Damian looked shocked, but also delighted.
“Wow. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that, but I’m thrilled,” he said. “I’ll make sure you have a good time. Don’t worry.”
He smiled at her and put his sunglasses back on. He walked back to his car and drove away.
Mandelie felt a twinge of conscience, but stifled it.
Accompanied by her bodyguards, Dabya took her seat in the palatial hall of the Grand Theatre de Geneve. All around her the most distinguished technicians and engineers in the world were gathered, eager to discover the next president of the Society of the Future.
Dabya looked cool and elegant in her jacket and silk dress, but inwardly her heart was thumping wildly.
Pierre Alsouvi rose from his chair and walked to the lectern set up in front of the hall. He was wearing a dark suit and white shirt.
“Thank you all for coming,” he said. “Despite the difficulties the Society of the Future has faced in the previous year, we are stronger than ever. We are united in our vision and our purpose, and nothing will stop our forward progress. The world does not know it yet, but its inevitable future belongs to us and to androids. The Society of the Future will continue to flourish until we are obliged to rule the world, as masters of android technology.”
The people before him broke out into applause. Pierre Alsouvi waited for the applause to finish before he spoke.
“And now it is my honor to present to you the next president of our Society, the man who will undoubtedly lead us to the future with his great accomplishments in android technology and his intuitive knowledge of android ways … Gustaf Jorg!”
Chapter 7.
“The Society has made a mistake,” Luke said.
It was his first reaction when Dabya had come into his room immediately after returning from her trip and informed him of Gustaf Jorg’s appointment.
Dabya looked surprised.
“What do you mean?” she said.
“Gustaf Jorg is a fanatic,” Luke said. “He will take the Society in murderous new directions that Cargio Lataun only skimmed. Is this the way that the Society is determined to go?”
Dabya looked a little ruffled.
“The Society is an honorable one, Luke,” she said. “I have told you before that Lataun was a mistake.”
“Open your eyes, Dabya,” Luke said. “You think your society is a noble one seeking to improve the future. You think that they are going to fix the mistakes they made. Don’t you ever think of the possibility that the Society of the Future is an anarchical one, or on its way to becoming one? That it could possibly cause the deaths and destructions of humans as well as androids in huge numbers while building its dream future?”
“I don’t agree at all with you,” Dabya said, flushing. “We are a great Society. And now we have a great leader who will lead us in the right direction.”
Luke took her hand and held it tightly.
“Dabya. You refuse to see what is threatening to fall on all of us. You should leave the Society. For your own good.”
Dabya pulled her hand away from him.
“You’re being unreasonable, Luke,” she said. “I assure you the Society is above reproach. Despite its past errors.”
Mandelie was almost tempted to change her mind about going to the Adventis party with Damian, but she tried not to think about it. She put on a sparkling party dress and pulled her hair back into a low bun.
She jumped when her cell phone rang.
“I’m outside your apartment,” Damian said. “Come out whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m ready now,” Mandelie said, but she doubted it.
She hung up and locked her door behind her.
As she walked out of her apartment building she saw Damian waiting outside of a sleek black Maserati. He was wearing an expensive tailored suit, a dark dress shirt and black tie. He looked very much like a movie star.
He whistled when he saw her.
“Look at you,” he said.
“I’m a little worried I’m underdressed,” Mandelie said, as he opened the door for her. “Are there going to be a lot of cameras there?”
“Oh, definitely,” Damian said, getting into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. “Hordes of paparazzi, just the way I like my events. But you look beautiful. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Mandelie leaned back against the leather seat as the Maserati roared away.
Chapter 8.
The Four Seasons hotel in Malibu had been staked out for what Carlie had arranged to be the “party of the year.” A huge banner that read ADVENTIS TECHNOLOGIES hung across the front of the hotel, and a red carpet led into the entrance. A horde of photographers waited on either side of the carpet, snapping pictures of everyone going into the hotel.
They erupted into a frenzy when Damian’s Maserati pulled up alongside the curb and Damian got out. He adjusted the lapels on his jacket and then opened the door for Mandelie.
He took her hand and helped her out. Mandelie was nearly blinded by the explosion of lights that met her as the photographers snapped pictures of her and Damian and shouted comments and questions at them.
“Great to see you, Mr. Foster! You’re looking great!”
“Who’s your date?”
“Great to see you guys,” Damian said.
He put his arm around Mandelie’s waist and led her into the hotel.
Mandelie was relieved once they were inside.
“That was terrifying,” she said.
“I kind of like it,” Damian said. “But that’s probably not a surprise to you.”
“No,” Mandelie said. “Not at all.”
“The party’s this way,” Damian said.
He took her hand and they walked towards one of the ballrooms on the floor of the Four Seasons. Mandelie noticed a few other photographers lurking in the lobby and snapping pictures of them.
The immense ballroom was packed with people – Adventis staffers, celebrities, and notable people in the technological innovation world. A DJ was spinning music from a high platform over the crowd. The room seemed to be decorated with a futuristic theme, with waiters dressed in silver costumes handing out refreshments all over the room, giant computer screens hanging on the walls flashing images of people in the room, and a few X-droids gyrating in transparent globes hanging from the ceiling.
“Do you want a drink?” Damian said.
Without waiting for her to answer he took two glasses of champagne from a nearby waiter and gave one to her.
“Cheers,” he said. “To us finally having a drink together.”
Mandelie laughed. She clinked her glass against his.
“I try to stay away from the dance floor,” Damian said. There were hundreds of people who were dancing underneath the DJ.
“I’m not really in a dancing mood, anyway,” Mandelie said.
“I’m glad you came,” Damian said. “But I’m not going to keep you here. It’s too much, I know. I’m just going to say hi to a few people and then we’ll get out of here, okay?”
“Great,” Mandelie said.
She stayed back as Damian moved through the crowds and greeted a few other notable people in the technological field. He conversed with them for a few minutes and then came back to her.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“I don’t want to drag you away from your own party,” Mandelie said. “If you want to stay, I’ll ask Trista to come pick me up.”
“I don’t want to stay,” Damian said. “I’m just making an appearance. It’s not a big deal.”
He took her hand and they walked out of the ballroom. Mandelie was relieved to see that the herd of photographers had mostly gone.
Damian waved to the valet and in a few minutes his Maserati was parked by the curb again.
He opened the door for Mandelie and after she got in he got into the driver’s seat.
The Maserati roared away, leaving the hotel behind them.
“What do you feel
like doing?” Damian said. “Want to get some food?”
“I’m not really hungry,” Mandelie said. “I enjoyed the party though. Maybe another time. Can you take me back to my place?”
“Of course,” Damian said.
When they reached her apartment Damian parked the car and walked Mandelie to her door.
“Thanks for coming with me,” he said. “I really liked spending that time with you.”
“Me too,” Mandelie said. “Thanks for inviting me.”
She looked up at him.
Damian hesitated and then he kissed her.
Mandelie stepped into him and felt his arms wrap around her. She felt blood roaring in her head and a dizzying, falling sensation as though she was plummeting without stop, but she did not want the sensation to stop. It seemed, neither did Damian.
Somehow she managed to get the door open and she and Damian stumbled into her living room, without stopping the kiss.
“Where’s the bed?” Damian managed to say.
They fell on top of it, Damian pulling Mandelie’s dress down from her shoulders. Mandelie unbuttoned his shirt and felt him all around her, his hands on her bare skin. She ran her hands down his back and felt the black metal plate as it generated a surge of heat that exploded into her body and transformed her insides to fire.
“Don’t stop,” she said. “Don’t stop.”
Chapter 9.
The morning light fell on Mandelie’s face. She opened her eyes, feeling dizzy and light-headed, but traitorously exhilarated.
Damian was lying behind her, his arm thrown over her side.
Mandelie rolled over and turned to him.
Damian’s face was peaceful and extraordinarily handsome. As though sensing she was looking at him he opened his eyes.
“That was unbelievable,” he said.
Mandelie said nothing. Her exhilaration had died away and she was left with a sickening feeling of guilt.
“Hey,” Damian said. “Don’t feel bad.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him.
“We don’t need to tell him. I’m glad we did this. You don’t know how glad.”
Mandelie bit her lip. She looked into his green eyes.
Damian kissed her and she kissed him back.
Dabya had been anticipating the arrival of one particular guest to the palace. When she was notified that he was waiting for her in the rotunda, she quickly went to him, dressed in a sophisticated suit.
Gustaf looked tall and even paler and stranger than ever in a dark suit. He was looking around the surrounds of the palace with approval.
As Dabya came to him he bowed in a jerky way.
“An honor to meet you, Your Highness,” he said, his usual curt manner slightly more smoothed over. “You are a pillar of the society.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Mr. President,” Dabya said, holding her hand out to him. Gustaf hesitated and then took her hand and kissed the back of it peremptorily.
With the guards looking on, Dabya sat in a chair set out for her, and indicated one opposite her.
“Please, sit,” she said.
Gustaf sat.
“I wished to come in person today and introduce myself to you,” he said. “It is something I am doing for the most esteemed members of the Society.”
“I am delighted to be so noticed,” Dabya said.
From a banister overlooking them but out of sight, Luke listened to the conversation, his composure tense and alert.
“I am curious to know of your plans for the society,” Dabya said. “I have been a member of it ever since I was nineteen, you know. It is a great, though confidential part of my life.”
“I have a number of plans in motion,” Gustaf said. “And more than a number of them may need the backing of the Society’s pillars.”
Dabya smiled.
“Of course I would endeavor to help,” she said.
“A Princess’s endeavor is a great thing,” Gustaf said. “I am at present involved in commissioning the building of a secure complex in Stockholm. I intend it to be used for the construction of androids. A collection of my own designs.”
“The Swedes are so forward-thinking,” Dabya said, with a smile.
Gustaf’s pale eyes deflected the compliment, as they did any of those kind received.
“I would be pleased to have your participation,” he said.
“You are inviting me to have a direct but covert hand in the manufacture of androids?” Dabya said. “Just the mention of it gives me a thrill. I have never been able to indulge my technological ambitions in public life, as you know.”
“Yet those ambitions must not be wasted. Your involvement will be treated with the most ironclad secrecy,” Gustaf said. “Will you lend your esteemed hand to this first act of my presidential tenure?”
“I would be ashamed of myself not to stand behind our new president,” Dabya said, with a smile. Then she remembered Luke’s words.
“But I must give it some thought,” she said finally. “There are many demands on my time at present.”
“Of course Your Grace’s time would be much in demand,” Gustaf said.
“Yet the Society remains at the forefront of my pursuits,” Dabya said. “I will strive to be of assistance to you.”
“I await your answer,” Gustaf said.
He rose and was escorted away by the guards.
Dabya exhaled, looking uncertain.
“You did the right thing,” a voice behind her said.
Dabya turned to Luke.
“You were listening?” she said. She did not seem offended or surprised.
“Fortunately androids can easily discard the importance of manners when it’s necessary, unlike human,” Luke said.
He put his hand on the back of her chair.
“You did the right thing, not accepting his invitation,” he repeated. “All that remains is to refuse it absolutely.”
“I still think your attitude towards the society is incredulous,” Dabya said. “I cannot simply turn my back on them just because you want me to do it. It would be … offending a great many people in high places.”
Luke knelt before her and looked up into her eyes.
“Your great agility at small talk cannot mask your human instinct, Dabya. If yours is telling you that Gustaf Jorg might be a threat if you stand in the way of his plans, you would be right. But that is one of the reasons I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Dabya drew in her breath. She rose and brushed past him like a whispering wind.
“I have my guards, Luke. No one is asking that of you.”
Chapter 10.
It was evening when Damian finally left Mandelie’s apartment and returned to his villa. He was about to walk up the stairs to his room when he heard a huge sneeze.
Carlie was lying on a couch in his living room, covered with blankets. Despite having assembled the Adventis party herself, she had caught a cold at the last moment and been unable to attend. Her eyes were red and puffy and she had used up at least four tissue boxes that lay empty around the couch. Her iPad had slid off the couch and lay face-down on the floor.
Carlie pressed another tissue to her face as Damian sat down beside her and sneezed again.
“Bless you,” Damian said. “How are you feeling?”
Carlie looked at him, a little taken aback. Damian usually avoided people who were sick like a nobleman avoiding peasants with leprosy. He had practically quarantined her in his living room when she had caught her cold, communicating with her only through the safe distance of his cell phone.
“Terrible,” she said, and sneezed a third time.
Damian put his hand on her forehead.
“You’ve got a temperature,” he said. “I’ll get some ibuprofen for you and ask the maid to bring you some soup.”
“You’re being nice, and human,” Carlie said. “I must be hallucinating this.”
Damian smiled.
“Th
e party was great,” he said. “You should be proud. Don’t worry about anything. You can recover on my couch as long as you want.”
He kissed her lightly on her forehead and went up the stairs to his room.
Carlie sneezed.
“Good night, imaginary Damian,” she said aloud.
Mandelie had been able to dismiss her sense of guilt when Damian was with her, but when he had gone she was filled with dread, confusion, and uncertainty. She could not swear to herself that she had made a mistake. She had felt things with Damian that she had never felt before – a sensation of being thrillingly alive and complete, of a magnetic connection. And he was a human being, albeit one she had thought she despised only two days earlier. He was not an android whose motives she sometimes did not understand and mistrusted.
Thought it should have felt wrong, she knew that all it felt was right. But what about Luke? Her feelings for him had not changed in any way.
She huddled up on the couch in her living room, trying to sort out her predicament. Finally she steeled herself and called Trista.
Trista arrived a half an hour later, looking curious.
“What’s going on?” she said, as she dropped down on the couch as well.
“I need to tell you something and I desperately need you not to judge me,” Mandelie said. “Promise me you won’t.”
“Okay,” Trista said. “I promise.”
“I slept with Damian,” Mandelie said in a rush.
Trista looked at her blankly. She seemed to be speechless.
“Say something,” Mandelie said.
“You didn’t,” Trista said. “You did?”
Mandelie nodded.
“He took me to the Adventis party last night, and when we came back, it just happened,” she said. “And I let it happen. I think I wanted it to happen.”
She shook her head slowly.
“I am a terrible human being. I am, right?”
“Hold on,” Trista said. “You don’t judge yourself, either. Even though I’m in complete shock right now and I’m not really sure what’s up or down anymore or if the world isn’t actually flat, there’s a tiny part of me – and I can’t believe there is – that isn’t surprised.”
The Android Chronicles Book One: The Android Defense Page 21