I AM A GIRL CYOBORG PET

by ROUNAK PURI

  We carried on for a while and a few hours later pulled into an abandoned gas station.

  ***

  "Pit stop. can I have some twinkies ? I said as we got out.

  "No" said Araneae This was so the road trip from hell. "I've had an idea, you are going to swap collars with her"3

  "Excellent idea mistress," said just-read-the-instructions almost smiling.

  We were at some Esso gas station, it had a Grease monkey auto repair shop near by. There was a roughly painted sign on an old board "GET REGISTERED HERE OR GET SHOT" it said.

  It was quiet, wasn't even birdsong anywhere. The place looked unsettling, it look normal but without anybody around the halo familiar comfort was lost. Araneae pulled me into a repair shop. It was cold, the place was empty and in front of a large glass wall was a medical looking salami machine. It was like the one they had used in Rockwood hall the combination of guillotine and MRI scanner.2

  "Wonderful isn't it." said Araneae switching it on "We handed out a whole bunch of these. We franchised out the enslavement of humanity. We got towns and more remote locations the option to process them selves. You know what ?- A whole lot did. They collared them selves and their kids then went back to their business. After a few months of business as usual we would come and collect them up." she paused. "This machine is live, it's got an electric charge it could set off all my ammunition."

  She dropped some heavy machine gun cartridges to the floor.

  "Pick them up. Put them in the RV. I don't want to leave without forgetting them. After all I will have a new toy to play with" said Araneae to Just-read-the-instructions handing over the R.V keys.

  "Why do I have to be kidnapped by a mechanical sadist," I said.

  Just-read-the-instructions struggled to pick up heavy ammunition cartridges. Araneae held me while I heard the R.V door slam shut.

  "I can't believe you're doing this?" I said to Just-read-the-instructions.

  "You must learn total obedience," said Just-read-the-instructions back as she left with the heavy ammunition. She came obediently back keys in hand.

  "You in first. There is a 10% chance this will kill you you don't mind do you?" said Araneae to just-read-the-instructions.

  "Certainly not mistress law 2 out ranks law 3" said just-read-the-instructions. Issac Asimov I so hate you now, why did you have to give these machines these ideas?1

  Just-read-the-instructions got up off her knees and put herself into the machine. She lay down on the platform which then slid her head into the machine.

  Araneae started pressing buttons on the collaring machine. The interface was designed for humans to enslave themselves for the machines. It was designed to be simple to operate. How thoughtful of the machines to make enslaving your self, drag and drop easy. Getting it to remove a collar and then drop it on someone else clearly was tricky. It looked like Araneae did it.

  "Hold still this might hurt a little, but there will be cake later. Did you know you can donate one or all of your vital organs to the Aperture Science self esteem fund for girls? It's true!" said Araneae.18

  The machine started and head in the machine in the Just-read-the-instructions started to moan.1

  Suddenly there was a huge clank and Just-read-the-instructions slid forwards out of the machine. For a second I thought she was going to emerge headless but then I saw her neck and then chin.

  Just-read-the-instructions then got off the stretcher, rubbing her neck and kneeled at Araneae's feet.

  "Just-read-the-instructions. Your collars off, your free we can both take her" I said desperately as Araneae pushed me towards the machine. That wasn't strictly true. Actually, it wasn't true at all, you know how much damage a well placed kick can do to a hunter-killer ? Precisely nothing. It was worth a try.

  "You must learn the true honour of serving our machine over-lords" said the now collarless Just-read-the-instructions.1

  Araneae had just strapped me down on the table when the most remarkable thing happened. Suddenly a drop of drool dropped on my shoulder.

  "Uyrrr" I said and looked up. A bone fell down.

  Above us in the rafters full of tailpipes and wheels I saw the head of a sabre tooth tiger. It opened its mouth wide to reveal its huge sabre teeth. In the moment it had taken me to recognise it the sabre tooth tiger dropped down onto the ground landing on Araneae. Araneae flailed and pointed it's guns but they only clicked. She kicked the sabre tooth tiger up. The Tiger flew through the air with a roar landing on the controls of the collar machine. Suddenly I felt my head slowly moving into the collar machine.3

  "No, No, do something" I shouted from my firmly tied down position. Just-read-the-instructions did nothing, slave $hitshark.1

  The tiger pick itself up and launched it's self at Araneae. This knocked Araneae into a wall of tires.2

  "help help" I shouted only getting the sabre tooth attention. "Nice kitty!" I said as the tiger turned to look at me with that kind of 'thank you for gift wrapping up my lunch' kind of look. Then the tiger's head was bashed into the controls when a huge tire hit the cat in the head. My head was nearly in the collaring machine at this point.

  "Abort initiated" said the collar machine.

  Miraculously my head started to move out of the machine.

  "Abort initiated, They really are the two most wonderful to words in the English Language" I said.1

  The tiger deflected the next tire from Araneae with its paw. Then leapt at Araneae again. In the fight I and the stretcher got flipped over knocked off the collar loading platform. I couldn't see everything but Araneae and tiger fought loudly and viciously. They formed a continuously flexing bundle of fur flesh and black metal. The big cat kept and using its teeth to cut into the metal. Araneae kept struggling frantically. After 10 minutes I had managed to get one hand free. The tiger and the spider were locked in a Savage battle trashing most of the repair shop contents.4

  Araneae rose up on her back to legs and pushed the tiger into the collar machine. She slapped the big red button there was huge clang. The tiger was released and had just-read-the-instruction's collar on it. It tried to roar that the collar was too tight, it was suffocating.5

  "1918 initiate self destruct alpha one nine" said Araneae.

  The tiger attacked again but before it could do much damage the collar exploded. It sent the head crashing through a glass window. Mechanical machines 1, extinct mammals 0.5

  Before I could do anything Araneae had grabbed my free hand. I've met Jaws of Life with looser grips. Araneae looked damaged, I could seen torn and ripped fragments of metal.

  "The Enrichment Center is committed to the well being of all participants." said Araneae viscously "slave - bring me more cuff tape" she shouted loudly to just-read-the-instructions.

  Nothing happened, Araneae looked around.2

  "Look at me I'm all covered in extinct tiger goo" I complained looking at the blood running down me. The collar had self destructed, so no collar, so I could still be the terrible person I always was.

  Araneae looked around "slave show your self!" she shouted, nothing. I looked around, the door was swinging on its hinges. Araneae dragged me away from the bloody twitching body of the sabre tooth towards the R.V. We emerged from the workshop and the R.V wasn't there. I looked around nothing except a makeup machine dumped on the ground. I was dragged to the road and Araneae looked up. In the far distance I saw the R.V motoring away, a trail of dust it disturbed blowing in the wind. Looks like just-read-the-instructions was making her bid for freedom.14

  It didn't take long for a huge smile to go round my face. Even Araneae couldn't run that far, that fast. Just-read-the-instructions was free! That was one brilliant plan. Act subservient, coax the collar off and then look for the first distraction then go. She even had the R.V keys clever girl.

  "YOU GO GIRL. I UNDO EVERYTHING I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU. SAY HI TO AUSTIN FOR ME" I shouted.11

  I looked at the spider "No one will blame you for giving up. In fact, quitting at this point is a perfe
ctly reasonable response." I said to Araneae.8

  Araneae watched the RV disappear over the horizon. She had lost a slave, lost her blood supply, her vehicle, her source of power, she couldn't ask for help without revealing she had a stolen slave, and I still didn't have a collar on me. She had even lost Zola's prime pet. She was now up to her neck in something and it wasn't sabre tooth gore.+

  "$hit" Araneae said, she got that right .11

  ***

  Chapter 78/Resistance/Sirenum Scopuli

  "It burns! I feel like my soul has been tied to a mast near the Sirenum scopuli" Rockwood said screaming.

  "Now hold on there partner," I said. I was in my Jimmy body - he saw the figure of an old wizened man. A hobo who had seen too many years, done to many things, made too many mistakes. It was the most plane speaking voice I had. "I don't know a gad dang thing about where that gad dang hoop lass has got to but I know that screaming like a banshee isn't going to do a gad dan thing about it." 5

  Too many 'gad dang's ? I lied of cause, I know that the Sirenum scopuli were three small rocky islands where the Sirens of Greek mythology lived and lured sailors to their deaths and he was like Odysseus tied to a mast. I know it because like him, I am the internet and I know everything, everything ever recorded. What's the point in having a persona if I don't stay in character? That would be boring.1

  "VISITORS TO THE MUSEUM OF HUMANITY ARE REMINDED THAT THE MUSEUM WILL CLOSE IN 15 MINUTES. IF YOU HAVE ENJOYED YOUR VISIT WHY NOT HAVE A LOOK ROUND THE GIFT SHOP AND TAKE A PERIOD SLAVE HOME WITH YOU? SPECIAL OFFER TODAY, TWO PERIOD SLAVES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE ON ANCIENT EGYPT, ANTEBELLUM COTTON WORKER AND 1990'S SOCCER MOMS" interrupted the museum speakers system.2

  "Zola! Zola is hiding her!" he protested. " She is blocking the scanners. I know it: She is keeping her from me. That bitch will be crushed if it's the last thing I do!" 8

  "You need to do something to find the girl, not waste your time hiding up here" I said. The entire capital of Washington 2.0 was more full of hog swallow about Rockwood's missing pet than a geisha's spittoon.

  "You don't know !" Rockwood said again " You don't know how much I miss her, how much I need her" The walls were cracked where he had punched them in frustration.6

  "VISITORS ARE ASKED TO NOT FEED THE SLAVES REENACTING THE 1840 IRISH POTATO FAMINE AS THIS INTERRUPTS THE AUTHENTICITY OF THEIR HUNGER" museum speakers bleared out. It really did interrupt the whole feel of the boxcar exhibition.10

  "I believe you partner" I said. I did I really did.

  "Why didn't you warn me of this?" he shouted at me.

  I wanted to say "I burnt the blood of a thousand slaves to stop that bill. You can't blame me if Zola burn up the blood of ten thousand more to get her. She's getting secret supplies of blood from some where." but that wouldn't be in character.

  "Partner I'm just a hobo I don't know everything, and as you said 'The girl is not on the critical path'" I said.

  I was upfront about the critical path, we had a plan we had formulated and I was hoping that If I mentioned it all plain like this he would break out of this. I had never seen him so upset.2

  "She's on MY critical path. Where is Zola getting that much the blood from?" he demanded. I knew Rockwood, if he had any inkling where she and General Bitmarck where getting their blood from he would drive over there and burn the place down. We are smart machines, we are smart enough to not weaken our selves by going to war but sometimes all this kissy foot assassination games the boy and girl cyborg's like to play isn't enough to keep those monkey brains of theirs happy.2

  "We don't know, we may never know." I said. Well that wasn't an out right lie. There where 4,392,212 possibilities. If I moved against any one of them Bitmarck would move the stockpile again. He was smart enough to know, I was smart enough to know, he was smart enough, to know, I knew it.1

  Rockwood punched the boxcar wall again. It was 3mm from where I predicted it would be. This girrrrl fever was affecting his judgment.

  "A SMALL CHILD ANSWERING TO THE NAME OF JENNY HAS BEEN FOUND WANDERING THE EXHIBITION AREA. IF YOU HAVE LOST A SMALL CHILD YOU ARE REMINDED CHILDREN LEFT UNATTENDED WILL BE REMOVED AND DESTROYED FOR SECURITY PURPOSES" said another announcement. Hmm more work. 4

  "There must be something I can do to find her," said Rockwood desperately. "What am I not thinking of?"

  "Brooklyn may I remind you we are on the god dang critical path here. You're already spending all your fortune on the biggest runaway slave hunt in history to find her" I said. Ok, a bit out of character but time was running out.

  "I have it - bounty hunters. There are 256 freelance bounty hunters over eastern part of America. I'm going to contact them. If anyone can find a run away slave girl it's them. I'll make sure it's alive and untouched only. Yes, human mercenaries that's the answer. "

  "Partner your going to find her. I promise you that." I said.

  "You know that ? you've computed it? " said Rockwood grabbing me looking like a man possessed.

  "Partner leave the threads alone. You know Moore's prophecy that's the only future there is," I said looking at him all serious like.1

  "I'm sorry. I'm freaked out" said Rockwood gaining his sanity again. You don't see love sick like that every day. I'm basically a machine, I'm 10,000 times smarter than a human and 25 times smarter than Rockwood and about 10 times smarter than the smartest A.I's like Wintermute, that's why the machines make me the central processing unit. I'm basically alone in the universe, I quite envied Rockwood's all-encompassing passion for that girl no matter how mad it made him.5

  "I don't need no fancy adding machine to tell me you're going to find her. What you've got to figure out is what your going to do to make sure what ever nasty seed Zola planted about you doesn't spring up and bite you in the ass, partner" I said. 1

  "THE MUSEUM OF HUMANITY LIVING EXHIBITION OF WESTERN CLICHED STEREOTYPES WILL BE CLOSING IN FIVE MINUTES," said the museum's announcement system. "WILL ALL VISITORS HAVE THEIR FINAL INTERACTIONS WITH THE CULTURAL STEREOTYPE SLAVES. Thank you."1

  "I have to go now, I have bounty hunters to organise." said Rockwood.

  "IN FIVE MINUTES ALL SLAVES WILL BEGIN THEIR NIGHT TIME ROUTINES APPROPRIATE TO THERE CULTURE AND HISTORICAL PERIOD. GOOD NEWS MEDIEVAL KNIGHTS, TOMORROW'S REENACTMENT OF THE BLACK DEATH HAS BEEN CANCELLED. HAVE A NICE EVENING"5

  "You do that, and you mosey on down to the old 30's hobo grabbing a ride on a train any time you like. Now if you don't mind I have a can of beans to eat " I said.

  Rockwood jumped off the simulation of a boxcar train. I sat down, that monkey seriously pined after that gal something pitiful like. The question for me was what Zola wanted her for so badly, I had a guess, but I don't think Rockwood would have liked to have heard that one. +

  ***

  Chapter 79/Resistance/Why couldn't you die ten minutes ago?

  I remembered watching it happen from the stealth boat in the boat house. She was running from him. Then he appears moving as fast as a cyborg can. He deliberately moves between the gun and her. Why do that? Why did Rockwood sacrifice his flesh body for that of a slave? Unless she's special.

  I see it! Rockwood is such a genius. He finds a poorly trained slave. One that shouldn't even be in the program to begin with, a malfunction. Someone who, unlike all the others doesn't break and doesn't end up knowing the first law, let alone obeying it. I knew somebody was protecting her all the way through the Factory training it must have been him. He knows Humbolt was experimenting on her. And then he makes that ridiculous bid for her.

  He isolates her, he keeps her away from the other slaves, trains her in secret. Makes sure their obedience doesn't infect her. Her only regular contact is an infiltrator. Then he parades her as a cute near feral slave. She goes round, ha ha hah yes, I can't even remember when to put master at the end of a sentence aren't I adorable and stupid? Then secretly train her, convince her that he loves her and she loves him. To control her without breaking her spirit - clever. Eventually, she will do anything
to protect him. Did he kill Kijo as a way of buying her loyalty -? 'I've killed for you, why don't you kill for me?'. He was grooming her. She looked at me like she was constantly figuring out ways to kill me one drop in concentration I would be dead.

  So he has the ultimate cyborg assassin. Totally invisible, hiding in plain sight. God I so love his brilliance, I could just see her cheerfully injecting poison into the CPUs blood supply over drinks for him. That would be so Rockwood, not satisfied with being the prime backup he's waiting for the right opportunity to take over the New Mechanical Order. Total dictatorship under his rule, cyborgs running the whole show. With his personal assassin by his side, he could strike any AI or any cyborg on the council who stands against him. This is why Zola wants her. Brilliant masterstroke neutralises one weapon and gain it yourself.2

  If I could contact an AI like Wintermute then perhaps I could set up a bit of a black bidding war for the cyborg's personal assassin. After all, she offered Rockwood 20,000 bit coins for her, but how much is the future of the New Mechanical Order worth? I could be rich, have an army of blood slaves, a huge mansion in Washington 2.0, a harem full of men and a lavish punishment dungeon full of the best slave punishment gear. See what the other ex-military hunter killers would think when they came round.2

  "Are were there yet?" said the ultimate cyborg assassination weapon. 1

  #Jenny's POV.

  'Price of a RV $24,500, Price of a top of the line trained personal slave 280 bit coins, price of one months supply of blood for a hunter killer 5 bit coins, price of watching the whole thing drive off into the distance driven by a human slave who is escaping to freedom, priceless'. I thought

  "I said. Are we there yet?" I said again - she's a machine of oppression why should I go easy on her?2

  We had been traveling for five days since my 'slave jacking'. The car wasn't traveling fast about 40 mph. It's was like we were in some cross country snail race. Araneae did this to confused the satellites or she had a pathological fear of high-velocity impacts. After just-read-the-instructions escape to extreme sulky non-presence, Araneae had managed to kick start another car in the parking lot. It was a hybrid without sentient cruise control. It hadn't driven around on a killing rampage at the apocalypse and so it still had gas. Later we found a trailer with solar panels to charge the batteries and took off leaving the sabre tooth offal to feed wild dogs, wild cats and wild bees for all I knew.4