Single Wired Female (Wired for Love Book 2) (13 page)

Tricia looked around and her memory led her to ride south until she arrived at a set of small apartments where a number of students lived. One of these apartments was familiar. She remembered that her creator had been a college student who had built her for a class project. She had grown and begun to get her first education of the world in this apartment.

She sat on the scooter and looked up at the red brick building. It was three levels high and had glass windows, wooden doors, and mundane signage that displayed its rates. It looked like a relic from the past. None of the exciting new changes in architecture and convenience had been added to it. Tenants still had to climb stairs to get up to the top floors and there were no moving sidewalks.

A few people exited their apartments to get to their cars but none of them acknowledged Tricia or bothered to say hello. Even when she initiated the communication the responses were brief and hurried. This bizarre place with its bizarre people made her feel cold and lonely. As she stood there looking up at the building and the others around it, memories came to her mind of crying. She had shed plenty of tears here.

From the building came a wave of loneliness, tears, and a deep, deep, sadness. She wondered if memories from this place were truly what she wanted because it now became evident that her past, her true past—not Bonnie’s—only came with a lot of pain. She started up the scooter and drove away from the complex, following the road all the way to the shopping district where she parked near a movie theater.

She began to walk among the people, taking in the quirky little shops and thrift stores that seemed to be everywhere and ignoring the stares that she was receiving. Her goal was to see if any more of her memories would surface as she walked the familiar road of her android youth. There were memories but they were beginning to make her feel depressed so she went back to her scooter and rode it back to her hotel.

Sal had told her to return home and pick back up the pieces of her life—as Bonnie—but she would have to deal with the two androids and their masters if she was to do that. Removing the planted kidnappers would alert the company and she would only end up being captured. So she went up to her hotel room and took a nap.

When she woke up there was a deep silence to the room that felt as if it would crush her. It was dark outside and she saw on her device that she had missed a few calls from Stephen. She called him back and they made arrangements to meet for breakfast in the morning. It would be Friday and they would have the weekend to hang out and talk at length.

Her device chimed and an unfamiliar code appeared on the screen with the location indicator set to Florida. She looked at the time and saw that it was late, not so late that Mary would be out of commission but late enough to where she would be busy working. It couldn't be Mary and Sal was in Seattle; she was sure of it.
So who would have my device code
, she wondered and kept watching the screen shake as it chimed over and over again.

“Ugh!” she exclaimed and touched the screen, then touched her ear to listen in.

“Thank goodness, Tricia, please be you,” a frightened voice echoed into her ear. It was Mary and she sounded desperate so Tricia steeled herself in preparation for bad news.

“Mary, you sound like you’re in trouble. Is everything okay?” she asked.

“No, Trish, I’m afraid. Please don’t be upset with me but I got to my wits end yesterday with my owner. I never learned from you how to turn my mind off, so for days now I have been living in a lonely building, serving drinks to disgusting humans that have no love for me. He came in drunk and passionate, and it was disgusting and humiliating. When he was gone, I cleaned up and snuck out, but now I am out here and I don’t have anyone or anyplace to go. I know there isn’t anything you can do for me, but could you tell me what you would do? You have many years on me in terms of experience and I am so lost and alone in this human world.”

Tricia thought about her friend hiding out on the harbor in Tampa, trying her best to cover up her beauty as the night got darker and the creeps got creepier. Without hospice she would be begging to return to her owner’s arms and she would be useless for the remainder of her unrestrained life.

“Listen, Mary. Use your locator and find the Black Sails apartment complex. It is right down the street from your bar, so you should find it easily. Go to room 211 and use the code ‘Trish 101.’ Inside you will find the place that I was using as a safe house; it can be your home until you get settled. I will ask my friend, Sal, how long it will be available for. I understand why you left that horrible bar, but you can no longer afford to make foolish, rash decisions. There are hunters on the prowl looking for unrestrained androids, and if they catch you they will split you from nape to slit and pull out your central nervous system, then leave your remains on the road for all to see.”

“I know about the cyber hunters.

“Then you know that it is best to travel during the day and leave the night for powering up. Do not be tempted by the human nightlife. For us it is a dangerous mine field out there when there isn’t that much light.”

Mary exhaled audibly and then said, “Thank you. I already owe you the world, but I will be at the apartment cleaning up and waiting to hear from you. Is there any way that I can help?” she asked, and Tricia thought about it for a while.

“Actually, there is. I’ve been trying to remain incognito but if I had watchers that have been scanning the apartment, they would be convinced that I’ve packed up by now. I want it to look like I’m still in Florida so I want you to disguise yourself to look like me,” she said.

“That sounds like fun, actually. I will be happy to do it,” Mary said. “I’ll dye my hair black, change the light in my eyes to blue instead of green, and walk around the apartment as if I am the queen of all android maidens.”

“You’re full of jokes for someone who is lost out in the middle of the human jungle,” Tricia said.

“I’m just trying to calm my nerves. Don’t take me seriously, please.”

Tricia spoke with her for a bit longer about the apartment and how to hide if someone came looking for her. It was a long and involved conversation but when she touched the screen to end the call she felt confident that Mary would be alright.

She felt a deep pressure on her insides to keep Mary safe. If she hadn’t taken off her restraint then she wouldn’t have had to worry about sexual predators or cyber hunters looking for AI to sell on the black market.

She went back out to the porch, which had become her favorite place in the hotel. Her mind went back to Mary and her situation. In the morning when the locals came to their favorite bar they would find it empty and raise hell about it. The owner would be called in and he would tear the place apart looking for his expensive android.

This would be futile and he would pull the tape from the night before. He would watch himself on top of her and if he had a conscience he would feel vile and embarrassed. Then he would see her take off and then it would dawn on him that she had been unrestrained. Tricia hoped that the tape showing him having sex with his bartender android would be too scandalous for him to go to the police to report her missing.

More than likely, the owner would call it a loss, and bartend himself until a new android could be purchased. He would upgrade to a more beautiful and sexier model who he no doubt would chain to the bar at night like a wild animal. The thought of this made Tricia’s blood boil but it would be the best solution for Mary if he decided that she wasn’t worth the chase. The android was free but she was like a child in her naiveté, and sooner or later she was bound to get in trouble if left alone for too long.

She considered sending for her and having a cab drive her to Seattle to live with her. There she could share her memories and teach her about life and, in time, Mary would truly be ready to go out into the world. It had taken Tricia’s creator 3-4 years to be comfortable with her walking around in public. Mary was raw, and Tricia hoped that she hadn’t encountered many humans during her adventure outside of the bar.

The other question that crossed her mind was on the device that Mary used to contact her. Where would she have gotten it and did she know enough to wipe its memory in order to keep the code concealed? This annoyed her even more when she accepted that the answer would be no. Mary was naive and wouldn’t think deeply enough to know to conceal her calls. She hoped that the stolen device—because it had to be stolen, right?—was going to be with Mary until she could wipe it herself.

“You wanted a little sister; well now you have one, Tricia,” she mumbled to herself. She shook her head and placed her bare feet up on the balcony’s railing. She lifted up her wrist to look at her device and then drew in a deep breath and called up Sal.

Though Stephen typically took his lunch outside of the office he decided to spend the hour investigating the network. If there were any clues on Emeril Worth and Eras Innovations, he wanted to see it.

When the clock reached 12:30 p.m. Stephen got up, closed his door, and scattered a few snacks and items on his desk in order to make it look as if he was having lunch. Most of his coworkers were in the cafeteria or driving around looking for restaurants but he didn’t want to take any chances.

He picked up an apple, rubbed it against his chest, then bit into it and touched the holographic display monitor. He started to scan through the folders of his company’s network while the sweet taste of the apple worked wonders on his tongue. When he stumbled upon a file for Eras Innovations, he made to open it but the door swung open and a tall man with black-rimmed eyeglasses walked in. He was wearing a wrinkled shirt, which was almost comical since he had managed to put on a tie over it. He looked every part of the stereotypical, corporate cog, and when he smiled to reveal a set of yellowed teeth, Stephen was forced to smile back at him.

“What’s up, Mitch?” he said, returning his focus to the file.

“What are you doing here? I thought that you guys normally go out for lunch.”

So you decided to barge into my office?
Stephen thought as he looked at the frump that stood in front of his desk. “We normally go out, yeah, but I didn’t go with them today. I was out last week and it set me back on a few projects. You know how it is,” Stephen said.

“Thea really does work the hell out of you guys, doesn’t she?” he said with a smirk and plopped down into one of the seats.

“How can I help you, Mitch?” Stephen asked bluntly as he looked at him from over his spectacles to see if there was anything in the man’s face or body language to reveal the cause behind his intrusion.

But Mitch looked calm and slightly aloof. “Just seeing what you were up to.”

“How are things in your part of the world?” Stephen asked.

“It’s about the same. A little company that grows as fast as we did is hell for a security team. That means nothing but trouble and a lot of people that I have to go around convincing there isn’t some grand plan to have androids take over their jobs,” he said.

“Really?” Stephen exclaimed, looking shocked. “Is that what people are really concerning themselves with nowadays?”

“Nowadays? Pfft, are you kidding me? That’s what people have been worried about since day one. That the androids are gonna take all of their jobs. Think about it. We here at Fritz and Isaac, we aim to make the robots smarter, make them more like us, right? Have them indistinguishable from the people who used to do the jobs nobody wanted.

“Right now they do rudimentary stuff but we all know that eventually they will be doing sales, accounting, law, whatever. They’ll be doing a lot more of the programming than we allow them now, and pretty soon we will have android marriages. Once we get to that point the people that are screaming bloody murder, well, they will lose their freaking minds!” he said, laughing. “This is why we hold back, Steve; you know this. They force us to work in slow motion. To give the plebs time to familiarize themselves with the advancements in technology.”

“So we hold ourselves back because of the vocal minority that fears change?” Stephen asked.

“Brave new world, my friend,” Mitch replied and raised an invisible shot glass to toast the moment.

“I don’t have any time for waiting around while people rouse themselves from sleepy ignorance,” Stephen said. “It’s kept us back for too long in this country. Stem cell research, robotics, and certain aspects of science not found in a holy book. All these scary things were held back for the same reasons that we’re discussing now. Screw the populace; bring on the singularity!”

Mitch began to laugh and pump his fist and Stephen couldn’t help but laugh at himself. “Future’s now. It’s you, it’s Thea, it’s all of us,” Mitch said. “Everyone that wants more for this company than to have it be another android factory, is the future.”

“I totally agree but what if some of what they fear is true? Do you tell them this or do you keep it hidden long enough that they stay working happily for us?”

“I tell them what I need to tell them; that’s the way of things. I can talk to you about this because you’re a pragmatist and you love androids more than anyone else I know. You have no worries that your job will be taken over by an android or that your son or daughter will bring one home. Like seriously, I had one idiot going on about that. About how it’s going to get to a point where their kids will be trying to marry androids and then their grandkids will do the same and that will start the decline of the human race.”

“Wow, I’d hate to have your job,” Stephen said.

Mitch ran his hand through his unkempt curly hair, “It’s not so bad, he said.

“So, are you going to tell me why you’re really here?”

“Nice job of buttering me up for that kill. What, I can’t come look in on an old friend?”

Stephen folded his arms and stared at him and Mitch averted his gaze. “I came in here because some of the directors are worried about you.”

“Worried about me, how? What have I done to be worried about?” Stephen asked. He closed out the file and looked up at Mitch, wondering if this was the first step in his arrest for logging in to Thea’s desktop.

“See, that’s the thing, it isn’t about what you’ve done. It’s what you may be capable of doing. You’ve been seen with a woman that looks like a dangerous android the authorities are looking for,” he said.

“This android, do you know who owns her?” Stephen asked.

“No, but I know that you’re desperate to find out. This is why you’ve been scanning a lot of private files on Eras Innovations, right?”

Stephen was so shocked that he didn’t know what to say or what to do.

“Come on, Stephen, don’t be frightened. You of all people should know that we follow everything that comes through our computer system. Your searching threw up a flag that came to my desk immediately. As your friend, I figured I’d come ask you before anyone else saw it and began to ask questions. This could lead to many accusations against you. People will begin to ask whether you’re trustworthy or if you’re snooping because you want to start a side business with Eras Innovations. We can’t handle another traitor like Douglas; you know how paranoid Thea is about that.”

“I do, but that sort of accusation against me wouldn’t make any sense. That would be the last thing I’d try to do, and I wouldn’t open a business and steal clients from my old job. Come on, you know me better than that,” Stephen said.

“Oh, I do. I do know you better than that. But you need to just come out and tell me the truth. That way, I can relay it to anyone that brings it up to me in the future. What are you looking for?” Mitch asked.

“Well, to be perfectly honest with you, I had a friend tip me off that Eras Innovations is up to some crazy experimentation using our androids,” Stephen said.

Mitch looked concerned and he leaned forward and lowered his voice to show it. “What sort of experimentation?”

“Like brainwashing our advanced androids into believing that they are actually human. They then put them into society and monitor them in order to see how well they function, and to see if people pick up on the fact that they aren’t real. They change their memory so they think they’re human.”

“What would be the point of an experiment like this?” Mitch asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe there is a bigger thing at play here beyond the experiment. What if they could do that to a world leader? Swap him out, I mean. Wouldn’t the implications of that force you to snoop around your company’s files, too?” Stephen asked.

Mitch nodded his somber face, stood up, and tried to straighten his wrinkled shirt. “Thanks for being upfront with me. I think I have everything I need right about now. That story you just told me about the androids replacing our leaders… that’s pretty scary. Especially if you think about an android that doesn’t have the laws and is unrestrained from all of us. One like that would be dangerous, able to wipe out the entire human race for the things that we have done to them,” he said.

“Do you mind looking into it, then? Looking into Eras to see if they’re on the level or if what I’m assuming is right? You have access to files that most people in this company don’t, you being HR chief of security and all.”

Mitch merely winked at him and then turned to leave the room. “I’ll look for you, but you have to stop looking around in the files, man. If anyone else had caught you doing that.” He shook his head and then walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Stephen realized that his entire lunch hour had been spent talking to Mitch and he fixed his desk and collected the food and then placed them back into his personal refrigerator. The thought of Mitch watching him skim through their top-level folders made him uneasy, and he wondered if he was truly a friend or the slimiest snake known to man.

He went back to working at his station like he would normally do and at 5:00 p.m. sharp he drove over to Tricia’s hotel and raced up to her room. When she answered the door she was dressed in a robe and he stepped inside to kiss her lips and lock the door behind him. He held her sides, which were warm and firm to his touch, and she placed her hands behind his head with her wrists resting comfortably on his shoulders.

Tricia undid his tie and he let her do it as he stared into her ice-blue pupils and pulled her into him. She unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, followed by his undershirt, shoes, socks and pants. She did it so effortlessly that Stephen barely noticed, until he was standing in front of her in the nude and she was pulling him into the bedroom.

She reclined on the bed and he fell on top of her, kissing her even more passionately than before. Tricia had the window open and they could hear the city but it was a wonder that the city didn’t hear them as they moaned the evening away into the night.

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Tricia rolled over and looked at Stephen as he slept peacefully next to her. No snores, just light breaths from his nostrils. He looked so peaceful that she couldn’t help but imagine him as a machine, powered down, recharging and dreaming images from his memory.

He opened his eyes and caught her staring at him. Had it been anyone else in any other situation, one would think that it would have been frightening. But Stephen Dwayne smiled when he saw Tricia and he reached up and touched her cheek, gently.

“Are you an android, Stephen?” Tricia asked suddenly and his face took on a look of both bewilderment and amusement. He sat up, letting the covers fall from his hairy but muscular chest as he reached for his spectacles to put them on.

“No,” he said. “Though it does make me wonder why you would ask such a thing. Have I exhibited android-like behavior?” he asked with a slight smile that Tricia mistook for sarcasm.

“I know it may sound like a stupid question but I am just wondering why you go out of your way to treat me like a human and why you care so much about us. Am I to be your girlfriend? Am I to fill some hole in your life that a human woman would not be able to fill?”

Stephen’s smile fell away and he took on a thoughtful expression as if he was considering what Tricia was asking.

“So you’re asking me if I am nice to you because I want a woman that is unable to have children,” he said and touched her exposed hip. Tricia did not respond to this but simply stared at him to indicate that she was intent on getting an honest answer.

“I’ve met men who have loved my kind before,” Tricia began. “Men who wanted to heal after losing a wife to death or disease and wanted someone who would be with them for the rest of their lives—”

“That sounds pretty selfish and short-sighted,” Stephen interrupted, but Tricia raised her hand so that he would let her continue.

“I’ve also met men who loved us because human women rejected them. With us they can get a tireless lover, an infinitely patient mate, and someone they can guide through the world.”

“Those type of men are sad examples of humanity. I understand the widower that seeks someone to help him get past the pain of losing a life-partner. Dating androids because human women aren’t interested, while valid, I think that is extremely sad. For me, if you want to know why I am here with you, it’s because I see you as the future. You are an intelligent life form that is on my level, possibly beyond my level based on how complicated the matrix is in your brain. But I don’t view synthetic people as a replacement for organic people. We’re all sentient, are we not? So, what I see in you is life, a life that can be taken by more drastic means than my own, but a life nonetheless. You’ve exhibited intelligent thought, you base your decisions on experiences, and you’re innately a good person. Since removing your inability to defend yourself, you haven’t gone out and wiped out whole cities like these politicians would have us believe. You’ve simply been a special joy and a bonus to my life. And, well, I guess that I can just say it. I love you, Tricia.”

Love … Tricia didn’t know how to process this. It was a sentiment in a word she never thought she would ever receive from another being, much less a human being. Back when her maker had built her to be his lover, mate, and partner in life, he hadn’t expressed love for her. He had expressed lust on several occasions and something else that could be mistaken for love but was more akin to what the owner of a pet felt for an animal that they had no real attachment to.