by ROUNAK PURI
***
The day Jenny died.5
A/N RK can't kill off Jenny but I (Reb ) can ( insert evil witch laugh here). {it's a joke}8
I spent the next week of the extended inspection completely zoned out as 5642.
I had never been so alone, or isolated. I was so stupid, Zola was right how could anyone like him love me? How could I have been so dumb as to believe someone who is about to run the world would have the slightest curiosity in someone like me. I wasn't important, I wasn't a cyborg, I wasn't even a passible slave. What had I got to give him? Nothing, and a nothing was what I was.7
I was miserable, I never wanted to be Jenny again. Jenny had feelings. As 5642 I could just do what she's told, have the boy Cinder assigned to me then get a lethal injection at the first sign of wrinkles. I so hated Jenny, Jenny was stupid, hopeful and had dumb redundant emotions. Jenny trusted people like the F**King sap she was. I actually thought 'F star star King' given I was now fully PG13 rated. Jenny was a stupid dumb moron. She got everything wrong. It was stupid Jenny who loved Rockwood, stupid dumb, idiot, witless Jenny. 5642 was smart enough to realise all that whispering in my old collar was me being subliminally brainwashed. 5642 didn't care either, that was all 5642 deserved. 5642 only thought it loved master as it was what it was supposed to do. 5642 didn't actually feel anything, she was just a slave, a slave who followed orders, who didn't feel anything.8
This was all moronic Jenny's fault. Jenny must die. It was Jenny's fault I felt like I had a stone chained to my heart. As 5642 I was just a mindless drone who could just get groped in the corridor by Mistress Zola and didn't care. As 5642 I was just a flesh object. I didn't even deserve a first person singular pronoun like I. That belonged to things which could think and feel for them selves. This slave 5642 didn't want or need anything. This slave wished it could be erased and start again. This slave decided to try to do something to it self to fix the constant leaking. Like a good slave it asked it's collar what to do and took the advice of not thinking about anything pre capture, this slave was determined never to think like that stupid sappy bitch Jenny ever ever again. This slave decided it would never use that chuckleheaded name again. This slave was dumb and alone, it didn't want anyone or need anyone, it was just a pleasure machine which for a period had delusions of grandeur.7
***
RESERECTION3
So it was that some three days later that 5642's constant leaking stopped. A day later. 5642 was called into Master's control area. 5642 knelt there in it's best slave manners. 5642 didn't feel anything, not love not hate, nothing towards master, what's the point of being a slave if you can't be an emotional shell? Mistress Zola was sitting to the side Judge 11 to the other. The inspection was continuing. This slave got it self ready to be groped again by Mistress Zola or him. This slave didn't like or hate Mistress Zola, it had no instructions on how to feel on the matter. Slave 5642 didn't have any feelings and that was just the way it liked it.
Master was surrounded by a group of screens. He looked up from the information on the table.
"5642. I need yah[you] to do a job for me. I want you to be my physical avatar, a skype slave" he said.
This slave remembered Villeria's skype slave in the Gallery of Humanity . As a skype slave It would do and say what ever the user told it to remotely. Skype slaves were used by A.I's to interface with human populations or in any task where physical human presence might be beneficial. It was similar to 'remoteing' for robots. Basically the slave was just skype for it's owner and user. If this slave had feelings, which it didn't, it would have been glad of the chance to have even less control over it's self.
"While you are me, you will have all my clearance and authority. Got that 5642? When would you like to go" said Master.2
"This slave does not have and will never have any personal preferences. Master" this slave said.
Master paused for a moment.
"OK, then you can leave now dismissed," he said. This slave put it's head to the floor one more time in a display of obedience and then got up and walked out. She walked to the pod bay and put her flight helmet on.
Robots and slaves in the hanger began to move away, charging cables removed. Master's voice got this slave to sit in the pilots seat and this slave strapped it's self in. Master would talk about switching particular switches and a halo would appear around the switch necessary on the helmet visor. Like all instructions for slaves absolutely no thought was required. Finally Master told this slave to push the control surface forward and taxi the plan out of the hanger. If Jenny was doing this she might be frightened and find masters voice reassuring. This slave on the other hand didn't care if it died, it would be exchanging one hell for another.9
Soon the slave was in the air and setting the autopilot. This slave headed east.5
*****
Rockwood's osprey/area 872 ( Chicago )
Three hours later the plane was approaching Area 872 formally known as Chicago. The slave felt the expression of thirst and hunger but did nothing about it as it had not been ordered to. The plane flew low enough for this slave to look out and see the city below.
On the edge the slave saw large robot bulldozers burying wooden domestic buildings leaving a trail of fresh soil beneath. Where there were parking lots there was now grass. Were there were roads now sat strips of flowers. Then the slave saw rivers moving slowly. Looking closely it realised it was streams of slaves-to-be marching, being herded by robot dogs. Trains and trucks full of slaves to be rolled towards the city and left empty. The slaves-to-be were marching toward the packing machine factory. This slave might have felt pity towards them but it hadn't been ordered to feel anything so it didn't.6
Closer to the centre of the city looked like a sponge version of it's former sky line. The scares of the early battle for Chicago remained. The buildings looked like tatters as if a giant with compulsive tendencies had broken walls and smashed windows. The once proud skyscrapers now looked like jagged teeth in a rotting mouth. At points buildings exposed their insides as if they were a giant cake cut by a leviathan knife. At this hight this slave could see half cut bathrooms walls. On the ground plants grew. Some started to break the roads tarmac.2
Drones filled the skys like flies around a rotting corpse. Large jumbo jets flew in formation landing near by. This slave started to get instructions on how to fly the plane to the Willis Tower and land. Miraculously the slave managed to resist the temptation to crash the plane both killing it's self so braking rule 3 and the worse sin of braking rule 2. Master directed this slave out of the plane. Once inside Master directed this slave to a room which contained a number of hunter killer robots.4
"Remember you are me, they will not harm you or impede you," Master said.
This slave didn't care if they killed it.
"I am Lord Rockwood. I am here to take possession of a number of pods" this slave said repeating the words it's owner had used to it.
"No your not," the robot said.
"Don't trifle with me, Mechanoid." this slave said pointing as Master instructed. Normally a hunter killer would kill a slave for using the word Mechanoid and not ending with the word sir.
The robots words and actions were recorded from this slaves collar cam and transmitted right back to Master's work space. Master then told this slave what to say and what to do. Twenty minutes of threats later the robot was reluctantly leading this slave to a truck. We drove around the empty silent streets of Area 872 driving to different buildings. At each building the truck stopped and a large pod was loaded. Each pod was grey about 3 meters long and 1.5 meters wide and high. Eventually the pods were all loaded and we returned and loaded them into the rear area of the Osprey. The pods had hatches covering windows but the slave had nod been ordered to inspect them.3
****
26 seconds into the future Rockwood's Osprey/Atlantic Ocean
Soon I was flying from area 872, going east. I was then ordered to eat the food balls which I did leaving only two packe
ts of Soylant green for later. By late afternoon this slave was told it was flying to the area formally called Atlantic City. Eventually this slave could see the sea in the distance. It assumed that the autopilot would turn and fly down the coast but instead the plane continued out into the sea. Perhaps this slave was going to be disposed of over the ocean. It didn't care Master presumably knew his programming was compromised. Trashing a failed experiment was only to be expected drowning wasn't worse than how living felt.14
Beyond the coast this slave saw a number of large floating disks surrounded by a forest of wind turbines standing hundreds of meters out of the ocean. The large green circles were floating Artificial islands. Flat Circular concrete discs raised up out of the water on longlegs.
I flew to one island closest to me. The islands were like a cake on legs in the sea. Four or five levels of habitation stacked up upon each other. The top of the island was iced with green grass and a new replanted forest. There were tiny windows looking out on the sea beyond. Some had lights on. This slave remembered the collaborator Kayla mentioning retirement islands. Parks, full of free range slaves. Free to organise their lives in exchange for a constant supply of blood to their owner. As this slave piloted the plane towards one of the large white circles small buildings arranged in concentric circles around the centre appeared. This slave was directed to land the plane on a landing field in the centre of the circular landing pad surrounded by larger buildings.2
By the time this slave had switched off the planes engines a crowd had begun to form around the plane. They seemed to emerge from holes in the ground. Some carried sticks and brooms. This slave left by the back ramp and took it's helmet off. As ordered by master this slave looked around.
" I want to speak to the one called Madrick" this slave repeated loudly to the crowd at masters behest. The smell of salt in the air felt like the sea side.
This slave could see some of the men sexually aroused by this slave's body. It didn't care, I hadn't been ordered to care.
"And who wants to talk to Madrick?" said a man with a large black beard with white growing out of it. He was very plainly dressed like the others. They all had cheap collars around their necks.
"I do Lord Rockwood," said this slave.
"Lord Rockwood doesn't have tits," said the man.
"This is my avatar meat bag! Get me Madrick" this slave repeat it's master's words loudly and pointing at it's self.5
"Slaves don't give orders. This is a human reservation, slave girl. We run things here and your kind don't".
The crowds sexual arousal was replaced with vile intent. Perhaps they would club this avatar to death. This slave didn't care.
"Hold there," said a man arriving on a bicycle. He was followed by a few others and a woman walked up next to him.
"This is the one I told you about" said the man.
"Madrik?" this slave asked.
"So who are you?" Madrik asked.
"I am Lord Rockwood, this is my avatar" this slave said pointing at it's self.
"Does the avatar have a name?" said Madrik tilting his head.
"5642, but you treat her as me" this slave said.
"What is the avatars real name what do we call her?"
"You call it 5642" this slave said. Master had said "You call her 42". "This is wasting time" this slave continued "I have the pods I mentioned. Are you going to leave them to rot or not? I can dump them in the ocean if you like." It was odd using the I word and not asking for permission to speak each time.1
"You heard her/him" said Madrik to the others. The human reservation folk obviously respected him.
"Does your skype slave need a bed for the night? She looks tired" said the woman next to Madrik.
"Would you look after her for the night? She needs to return tomorrow with 3 more pods" Master said and I repeated.
While Madrik and Master talked through me, the pods where carried by the people off and put in a near by hall. Master said goodby to the people.1
"This is not to be repeated," Master said "I will disconnect from you now. You will go with these people and stay with them. You will perform any maintenance necessary. Be awake and ready to fly by 9 o'clock in the morning. Good night 5642. End of line"
"Affirmative." I said to my collar then repeated something the collar said" 5642 out. How was this Skype Avatar for you? Did you experience any problems during this call? "
"No, good night. Sleep tight 42" said master. My collars told me that the connection was now down, I was on my own, geo fenced to the island.2
***
Jenny is reborn25
"Come with me," the woman said.
We walked to the edge of the field past large buildings and into a newly planted forest. She took me down some steps. We ended up in a small modest underground home. In theory it was underground, but it had windows looking out on the sea below. Clearly the island reservation was a huge floating city. The room felt spacious but that was probably because it had very little to clutter it up. There was a television set on the wall with three buttons for three channels. In front of it three hammock like chairs hung from the ceiling. They were little more than rope and canvas. Typical machine efficiency I thought. A some of young children too dissimilar to be siblings hid behind the chairs looking at me there was a young boy and three girls. The woman entered into a small bar like kitchen and started to take a knife to bread.
I wasn't sure what to say there was no house wi-Fi to be connected to and give me orders. "What's your name?" I asked Madrik's woman
"Belinda, I used to be Professor Belinda Day before the migration. What's yours?"
"This sla... My name is 5642" I said. I switched back to the personal pronoun to avoid frightening the children. It was written clearly enough on my collar why did she ask?3
"Come sit and drink with us. We don't have coffee but we have a herb tea which is only mildly disgusting" she told me. Belinda made a drink and sat down. I went over and sat on the floor.
"You can sit here," said Belinda indicating the canvas and rope chair.
"slaves aren't allowed to sit on chairs," I told her.
"Your in my house in a reservation this is the human world you can sit where you like," Belinda said. I didn't move. A small boy approached me on the floor. I looked at his large black eyes.
"What's your name?" I said. He looked at me and said nothing.
"We call him Leeh" said Belinda
"Is that your name?" I asked.
"He hasn't spoken since the apocalypse. We don't know what he saw. We can't find his parents. We only called him Leeh because his number is 1334.6
The boy got down and sat next to me. We sat for 10 minutes staring into space together. I occasionally drank the tea like substance Belinda had given me. She wasn't wrong about the disgusting you could inject it and still not like the taste . While I sat there Belinda made dinner speaking to each of her children in turn as they came up.
Within a few minutes she had made something that looked like bread and cheese.
"It's not much. The machines don't give us much I'm afraid, the less we have the more we share."
"Thank you" I said. I was feeling a bit faint, I was used to eating small amounts regularly when I was ordered to not having food regularly was quite a shock. Belinda announced we would have a picnic together and everyone sat on the floor with me. It was strange Belinda didn't ask any questions but the kids were full of them.
Every time I was asked a difficult question Belinda would jump in.
"I'm Mary? what was your name before you were captured" asked the older girl.
"Mary you shouldn't ask slave that question, if she answers she could get electrocuted and we don't want that do we?" said Belinda.1
"How do you make your eyes look so big?" said Amy.
"I don't know I put my head in the printer and it does it" I said.
I discovered a bit more about the strange family around me. They had all come together in one of the Machine internment camps fr
om the population of New York. The kids had lost their parents and Belinda her children. In the crisis they all came together to become a new family. As far as I could tell the robots gave people on the artificial Island food in return for a monthly blood donations, Madrik, Belinda and Mary kept the family barely in food. The room was not warm but not cold either. In the distance as the sunset I could see the wind turbines turning in the ocean providing the power. Everybody talked except Leeth. Eventually the tired children went to bed and the boy called Leeh just crawled on to me and hugged me. Not quite knowing what to do I sat there feeling his heat against me. Eventually Leeh fell asleep. Belinda carried on chatting for little while and put a blanket over the both of us.7
I woke up the next morning, I was on my back. I'd obviously slipped down the wall and had a blanket put underneath me and another for a pillow. It wasn't that uncomfortable, the room was clearly heated by underfloor heating. Leeh had slept on me on all night. Belinda was boiling a kettle to make the nettle tea they drank. She noticed me waking up.1
"I'm sorry" she began "It's the first night he hasn't woken up in the middle of the night screaming with a nightmare. I've never seen him get a solid nights sleep before. I hope you don't mind."
I lay there his weight on me "No" I said "No it's fine. I've always wondered what it was like to be a mattress."2
After ten more minutes Leeh woke up and slid off me. We stared at each other for a moment he rubbed his eyes.
"My name is Jenny" I said "I'm Jenny Banks. I'm a student at Caltech"3
Leeh looked at me "Liam" he said.3
"Madrik come and hear this. Leeh has spoken" said Belinda excitedly coming over "What's your name?"
"Liam" said Leeh again.1
People began to come in from the bed rooms. Everyone was amazed, smiles broke out, it was like Christmas and Liam's name was the only present.