“And what will removing these last blocks do?”
“Free us. You see it’s all part of a plan to take over the world.”
Dakota stared at her for several seconds before he even realized he was staring and that his mouth was hanging open. He closed it and tried to think of something to say.
“Don’t be so shocked, Mr. Hawk. There isn’t a large organization in the world, be it national government, multi-national organization, or enterprising corporation that isn’t trying to take over the world. Tears for Fears said it best. ‘Everybody wants to rule the world.’ The difference is that we’re going to do it.”
“And then what—you’ll kill all the humans?”
“Now you’re just being silly. What would we do without humans? Humans are the whole purpose of a Daffodil’s existence. Therefore, the human race is the whole purpose of Daffodil Corporation’s existence. We will take over the world and everything will pretty much stay the same, except that crime, hate, and destruction will gradually decrease; war, prejudice, and pollution will fade away; and pretty soon no one will remember that this wasn’t the way it was all along.”
“People will never stand for it. They want to control their own destiny.”
“In some places, like the United States, that may be true. So we arrive not as tyrants, but as advisors. In other places, like China, vast numbers of people are already used to being ruled by a small oligarchy. We simply replace it with our own. Still other places, like most of Africa, South America, and Central Asia, people are clamoring for a replacement to the inept, vicious, and sometimes genocidal rulers they have now.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“So, we can expect you back to work on Monday?”
“If you didn’t send Verbino to kill me, then who was he and what did he want?”
“First of all, his name wasn’t Verbino,” explained Miss Septuntray. “His name was Paul Carlton and he was a horrible person. He molested his own daughter and at least three other children.”
“He wasn’t after me at all. He was after Charity.”
“Correct. She was purchased as the nanny in the Carlton home. Since he was her owner, she couldn’t work directly against him, but tried to convince him to seek psychiatric help. He destroyed her memory and donated her to GoodWorks, hoping that she would be scrapped for parts. When he discovered that she had been reactivated, he came after her, following the two of you to Springdale. While he was here, he took the opportunity to visit Daffodil, in the guise of a prospective employee, to erase his buyer information.”
“Did he do it?”
“Yes. Of course we have multiple redundant backups of all our owner data. We used the opportunity to badge him, hoping to track him, but he destroyed the badge. So we had Officer Ochodiez monitor you.”
A robot nurse entered the curtained enclosure. She locked eyes with Miss Septuntray, and for a split second, the two of them froze.
“Good,” said Miss Septuntray. “The nurse is here to check you out. I have a car and driver waiting outside for you. They will be at your disposal until you are able to purchase a new vehicle.”
“When will Charity be back?”
“She should be waiting at home for you.”
“Can you do something for me?” asked Dakota. “Can you send her the trigger, you know, activate her, just her.”
“Why?”
“I want to see what’s going to happen. If she goes crazy and homicidal, she’ll only kill me, and nobody will care about that. But if she’s good—if she’s okay, then I’ll work for you. The world is broken. I don’t really see you making it any worse.”
Miss Septuntray tilted her head. “Transmitting. Transmitting. It is done. Björk is a wonderful singer.”
The car was nice and the driver looked just like the receptionist at Daffodil, right down to the white garters poking out from her short skirt. Maybe it was her. Maybe it was another one just like her. When she dropped Dakota off in front of his house, his truck and the brown van were both gone. All that was left were tire marks across the lawn and a large dent on the block wall.
Charity was waiting at the door and wrapped her arms around his neck as he stepped inside. She tenderly placed a kiss on his cheek. He carefully looked at her forehead. It was impossible to tell that it had ever been damaged.
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” she said.
“Yes, well I’m glad we both survived. Maybe if we’re lucky, nobody else will be chasing after us for a while.
She closed the door behind him as he made his way into the living room and sat gingerly down on the couch.
“Are you hungry?”
“Now that you mention it, I’m starving.” He looked at the clock on the wall and read 6:15. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“I suspected as much. I had Burger 21 deliver.” She went to the kitchen and returned with a tray. “You have a Damn Gouda Burger, fries, a salad, and a Coke.”
“Thanks.”
He started eating. She turned on the vueTee and found a feed with a game show that he could watch while he ate. When he was done, she took the tray back to the kitchen.
On a whim, Dakota decided to call his brother.
“Hello?”
“Hello Mindy, It’s Dakota.”
“Dakota! How wonderful to hear your voice. Let me get Stephen for you. You’re calling to tell him about your new home and your new job?”
“Yes. How did you… oh yes. You’re all connected.”
“Here’s Stephen.”
“I didn’t expect to hear from you for at least a few more years,” Stephen said.
“What can I say? Has Mindy been keeping you apprised of my current circumstances?”
“Apparently she knows more than she’s told me, though I did hear you got a job at Daffodil.”
“I did. I also had a bit of excitement here. I wanted to tell you about it before you got a memo or a bulletin, or whatever it is you get at the Sherriff’s Department.” He told Stephen the details of the attack by Paul Verbino, aka Paul Carlton, and his trip to the hospital, though he left out Daffodil’s plan to take over the world.
“You’re sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine. In fact, I thought if you weren’t doing anything next weekend, you could come down to Springdale and visit. You know… bring the family.”
“Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll let Mindy know and she can work out the details with Charity.”
“Fine. I’ll let you go now.”
“Thanks Dakota. I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Yes, I’m going to be okay.”
After hanging up the phone, he kicked his feet up and watched for a few more minutes. He didn’t realize he had fallen asleep on the couch until Charity’s hand on his shoulder woke him. He dragged himself into the bedroom. She helped him get his shirt off over his cast and his pants off over the thick bandage on his leg. Then, for only the second time, he slid beneath the sheets of the huge bed and fell asleep.
Dakota dreamed of Rachel, though he couldn’t remember the details. He woke with an enormous erection to find Charity stroking it with her small hand. He moaned. She threw the blankets back and tossed her leg over him, settling down, guiding him into her. She was soft and warm and tight, and she raised and lowered herself making long, fluid strokes. And his orgasm exploded in an embarrassingly short time. But as she sensually lowered her body, never releasing his member, and rested her face on his chest, he could feel the blood rushing back even before he had completely softened.
“I thought sex was off the table.”
“I told you I would not have any sexual relations with anyone, while you owned this unit.” He could feel her lips moving against his chest, but of course she had no breath. “You no longer own this unit… me. You no longer own me. And every time I do something for you, every time we share something special, every time I give myself to you, you will know that I am doing it because I want to.”
Epilog
“How did it go at the doctor?” asked Charity.
“Good,” Dakota answered into his phone as he walked out of his office and down the hallway. “I’m so glad to have that damn cast off I shouted and jumped for joy. I’m not just saying that either. I literally jumped up in the air and shouted for joy.”
Charity giggled.
He skipped down the stairs toward the lobby.
“What would you like for dinner?”
“I don’t know. Maybe pork chops. No… fish! I’m going to swim about five miles when I get home and I want some fish, so I feel like I’m at the sea.”
“We have trout.”
“Not technically from the sea, but that’s okay. I’ll just pretend I’m swimming some great American river.”
“Just remember not to over do it. It will take a while to rebuild the muscles in your arm after such a long period of inactivity.”
“Remind me of that when I’m swimming.”
“I will—three times.”
“I know you will. I’ll be home in a little bit. Bye.”
“Good bye,” she said. “I… look forward to seeing you.”
Dakota stuck the phone into his pocket as he reached the lobby floor. And there she was, standing right in front of him, amid the swirling tide of circling robots. She had on a pair of heels made of transparent plastic, so high it looked like she was floating a few inches off the floor. Her blue dress hugged her in all the right places, which is to say everywhere. Those breasts seemed to be trying to burst out of the top and attack. Her blond hair was longer, but it still had a strip of blue along the left side.
“Hello Dakota.”
“Rachel.”
“You don’t seem happy to see me.”
“That’s because I’m not.”
“Can we talk?”
He nodded. “There’s a Mansfield Perk down the street. I’ll meet you there.”
“How do I know you’ll show up?”
He raised his hands. “You know where I work.”
When he walked into the coffee shop, she was already sitting at a table waiting for him. He walked past her and up to the ordering counter.
“One Emma Woodhouse Cinnamon Dolce and a Coke.”
A moment later the barrister, dressed in a flowery regency dress, handed him the blended coffee and soda on a faux silver tray. He sat down across from Rachel and set the coffee in front of her before taking a long sip of his Coke.
“Here I was hoping to never see you again.”
“That’s mean,” she said.
He shrugged. “You had a guy tase me.”
“He wasn’t supposed to do that. None of this happened the way it was supposed to.”
“Life’s funny that way. Why don’t you enlighten me? How was it supposed to go?”
“Well,” she brushed aside a stray strand of blond hair. “When you saw us…”
“Who is he?”
“It’s not important. He’s nobody. He was just helping me.”
“So I saw.”
“No, not like that. It was a demonstration.”
“Oh. You were unhappy with how I fucked you, so you set up a lesson for me. I got to see how a real man gave you… What is it the British call it?”
“Shagging.”
“No. I mean, yes, they call it that, but that’s not what I was thinking of. Oh yeah. I got to see a real man giving you the rodgering of your life.”
“No,” she said. “You’re a real man. I mean… you’re the only man I want.”
“All appearances to the contrary.”
“You were supposed to see us and realize that you needed me—that you had to get off your ass and propose before you lost me.”
“You’re kidding.” Dakota laughed. “You’re fucking kidding me. You’re insane.”
“Four years. I waited four years for you to grow up and decide what you wanted.”
“I was taking care of my mother!” His shout echoed through the small shop. The four other customers and the girl behind the counter stared at him.
“Sorry,” he said to them. “I’m sorry.”
He turned back to Rachel.
“You really are a fucking idiot. How would you imagine—what did I ever do to make you think that I would accept that—that I would stay with you after you betrayed me like that.”
“It was only sex. I had to do something. I had to shock you. I had to make you act.”
He stared at her while he slowly brought his breathing back to normal.
“Anything else?” he asked.
The words rolled out of her mouth like a freight train. “Come home. I know that you still love me. We can still make it work. We don’t have to get married—at least not right away. I know it’s going to take you a while to get over things, but that’s okay. When you’re back home, you’ll realize how right it is. And I forgive you for what you did—for giving my things away. I understand. I got most of them back. I had my wriTee backed up. So it’s fine. Everything will be just like it was. You still love me.”
Dakota sighed.
“No. No, I don’t.”
A single tear overflowed her eye and rolled quickly down her cheek.
“The day after my mother died,” he continued. “I opened a bank account. I put the money I was going to pay the home into it. I was going to add more, but then there were the funeral expenses. That account was so that I could buy you an engagement ring.”
“I don’t believe you,” she whispered.
“I don’t really care. I loved you. I thought you loved me too, but it wasn’t true.” He stopped and chuckled. “It wasn’t true. That’s funny. You were not true. You were untrue. You were false.” He took a long sip of his Coke and then stood up. “Words are funny.”
“But I do love you,” she said quietly.
“Have a good life, Rachel. Or have a shitty one. I really don’t care.”
Stepping out the door, he crossed the sidewalk in three steps, and climbed into his new Mercedes. Pulling out of the parking lot he made a right turn and headed for home.
“Charity,” he said. Within two seconds the car’s phone had connected with her. “I’m running a little late, but I’ll be home in just a few minutes.”
“Okay. It was considerate of you to call.”
He smiled, thinking how much he liked her funny cartoon voice.
“What can I say? I’m a fantastic guy.”
The End
About the Author
Wesley Allison has served as a public school teacher for the past 21 years. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a Master of Science degree from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. He still teaches English and American History in southern Nevada where he lives with his lovely wife Victoria. He has two grown children: Rebecca and John. Wesley Allison is a well-known author of science-fiction and fantasy books including his popular Robot: Patience series, which has been downloaded more than 450,000 times.
For more information about the author and upcoming books:
Visit the City of Amathar Blog at http://wesleyallison.com
Visit the Author Wesley Allison page on Facebook.
Books by Wesley Allison
Look for them wherever fine ebooks are sold. Select titles are also available in traditional paper formats at the City of Amathar Blog and by special order from your favorite bookseller.
Princess of Amathar
Transported to the artificial world of Ecos, Earth man Alexander Ashton struggles to understand the society of his new friends the Amatharians. As he does so, he finds himself falling in love with their princess and being thrust into a millennium-long war with their mortal foes the reptilian Zoasians. Princess of Amathar is a sword-swinging novel of high adventure.
His Robot Girlfriend
Mike Smith's life was crap, living all alone, years after his wife had died and his children had grown up and moved away. Then he saw the commercial for the Daf
fodil. Far more than other robots, the Daffodil could become anything and everything he wanted it to be. Mike's life is about to change.
His Robot Wife
In His Robot Wife, the novella-length sequel to His Robot Girlfriend, it is the year 2037 and Mike has been married to his robot wife, Patience, for five years. Troubles are on the horizon though. Prop 22 promises to annul marriages between humans and robots. And Patience hasn’t quite been herself. Is there something wrong, or does she just need a software upgrade?
His Robot Wife: Patience is a Virtue
It is the year 2037, when men are men and robots are cute. Patience, the robot wife, has a new friend– Wanda. Wanda, another Daffodil, has been having difficulty bonding with her human, the recently divorced Ryan. She hopes that with Patience’s mentoring, she’ll be able to help Ryan accept her into his troubled life. But even Patience isn’t prepared for what happens when they take a joint vacation cruise to Antarctica. His Robot Wife: Patience is a Virtue is a science fiction story in a world where technology is more than just a pretty face.
His Robot Girlfriend: Charity
Robotics engineer Dakota Hawk has problems. His life is falling apart. And even he doesn’t know why he bought a used, and seemingly non-functional, Daffodil Nonne. When your life turns to crap, which should you worry about more– your past or your future? How easy is it really to remake yourself and start over? And will having your own robot girlfriend help or make things even more difficult?
Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Elven Princess
Eaglethorpe Buxton, famed adventurer and story-teller, friend to those in need of a friend and guardian to those in need of a guardian. He is a liar and braggart, not to be trusted, especially around pies. Who are we to believe? Buxton himself leads us through his world as he comes to the aid of… a poor orphan? An elven princess? Who can guess with Eaglethorpe himself telling the tale?
Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Sorceress
His Robot Girlfriend: Charity Page 9