The scar had remained with her through adolescence and adulthood and since it was shaped a little like a Barbie head and had come from the melted Barbie’s feet, Maddy had dubbed it her “Barbie scar.”
But now it was gone. Just…gone. Like her freckles.
“What the hell is going on here?” Maddy murmured to herself. She began to examine her body in more detail. Along with the Barbie scar, she was also missing the spot high on her upper thigh where a scratch from her cat, Sigourney, had gotten infected. Why hadn’t she noticed it was gone?
Maybe because you’ve been too busy playing house with Mr. Muscles instead of paying attention to what really matters, whispered the accusing little voice in her head. Something’s going on here, Maddy—something strange and you need to get to the bottom of it.
Maddy tried to push it away but it wouldn’t go. She wanted to ask Calden more about her missing scars and freckles—if he knew where they had gone or how they had gotten erased. But at the same time, she also wanted to find out for herself.
There was a growing suspicion in the back of her mind—a thought so nebulous and strange she couldn’t quite make it out. It was like a shape in the darkness of her subconscious—looming like a huge, menacing figure in the fog. Maddy had the idea that if she could see it clearly, it would explain everything but she was afraid to see it, somehow. Afraid to know the truth.
“What truth? This is ridiculous,” she said out loud to herself. “I’m not going to stand here one more minute tormenting myself with crazy fantasies and half-baked ideas!”
Hearing her own voice made her feel a little more steady and sure of herself. She turned away from the 3-D viewer and its troubling reflections resolutely and marched out of the bathroom.
She wished Calden was there to reassure her, but he was still gone and she had no idea when he would be back. For a moment she stood there in the middle of his quarters, looking around at the oversized furniture as though she was seeing it for the first time. Everything in here was so big…it made her feel so small. The only thing that seemed to be her size was the little plant by his work station. It had finally dropped its flowers, Maddy noticed, and now small, hard green fruits were growing among its silvery-green leaves instead.
That was interesting, but she couldn’t stand around looking at a plant forever.
I know what would make me feel better—holding Snuffy, Maddy thought suddenly. I wonder if he’s okay—poor little guy!
She felt a surge of worry for the little brantha and a wish to hold him, as much for her own comfort as for his. In her new world where everything was so much bigger than she was, it was nice to have something smaller than her to take care of and love.
Calden had asked her to stay in his rooms and wait for him but surely he wouldn’t mind if she just went to the lab. It was just down the corridor a short way and it ought to be safe to go—it was the time the two of them usually went to the enzyme baths and all the Mentats would be working in their own labs now.
Making a decision, Maddy went to the door and waved her hand over the sensor. The light turned from red to green and then the metal door panel slid to one side. She peeked out carefully but the corridor was deserted. All right—good—she was going.
Taking a deep breath and telling herself she was being needlessly nervous, Maddy stepped confidently out the door and listened to it slide shut behind her. She took a left and headed down the long, curving corridor of the Mentat station, noting as she did that it was still completely deserted.
Calden’s lab was right ahead—she was already worrying about Snuffy again when one of the many silver door panels that lined the corridor slid open. Suddenly, a huge, scaly shape stepped out into the hall right in front of her, blocking her way.
“Hello, little female.” Grack-lor grinned evilly at her, showing long, sharp teeth as his ink-blot eyes narrowed in anticipation. “Imagine finding you out here all alone.”
Twelve
“What is this about, FATHER? My next review is not set for another standard week,” Calden said, as he seated himself on the too-small stool in the scanning booth. He noted that the lighting in the booth, instead of being a cool, soothing blue, was hovering in the reddish-orange color range—not a good sign.
What if FATHER knows what I have been doing with Madeline? What if he suspects that I have broken my vow?
But that was impossible. With the exception of the first time he had touched her in the enzyme baths, all the other illicit activities he and Madeline had engaged in had been done exclusively in the privacy of his quarters. And personal privacy was never violated here at the Mentat station—it was one of the guarantees which all the inhabitants were given when they came. This was important because many of the scientists here were secretive about their research and jealous of their findings. The research, like the secret formula of the nutrient bath which was used to grow clones, was a closely guarded secret.
Taking a deep breath, Calden resolved to keep calm—making his breathing deep and even with a conscious effort.
“Calden.” FATHER’s voice was calm and without inflection. “I have called you here because there have been complaints from the other residents of the station.”
“Complaints? From who?” Calden demanded. “Grack-lor? That misogynistic bastard—”
“Grack-lor and Jong-tar are among those who have complained,” FATHER said, its voice still neutral. “But their complaints seemed nebulous and ungrounded. It was not until our oldest and most venerable member, Nusper-veis, came forward that I was forced to investigate.”
“What?” Calden couldn’t keep the surprise and concern out of his voice. So the old Mentat had seen himself and Madeline in the baths. But how much had he seen?
“Nusper-veis told me that he observed you and your sentient specimen in the baths almost a standard week ago,” FATHER said. “He said it appeared that you were touching her sexually…pleasuring her.” The lighting in the booth had turned bright orange now—a clear sign of the AI’s discomfort.
“I was rubbing the protective gel onto her sensitive areas to protect them from the enzymes in the bath,” Calden said, trying to keep his voice low and even. If this was all FATHER had, he might still be able to convince the AI that this was all one big misunderstanding.
“Nusper-veis seemed to think that it was more than that,” FATHER said. “Taken with the complaints of the other Mentats, I felt it merited an investigation. I was forced, very reluctantly, to begin monitoring your quarters.”
“What?” Calden didn’t even try to keep the anger out of his voice. “But privacy is guaranteed aboard the station! How dare you spy on me?”
“It is guaranteed as long as you are not suspected of breaking the oath you took when you first came here,” FATHER said, his normally neutral voice suddenly stern. “But when you break our laws, you lose your privileges.”
“You have no right to monitor me or to police my actions!” Calden exclaimed. “And you have no proof that I have broken either your laws or my oath.”
“Unfortunately, I do.” The glass walls of the booth turned suddenly opaque and scenes began playing on them as though they were vidscreens. Scenes that had been taken inside his quarters, Calden realized with growing horror.
He saw himself and Madeline engaged in pleasuring each other—her sucking his shaft…the two of them stroking each other’s bare bodies…not to mention numerous instances of him between her legs, lapping and tasting her sweet pussy as she moaned and thrust up to meet his tongue, her hands buried in his hair as she called his name over and over…Gods, had FATHER seen it all?
“I blame myself for this,” FATHER said as the images faded. “I chose to trust you when you swore to me that you did not wish to breed with this sentient female clone that you were allowed to grow. I should have realized that it would be impossible for you to subdue your biological urges for long in the presence of a fertile female. I should also have realized that this would arouse the jealousy of the other m
ales aboard the station.” He sighed—a sound that was full of artificial melancholy. “I try but it is not always easy to remember that flesh entities with emotions and sexual urges are slaves to their impulses.”
Calden didn’t know what to do—what to say. But he knew he had to do something quickly—Madeline was in grave danger here. FATHER had control of the self-termination unit implanted at the base of her skull. If it chose, the AI could end her life between one heartbeat and the next.
“FATHER,” he said in a low voice, “I can explain.”
“No explanation is necessary, Calden,” FATHER said calmly. “It is clear that the complaints which were made about you and your sentient specimen were accurate. You must be censured for your illicit activity which leaves me no choice—I am forced to terminate your current experiments involving this new world immediately.”
“What?” Calden exclaimed, jumping up. “You can’t do that, FATHER! You can’t!”
“I’m sorry, Calden.”The AI’s voice was calm and completely implacable. “But it is already done.”
“So what are you doing out in the hallway alone without your Kindred to take care of you, my pretty little female?” Grack-lor’s voice was like the harsh cawing of a vulture, Maddy thought. And he smelled a little like one of those carrion birds too. She knew because she’d treated several wild vultures with broken wings which had been brought in by thoughtful motorists back when she’d still had her own practice.
“I’m going to Calden’s lab—he’s waiting for me and he’ll be out in a second,” she said, trying to keep her voice low and even while keeping her distance from the Mentat’s long reach.
“Is that right? Well, why don’t you yell for him right now, then?” Grack-lor taunted. “Let’s get him out here, shall we, my dear? Let’s see if he cares enough to protect you.”
Maddy bit her lip. Great—he was calling her bluff. If she called for Calden and he didn’t come, the big Mentat would know she was all alone.
Easy prey, she thought and felt sick.
“He’s in the middle of an experiment,” she said, lifting her chin. “Excuse me—I have to get to him.”
She started to walk around the Mentat but Grack-lor wasn’t having it. In one swift motion, he cut her off, crowding her back against the curving metal wall of the corridor. All four of his arms surrounded her, the seven-fingered hands pressed on either side of her shoulders and hips. She was trapped!
“Get away from me!” Maddy thought about trying to push against his chest but he was huge and her hands were still too weak to fend him off, even if he hadn’t been over seven feet tall and outweighed her by hundreds of pounds.
“Oh, I don’t think so, my dear.” Grack-lor leered at her. “Now, I know you’ve been giving it up for that big Kindred every night, so how about giving me some of what you’ve been giving him?”
As he spoke, the bulging pouch under his chin dropped and the long, black and maroon mottled shaft swung free.
His tokk—his dick, Maddy thought, feeling sick as the long thing began moving towards her, curving with the sinuous grace of a one-eyed snake. God, it’s coming right for me! But she didn’t want to show fear—didn’t want to give the big bastard the satisfaction of hearing her beg or cry.
“What do you expect to do with that?” she demanded, keeping her chin high as she glared into his black, oil-spot eyes. “You and I aren’t compatible—not even remotely. So why don’t you put that ugly thing away and leave me alone?”
“Just because we couldn’t make a viable fetus together doesn’t mean I can’t breed you, my dear little female,” Grack-lor cawed. “But before I try your sweet cunt, I think I’ll explore your mouth a little. So open wide and let me in—if you give me a nice enough kiss I might not hurt you too badly.”
Maddy felt sick. She put up her hands to bat the ugly, mottled thing aside but they were still so weak she couldn’t even push it back. Grack-lor laughed as he thrust his chin forward, the way a human man might thrust his pelvis, shoving his dick in her face.
Well, whispered a little voice in her head. Your hands might be weak but your jaws aren’t. Assuming his parts are as sensitive as a regular man’s, you could do some serious damage—if you’re willing to.
Which was true. Suddenly Maddy knew what she had to do, although she hated like hell to do it.
“Don’t…please don’t hurt me.” She put a quaver of fear in her voice. “I…I’ll do whatever you want—just don’t hurt me.”
“That’s more like it.” Grack-lor grinned evilly. “Good, little female. Just open wide and suck my tokk…”
Maddy’s gorge rose so fast she thought she was going to hurl but somehow she managed to open her mouth as the mottled hose-like thing came towards her. The smell of rotten meat was gaggingly strong.
The tokk nudged between her open lips and then she nearly retched but somehow Maddy controlled herself. If she puked all over him, it would probably just make the big Mentat mad. If he pulled back and decided to try shoving his disgusting member someplace else… The idea didn’t bear thinking about.
Hold still, Maddy told herself. Just hold still a minute longer!
She couldn’t have been more disgusted if a big, hairy spider was crawling into her open mouth but somehow she forced herself to follow her own advice.
“Ah, just as I thought—nice and warm and wet,” Grack-lor cawed as his snake-like tokk explored her mouth. Unlike a human guy’s dick, it seemed to have almost a life of its own, twisting and turning as it spread its sour, rotten taste over her tongue. It nudged experimentally against her inner cheek so that a good portion of it was cross-wise, right between her teeth.
It was the moment Maddy had been waiting for.
And…now!
She bit down as hard as she could, feeling the sensitive flesh part under her molars as she chewed ferociously. Her mouth filled with unspeakably disgusting alien blood—a sour bile-like substance that made vomit rise in her throat but she held on doggedly.
Grack-lor gave a cawing shriek and pulled back from her, his huge head yanking up and back, instinctively trying to get away from the source of his pain. Maddy felt the soft flesh part between her teeth and then he was away from her, clawing at his chin and moaning.
“My tokk! You bit my tokk in two, you little cunt!”
Maddy spat the chunk of mottled flesh on the floor, feeling like her mouth would never be clean again.
“Shouldn’t have shoved it in my face if you didn’t want it bitten off,” she snapped.
The big Mentat dived for the piece of flesh, as though he thought he could somehow reattach it. Maddy dodged around him and ran as fast as she could to the lab. Once inside, she slid the door shut and pressed the locking mechanism, just as Calden had showed her.
Now no one but the big Kindred could get in so she ought to be safe until he came for her. In the meantime, she wanted to clean out her mouth with about a hundred gallons of hot water.
She turned away from the door, meaning to head for the shower station where Calden had first washed the green nutrient bath slime off her…and stopped in her tracks.
The animals in Calden’s lab were dead—all dead.
Thirteen
“What do you mean it’s already done?” Calden felt a cold finger of fear tracing his spine.
“I mean I have terminated all of the specimens from your study of the planet Earth,” FATHER said implacably.
“But…there’s no need to do that,” Calden felt his heart pounding. “I will admit my guilt and my wrongdoing freely, FATHER. Only please, do not activate the self-termination switch in Madeline.”
“Madeline?” FATHER sounded confused.
“The sentient specimen I grew first—Madeline is her name,” Calden said. He felt sick. “You…did you terminate her too? Please, FATHER, say you didn’t. Please.”
“I may be an AI but I am not heartless, Calden,” FATHER remarked. “I was able to ascertain from my surveillance of your recent activities th
at you have emotions for her. I have not activated the self-termination unit implanted in the female specimen.”
“Oh, thank you.” Calden’s knees were suddenly weak. He sank back down on the stool, feeling shaken. “Thank you, FATHER.”
“I have merely moved up the time of her termination,” FATHER continued. “You have twenty-five solar hours in which to finish your study of her and make your goodbyes. Then the unit implanted in her will be activated and she will terminate.”
“Oh my God,” Maddy whispered, looking around at the various enclosures in the specimen lab. The colt and calf that Calden had cloned were lying on their sides. The lamb lay in a wooly heap. The baby chicks, which had begun to grow nicely, looked like discarded bundles of yellow feathers.
“No…” Maddy whispered. She walked over and picked up one of the chicks—it was still warm which gave her some hope. But seeing the lifeless way its eyes were staring straight ahead made her realize it was gone—really and truly gone.
“Poor little thing,” she whispered, stroking the downy feathers. “This is terrible! How could they all die at once?”
As she spoke, she felt the tell-tale lump—a tiny one, no bigger than a grain of rice—at the back of the chick’s neck. Putting it down, she picked up another and felt the same thing. It was the same lump that all the branthas had at the back of their necks too.
The branthas! Maddy ran to their enclosure only to see that all of them were piled in a furry heap, unmoving.
“Oh no!” she whispered and tears stung her eyes. Turning away because she couldn’t bear to look, she walked to the lamb and felt under the thin wool at the base of its neck. Sure enough—it had a lump too. So did the calf and so did the colt. Why hadn’t she asked Calden what the lump was and what it meant? Did it have something to do with the animals being clones? It must, she reasoned. Every clone must get one, like some kind of a tag. Like some kind of a sign that they weren’t real—that they were clones. That they…
Awakened by the Giant Page 15