The Android Chronicles Book One: The Android Defense

by Marling Sloan

  “Why are we going to Damian’s place?” Brigite said, sounding bewildered, as she sat in the passenger seat of Jake’s dust covered Chevy.

  “I don’t know, but Mandelie said she and Luke would be there and she wanted us there too,” Jake said. “I never got to meet this Damian Foster guy. What’s he like?”

  Brigite shrugged. “He’s okay. He’s nice when he wants to be, and terrible when he wants to be. I used to give him erotic massages all the time.”

  Jake began coughing. Brigite hit him on his back.

  “He really liked them,” she continued. “And he did have a really nice body, for a human. There was this particular area that he liked me to spend a lot of time on. I would put the oil on my hands and-”

  “Brigite, you don’t need to tell me the details,” Jake said. “Really.”

  “Okay then,” Brigite said. “I think your roommates really enjoyed my pole session, didn’t they?”

  “I’m pretty sure they did,” Jake said. “I think Mike is still recovering in his room right now.”

  “But you’re the only one I gave the lap dance to,” Brigite said. “Did you like that trick I did with my hand at the end of it? I’ve been working on it.”

  Jake began coughing again.

  “It was great,” he said, between gasps. “It was really nice.”

  “Do you need some water or something, Jake?” Brigite said.

  Mandelie and Luke walked up the steps to the front door of Damian’s villa. Luke seemed at ease, but Mandelie felt a little jittery. She rang the doorbell several times in a row.

  The door was opened by Carlie, whose eyes lit up when she saw Luke.

  “Luke, is that you?” she said.

  Her knees actually began to wobble. Pushing Mandelie out of her way, Carlie threw her arms around Luke and gave him a long, lingering hug.

  Mandelie looked baffled.

  Luke managed to detach himself from Carlie at last.

  “You look great, Carlie,” he said.

  Carlie giggled. She looked at Mandelie.

  “Oh, right! I’m supposed to take you to Damian. Follow me, please.”

  Mandelie and Luke followed Carlie into the cool, elegant villa and into a huge room with breezy windows and overlooking green gardens. There was a pool table in it and a lounge area with expensive leather chairs and sofas, as well as an impressive collection of antique rifles hanging on the wall.

  Damian was sitting in his wheelchair near the marble fireplace. He wore a light blue shirt and jeans. His hair was cut short and made him look very much like the way he did before his accident.

  He grinned when he saw Luke and wheeled towards him.

  “Luke!”

  He held up his hand and slapped a high five with Luke.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Damian,” Luke said.

  “You too, pal,” Damian said. “You too. It’s kind of like old times, huh? Except for this damn thing.” He pointed to his wheelchair.

  A maid came in and set a tray of drinks on a table.

  “What have you been doing? Keeping yourself busy?” Damian said.

  “Assisting Dr. Miles,” Luke said.

  “My father said he’d help you curate the circus, Damian,” Mandelie said.

  “Great,” Damian said. “I’m having a press conference tomorrow in front of the Adventis building. I’ll make sure to thank him publicly.”

  Mandelie was surprised.

  “That’s –“ she began.

  “Surprising?” Damian said. “I’m full of surprises.”

  Carlie came back into the room with Jake and Brigite, who was wearing a midriff-revealing tank top and a micro miniskirt, and her usual six-inch platform heels.

  Damian looked slightly stunned.

  “I forgot the way she makes an entrance,” he said. “It’s not for anyone with a heart condition.”

  “Damian, this is Jake Masner,” Mandelie said. “He’s Brigite’s boyfriend.”

  She threw in the comment on purpose since Damian was eying Brigite in a slightly covetous way.

  Damian shook hands with Jake.

  “You’re a lucky man, Jake, to have Brigite. She was my favorite out of all the X-droids.”

  “That’s sweet, Mr. Foster,” Brigite said. She batted her eyelashes.

  “Let’s all sit down in the lounge,” Damian said. He still seemed slightly shell-shocked by Brigite.

  Mandelie and the other sat on the leather couches and chairs. Carlie sat as well, never taking her eyes off Luke.

  “I was telling Jake on the way over here how I used to give you erotic massages all the time, Mr. Foster,” Brigite said.

  “Yeah, those were some good times,” Damian said.

  Carlie cleared her throat.

  “I haven’t told Brigite yet about the circus, Damian,” Mandelie said. “I kind of figured she wouldn’t need any convincing. Jake doesn’t know yet either.”

  “What circus?” Brigite said.

  “Adventis is setting up a circus to show off everything we’ve done in android technology,” Damian said. “Mandelie and Luke have agreed to help. So has Dr. Miles. How does it sound to you, Brigite? You’d get to go on display and do your thing in front of thousands of people for two nights.”

  “It sounds fun,” Brigite said.

  Damian looked at Jake.

  “You’re welcome to help out, as well.”

  Jake shrugged.

  “Sure. I’ll lend you guys a hand.”

  “Great,” Damian said. “Let’s get down to it. We’ve already booked the Staples Center for two nights.”

  “Damian and I were talking themes,” Carlie said. “We want something that’s reminiscent of an old-time circus, but updated with a modern technological feel. I’ve already put in a call to an event decorator.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Luke said.

  “I’d like for you to be on display,” Damian said. “Walk around, talk to people. You’re not an Adventis android, so you don’t have to stay in one spot for people to look at you, but I’d like for you to be sort of like a tour guide for all the people who come. Do you think you could do that?”

  “I think it should be manageable,” Luke said.

  “Alright,” Damian said. “We’ll have all our Adventis androids set up in exhibits all over the room. I’m getting every one of the older models out – the X-droids, the Fantastic Domestics, et cetera. They’ve all been deactivated and stored in our factories, but they can easily be reactivated. My technicians are working on some entirely new androids now as well.”

  “I’ve contacted a very popular DJ,” Carlie said. “He’s blocked out those two nights.”

  “Good,” Damian said. “We’re kicking this thing off in style tomorrow.”

  “The engineers have been working nonstop,” Bernard said to Madrick, as they entered the factory. “I think you’ll be pleased with their progress.”

  “I’ll decide that for myself,” Madrick said.

  The two of them walked around the huge room. Mary Alsin was carefully building the frame of a miniature android that transformed from a plain metal box into an android in a few moments. Jozeph was waving his hand in front of a skeleton android whose face followed the movement of his hand. Harris was feverishly adjusting the head of his android, which looked like a normal human being except that his head spun around every few seconds.

  Madrick and Bernard stopped in front of one of the glass experiment rooms. Gustaf was standing in it. He saw them and came out of the room.

  Madrick was speechless by what he saw inside the experiment room. There was a huge metal android skeleton, parts of its body covered with flesh, other parts left purposely exposed to show the crackling electric current running through its frame. Its face was normal-looking above its cheekbones, but an exposed android jaw beneath them. It was nearly seven feet tall and terrifying.

  Madrick took his hat from his head. The huge android made a gesture as though he was removing an unseen h
at from his head as well.

  “I’ll be damned,” he said. “What is it?”

  “It’s your avatar, Mr. Castleshank,” Gustaf said. “It’s your android avatar.”

  “An ava-what?” Madrick said. “This is amazing.”

  “The electric current flow in the android is programmed to follow the flow of the blood current in your own body,” Gustaf said. “That is why the avatar imitates your every gesture. You control the avatar and what it does.”

  He handed Madrick a black band that looked like a pair of goggles except that it went all the way around a person’s head, as well as a pair of black gloves.

  “Your viewing field and your sensory gloves,” Gustaf said. “Put those on. You will be able to see and feel what the android is seeing and feeling, but you will not have to move.”

  Madrick put the viewing field and the gloves on.

  He found that he was looking through the android’s eyes. He shifted his gaze all around the inside of the glass room, and up and down his huge body.

  He chuckled.

  “Open the door,” Gustaf said. “Come out.”

  Madrick looked down and saw the door handle in front of him. He reached out and grasped it. He felt the door handle in his hand.

  The huge android opened the door of the experiment room and walked outside. Everyone except for Gustaf and Madrick backed away.

  “Congratulations,” Gustaf said. “You have now become an android.”

  Chapter 19.

  The Adventis Building was the scene of more media activity than it had been in a long time. Crowds of reporters, bystanders, and police officers waited for the press conference to start.

  On the steps of the building, behind a police barricade, Brigite and Silvia, another X-droid, were standing inside two clear boxes, waving to the bystanders and winking at them.

  Luke, Mandelie, and Jake were gathered behind the police barricade as well.

  A reporter tried to get Luke’s attention.

  “Excuse me, but aren’t you the android that supposedly inspired all the other Adventis androids?” he was saying.

  “No comment,” Luke said.

  Inside the lobby of the Adventis building, Damian was sitting in his wheelchair as a makeup artist put makeup on his face. He looked every inch like a CEO in a dark, tailored suit and blue tie. Carlie was standing beside him, her iPad under her arm.

  “Are there a lot of people out there, Carlie?” Damian said.

  “A lot,” Carlie said. “Are you nervous?”

  Damian adjusted his tie.

  “We’ll have to see,” he said.

  Inside her clear chute, Brigite was blowing kisses and receiving plenty of attention from the cameras. She was holding a banner that read “ADVENTIS TECHNOLOGIES.” She wore a sparkling blue dress and a long cape that had the words “Like what you see? Come see me at the circus” written on the back of it. Silvia had a similar outfit and a banner, except that they were red to match her crimson hair. Behind them a DJ played a thumping, energetic beat.

  Carlie checked the time on her iPad.

  “It’s time,” she said.

  She and Damian made their way to the glass front doors, which opened for them.

  Damian was received by a thousand camera flashes and reporters screaming questions as he rolled himself in his wheelchair to the podium that was set up for him on the steps, in between Brigite and Silvia.

  The DJ turned off his music.

  Carlie tapped on the microphone on the podium and spoke into it.

  “Thank you all for coming,” she said. “It’s my honor to present to you a man who has made himself the face of cutting-edge technologies. He is the CEO of Adventis and known worldwide for his vision and his unstoppable spirit of innovation. Damian Foster!”

  The crowds gathered around the building burst out into applause and cheers.

  Carlie removed the microphone from the podium and gave it to Damian.

  “Thank you, Carlie,” Damian said. “And thank you all for being here. I have to admit, I was feeling nervous when I woke up this morning. As you all know, I haven’t been seen in the public eye for a while. I kept telling myself it was because I needed to do my physical therapy, or I needed to rest or recuperate. But that wasn’t really the reason. I was ashamed. I was ashamed of being in a wheelchair. I didn’t want anyone to see me.”

  “But then I realized people had stopped seeing me. They had all stopped seeing Adventis as the company it was supposed to be. One good company falters and a competitor comes out of the shadows, eager to take the top spot.”

  Damian paused and looked directly into the cameras.

  “I’m looking at you, Madrick. By now everyone’s probably heard about this android circus that’s going to take place in the Staples Center a week from now. It’ll be the greatest thing anyone has ever seen. It’ll remind everyone why Adventis is, and always will be, the greatest tech company in the world. All of our biggest hits will be there – our X-droids, our Fantastic Domestics – as well as some new androids we’ve never been able to show you before. Buy your tickets now. They will sell out fast.”

  “When I was younger, I had the privilege of learning from one of the greatest innovators in the world, Dr. Jason Miles. I learned everything I know from him. If Adventis is a success – and it is – it’s because of what Dr. Miles taught me. I’d like to give him credit for that, and I’m very pleased to announce that he is the curator of this circus. His genius will be all over it.”

  “Before my accident, I was sure that there was nothing I couldn’t do. After my accident, I was sure that there was nothing I could do. At this moment, being here in front of my building, I’m convinced that maybe something is still possible. And I invite you all to come and see it next week.”

  A thunderous wave of cheering and applause was heard as Damian placed the microphone back on the podium. He turned his wheelchair and he and Carlie made their way back to the building.

  “That was fantastic, Damian,” Carlie said. “You really outdid yourself. I’m proud of you.”

  “We’ll see if it translates into ticket sales,” Damian said.

  Chapter 20.

  Gustaf stayed up late into the night long after the other engineers had gone to sleep. The android avatar that was Madrick Castleshank’s was resting against the wall upright, in a deactivated state.

  Gustaf was working on another android frame, one that was tall and thin and vaguely resembled him. It had pale blond hair and its partially exposed human face was pale and emotionless, its eyes dead and cold. Its body was slightly more muscular than Gustaf’s own physique

  He put the last touch on it and stood back. He activated its programming with a remote control. An electrical current shot through the android’s partially exposed frame.

  Gustaf put on a viewing field and a pair of sensory gloves.

  He sat up on the table and placed his metal feet on the ground. He opened the door of the experiment room and walked through the empty factory.

  He went up the stairs to the rooms on the second floor. He put his metal hand on one of the doors of the rooms and then stopped. He walked down the hall and opened the door of another room.

  He went inside.

  Carel was lying in her bed, fast asleep. Gustaf looked down at her with his partially human face. He pulled the blanket down and looked at her figure in its T shirt and shorts.

  His partially flesh-covered hand wandered down to the waistband of her shorts. It lingered there.

  Carel tirred and mumbled in her sleep. Gustaf quickly pulled the blanket back over her body.

  He took one last look at her and left.

  Gustaf heard the android returning down the steps towards him. He removed his viewing field and his sensory gloves, but the feel of Carel’s skin still lingered in his mind.

  Madrick cocked his pistol and shot at a target that was set up on the lawn in back of his ranch house.

  “Good shot, Mr. Castleshank,” Bernard said
.

  “An android circus,” Madrick said. He fired several more shots in quick succession. “It’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.”

  “Idiotic,” Bernard said.

  “But if Damian’s determined to have his little circus,” Madrick said. “We ought to make an appearance. Grab some of that limelight. Don’t you think?”

  “I think he wouldn’t expect it,” Bernard said.

  Madrick smiled.

  “Let’s plan a nice little surprise for him.”

  He began loading more bullets into his gun.

  Chapter 22.

  Luke was drifting into a sleep state on his cot in the laboratory when he heard a strange, muffled sound.

  He got up and made his way to the front room of the laboratory. The room was completely dark but he could see easily. He saw Brigite sitting in a corner, tears streaming down her face.

  “What’s wrong?” Luke said. He sat on the ground beside her.

  “Jake said he couldn’t be my boyfriend anymore,” Brigite said. She wiped tears from her face. “He said I deserved someone better than him.”

  Luke put his arm around her shoulders.

  “Maybe it’s for the best,” he said.

  “I thought things were going well,” Brigite said. “He let me give him a lap dance and I was going to surprise him by handcuffing him to his bed.”

  “Like Mandelie said,” Luke said. “Jake’s a slow bloomer. His maturity is not completely developed yet. You might have been a little overwhelming for him.”

  Brigite rubbed her eyes.

  “I’m never falling for a human being again,” she said.

  She leaned her head against Luke’s shoulder. Luke patted her bright blue hair and said nothing.

  “I know I’m an idiot,” Jake said. “But it had to be done.”

  He, Mandelie, and Trista were gathered in Mandelie’s living room. Jake’s dreadlocks tumbled around him in an even wilder mess than they usually were.

  “Neither of us said you were an idiot,” Trista said.

  “She’s way out of my league,” Jake said. “It’s too much pressure. I like her a lot, of course, but I can’t date her anymore.”