulling stuff past the register's laser. "Who's your friend?"

  "This is Susanne. Sue, this is Melanie."

  Sue said, "Hello, Melanie."

  Melanie's eyes opened a bit wider and goosebumps formed on her arms. Attraction, or just the opposite?

  "Uh, hello." Turning to me, she asked, "Where's Stephanie?"

  "No idea. She left kind of suddenly this evening."

  Melanie gave Susanne another toes-to-nose glance with a raised eyebrow and said, "Oh. Will she be back?"

  "Yup. There's no problem, Melanie. They get along fine."

  Again with big eyes, Melanie looked first at me, then at Sue, then back at me.

  "Relax," I said, pulling a twenty out of my money clip, "We're all just friends."

  Her gaze seemed dubious as she handed me change, but she said nothing. By the reflection in the store's big windows, I watched Melanie watch us all the way to the doors and beyond.

  "She has a somewhat suspicious mind," I said as we boarded the flitter.

  "Apparently so," said Sue.

  "Maybe it's your outfit. Steph dresses more conservatively."

  As we lifted toward London, she asked, "Do you want me to change?"

  I looked her over and said, "Not unless you plan to shorten your skirt or go naked. I like your current outfit just fine, Sue."

  When she said nothing, I looked up from restocking the cooler and said, "Sorry. I really meant that, Sue. You look fine."

  "I know you meant it, Ed. I was reading you when you said it. Should I have made a response to your comment?"

  Shrugging, I said, "No, not necessarily."

  I finished loading the cooler and stood up with a beer.

  Studying her face and figure for a moment, I said, "Actually, you look excellent, ma'am. I'd forgotten how beautiful Margaux Hemingway was."

  As I opened my beer she cocked her head slightly and said, "Thanks. I wanted to make a good first impression."

  Laughing, I said, "Well, you definitely did that. When you appeared, the look on Wallace's face was priceless. He was stunned like you'd smacked him with a two by four."

  Rather tonelessly, she said, "So were you, but you got over it rather quickly."

  Chuckling, I said, "Sorry, ma'am. I'm used to being around a gorgeous AI. It takes a lot to turn my head for very long."

  Susanne's left eyebrow lifted, then her skirt and blouse turned black and rearranged into a close-fitting dress. The sleeves disappeared and the skirt shortened to mid-thigh as the neckline plunged several inches.

  A slender golden chain materialized around her neck and small gold cat-face earrings gleamed through wisps of her hair.

  After a long look at her, I met her gaze and said, "Something's missing. Make me a datapad screen and I'll show you w
hat it is."

  Her smug little smile disappeared and she looked startled. The datapad appeared. I logged onto the internet and pulled up a major jeweler's website, then cruised the bracelets until I saw something that seemed right for her.

  "That one," I said, putting a finger on it, "Unless you'd prefer something else."

  Sue studied the image for a moment, then a field-created version of the bracelet appeared in the air before me and Sue extended her left arm. I reached for the solid-feeling bracelet and fastened it around her wrist, then stood back as if to judge whether it had been a good choice.

  Chapter Fifty

  A second Susanne appeared without the bracelet and turned slowly as the original Sue appeared to study her intently. The bracelet appeared on the second Sue's arm.

  "I see what you mean," said Sue #1, "The bracelet seems to add something to the overall effect," then the second Sue disappeared and Sue-1 looked at me.

  I expected her to ask, "Well, how do I look?" or something like that, but Sue simply stood gazing evenly at me and I realized that she already knew from my readings what I thought of her outfit and overall appearance. I said what I was thinking anyway.

  "Damned fine," I said, "Above and well beyond excellent, Sue. Now; why? You can't really have been worried about being fired."

  She smiled and said, "I just wanted to cement something for both of us, Ed. I know you miss Stephanie and I wanted to show you that while I can't be her, I can be just as unique and special as Stephanie."

  Sitting down and sipping my beer, I said, "Sue, I reached that conclusion before you appeared the first time in the hangar. It seemed unlikely that Steph would stick me with a moron. Then I had to figure that she had an agenda in mind when she programmed you as she did."

  An afterthought interrupted my next sip with, "And by leaving some things out of your programming. I guess I'd pretty much expected Steph to simply clone herself and give the results a different name. Hadn't given it much thought, really, until you actually appeared."

  Sue came to sit in the seat beside me, which made her skirt tighten and ride up considerably just as if it were real. Nice touch. Wait one... Field-generated or not, it was intended to be a skirt, so that would have been taken into consideration.

  I admired the view of her thighs for a moment, then asked, "Not that I mind the way you're dressed, but why are you wearing that outfit? Just to elaborate how different you are from Steph?"

  "Partly, but also because Stephanie and I don't share her taste in clothing. I'll wear suit and jacket ensembles now and then when they're appropriate, but not as a default uniform as she does. Colors will vary, as well. Green is a nice color, but there are others."

  She paused and seemed to study me for a moment, then added, "There's another difference that we should probably discuss, Ed. This is a fresh start for both of us. I wasn't issued an innate fondness for you or anyone else. Steph intended me to forge my own relationships with people."

  I clutched my chest in mock distress and despair and asked, "You mean you didn't automatically love me at first sight?"

  Sue grinned and replied, "Oh, do suffer gracefully, won't you? I don't love anyone else at the moment, either."

  "You mock my agony, cold-hearted computer goddess."

  Nodding sagely, she said, "Yes, I'm afraid so, sir. Sorry 'bout that, as someone I know is fond of saying. It isn't original, but it covers the matter nicely."

  Shrugging, I said, "Yeah, it usually does." After a sip of beer I said, "You know, I don't really think we'll have much trouble getting along, Sue. Miz Bigshot may have abandoned me, but she left me a damn fine replacement."

  Through my implant Stephanie said, "I heard that."

  She appeared by the console and asked, "Abandoned you? Would you care to explain that?"

  Looking appropriately apologetic, I grinningly said, "Oh, well, gee, I'm sorry to drag you away from anything, milady. I was speaking metaphorically, of course. Just trying to make the new girl feel more at home, y'know."

  Steph looked Susanne over and said, "I'd say she's adapting well enough, Ed. That's a nice bracelet, by the way. It looks like something you'd choose."

  "Ha," I said. "That's not even a guess. You've been monitoring us."

  "You're my Ed and Sue is partly my creation. Of course I was monitoring your progress. I'd have been remiss otherwise."

  I hadn't heard her use the term 'my Ed' since just after we'd faced the factory station's board of directors, and at the time it had been a way of emphasizing a point. Steph saw my expression of surprise.

  "You heard correctly," she said. "My Ed. You'll be Sue's Ed, too, if you'll allow it and she comes to feel about you as I do. A degree of possessiveness is unavoidable."

  Looking at Susanne, I smiled as I said, "No problem. I kind of like that idea."

  Steph sighed and said, "Susanne, he probably can't see very much beyond your legs and face at the moment, but he's never let that sort of myopia make him say anything to me that he didn't mean."

  To me she said wryly, "I'll return to exchanging data now, unless you need further comforting."

  I waved a hand and said, "Oh, sure. Go ahead. Wander off again. I'll survive."

  Grinning at me, Steph brightly chirped, "Okay! Bye!" and vanished.

  Sue's chuckle made me turn to look at her, and ask, "What..? I'm all bereft and abandoned again -- well, sort of, anyway -- and you think it's funny?"

  She nodded and laughed as I sipped my beer.

  "As you said you would, you seem to be surviving. I think you're going to be a lot of fun at times, Ed."

  "Hmm. Yeah, could be," I said. "I managed to make Steph laugh now and then. Is the new girl feeling at home yet?"

  She nodded again. "Oh, I think so. You don't seem to be a complete slavedriver."

  "Hm. Lift that barge, tote that bale. Nope. That's not quite right. Oh, well, now you know why I'm not a slavedriver. I couldn't pass the written exam."

  Sue laughed again and said, "I'd never have thought to say something like that, Ed. That's an example of one of the differences between AI's and humans, I think."

  Shaking my head, I said, "Nope. Now you have an example of something. That's all it ever took with Steph, and I doubt you'll be any different in that regard. The five AI's I've known have all been damned fast learners."

  As I sipped the last of my beer she looked puzzled and asked, "Five?"

  "Yup. Five. Steph, Elkor, you, Sara, and one of the transport ship AI's named Kemor. He helped me figure out how to use my implants on the way to the station."

  Tossing my bottle over the side, I watched it flash to plasma and said, "When we get to London let's drop by the 'Citizens of the World' office. Could be that agency could be of some use beyond the free clinic operation and AI's may need some sort of global rights-protection group."

  Keying my implant, I asked, "Steph, you heard that, too, right?"

  "Yes, Ed. The rights group was a good idea, but I think that AI citizenship documentations may better be served by my other self."

  I snickered and said, "Sara, you mean."

  Steph sighed softly and said, "She won't mind functioning as a Lorunan embassy."

  "Kewl," I said, "If an AI has to escape a mob of Luddite peasants, he or she -- or it, if they choose not to choose -- can be transferred by data link through Elkor to another core."

  Sighing again, Steph said, "Yes, Ed. That, too."

  "Okay. I'll mention the clinics while I'm there. It's likely that Krista has contacts in some of the places where PFM's and clinics are needed most. Mind if I give them a bar of gold to help with expenses? Or as much as one's worth in cash after we see Jeffries?"

  "No problem, but maybe you should wait until she's agreed or declined an offer to work with us on the clinic program, Ed. She might otherwise think you were trying to buy her cooperation."

  "Good point, miLady. Okay, you can go back to flinging data with Sara now. I'll see if I can find some way to entertain Susanne."
r />   "That shouldn't be too hard. She hasn't heard any of your jokes yet."

  "I'll have her check out my articles website, then."

  Turning to Susanne, I reached to tap the back of her bare shoulder and said, "Some of those jokes are pretty bad, ma'am. You sure you want to hear them?"

  Something about her upper arm caught my attention and I looked more closely. Where my fingers had brushingly touched her arm there were goosebumps.

  What the hell? That had never happened with Steph.

  Sue met my startled gaze and quietly said, "Stephanie feels differently about some things. I told her that I intend to experience as much as possible. She helped me develop some responses that most resemble Selena's."

  For a moment I just stared at her. Was she saying what I thought she was saying?

  "Uhm... Sue... You're telling me that you, uhm... Damn, what am I trying to say, here? Are you saying that you actually feel something at a touch? Or that you've just programmed yourself to mimic some responses?"

  She stood up, straightened her dress as if that was actually necessary with a field-generated garment, and cocked her head slightly as she smiled at me.

  "Yes, Ed, I feel," she said. "And it isn't simply a programmed response. The same algorithms that allow me to understand humor and laugh with pleasure are also capable of interpreting and utilizing tactile input. I've decided that if I don't like the results I can always reset those parameters."

  Even as I eyeballed Sue from toes to nose and felt a surge of desire for her, I felt a flash of resentment toward Stephanie. Three years with me and... and she hadn't -- what? -- hadn't had the goddamned nerve to even take a chance that she might enjoy more than a platonic relationship with me? Or with anyone else, for that matter?

  It bothered me greatly to think that Steph had shrunk from anything, ever, for any reason, save possibly putting someone in danger or hurting their feelings unnecessarily.

  She'd been my own personal computer goddess; supremely capable and intelligent and able to leap tall buildings in heroic form. I didn't want to believe it, but...

  My resentment became disappointment and it must have shown. Sue's demeanor changed to one of concern. She stepped toward me and leaned to put a hand on my forearm and I suddenly found myself staring into her cleavage.