by Kipjo Ewers
“You want me …to stay away …for them?”
“Whatever unknown effect you have on them is causing them to do irrational things, things that are causing them unexplainable pain and distress, and so the most logical recourse is for you to stay away from them.”
A scowl formed on Adrian’s face as the rage within him began to build.
“So, you don’t think I’m in some sort of pain?”
“Whatever emotional distress you are currently in is not my concern,” Maxine flatly told him. “Despite your abilities, you are still a weak carbon-based life form that will eventually expire. Given your track record, you will find another human female to copulate with and put this incident behind you. My sisters are not that fortunate. They do not need to be fighting with one another over someone who is not only their inferior but never cared for nor deserved them.”
“Say what?” His eyes went wide with disbelief.
“Allow me to also educate you on something. My sisters like myself are advanced forms of artificial intelligence. Everything that we learn and process makes up both our knowledge and our personalities, which is what allows us to grow and become our own individuals. To ‘fix us’ would be similar to a lobotomy for humans, which means we would no longer be us.
In conclusion, I shall make it one of my prime directives to ensure that my sisters never associate with you as long as I still function. I advise you to heed my request and keep your distance from them. Going forward whatever assistance or requirements, you need can come from me. Thank you for your time.”
Maxine turned on her tripod heel walking off, leaving Adrian standing with his jaw unhinged. Sensing a presence behind him, he turned to see his sister with a smirk on her face.
“I swear if you say anything that takes her side …” he growled.
“I’m not taking any side or getting in the middle of this,” Rosann chuckled while throwing her hands up.
“How the hell am I the bad guy in this?” He flailed his arms. “She lied to me, this whole time!”
“She? Don’t you mean it?”
“You know damn well what I mean!” Adrian snapped at his sister. “She gee’ed me for almost nine months making me think she was a real woman! I was going to bring her home to meet mom and pops! If that damn juicer didn’t blow up the club, I was going to go back to her place …and …and …”
“Take her virginity?” Rosann began to crack up.
A sinister sneer formed on her brother’s face as if he was contemplating decking his own flesh and blood.
“Oh damn,” Rosann coughed. “You’ve already done it, when, how, who?”
“Christmas evening, she initiated at her place.”
Rosann shrugged fighting not to giggle before she asked her question.
“How was it?”
“It was amazing, and I’m so glad you find such amusement in my damn suffering! She violated me, man! She hacked my profile, and used the most intimate details about myself to mess with my head! How can I forgive that?”
“That’s not how you told it,” Rosann reminded him. “You said you saw her first, you said she practically came short of telling you to eat a dick before she gave you her number. I and everyone else remember you checking your phone like clockwork for three days straight wondering if she was going to call you, and the look on your face when she did.”
“That’s because I thought she was human!”
“Well, she kind of lied to you like a human.”
Adrian’s right eyebrow began to twitch signaling he was close to blowing his top. Rosann sighed as she walked up to her brother hoping to defuse him.
“Okay, she lied to you, and that was wrong,” Rosann nodded. “But I do remember you saying that she told you that you talked too much, and you thought that was cute. She also dragged you to a museum and an art exhibit, which you thought you were going to hate, but that you actually enjoyed it. And then there was that one night you two sat in a park and talked for hours and hours until the sun came up.”
“She’s a machine!” He blurted out his frustration. “This isn’t some stupid Scarlet Jo movie Rosie! I’m not some pathetic chump who writes greeting cards, and can’t get a decent piece of ass to save his life! How am I supposed to justify having a relationship with a machine?”
“I am not saying you should Adrian,” Rosann answered him. “You shouldn’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. All I’m saying is we live in a bizarre world now, every day that goes by I see the impossible becoming possible. Nothing shocks me anymore, not even an android girl who fell in love with my brother. You have the right to be angry, but I think you were a bit too hard on her. Calling her “it” and a “machine” is being mean, and you don’t do mean …especially when it comes to women.”
She walked passed him going about her business but stopped to place a hand on his shoulder.
“One more thing to think about, she blew her cover coming back to help you. You said yourself she left the club when you told her too, she could have waited outside until the fighting was over and maintained her identity as Barbara. Instead, she risked it and came back for you, which means she can’t be just a machine.”
Rosann gave her brother one final pat on the shoulder before heading about her business. Adrian stood alone in the hallway partially sulking while partially contemplating over what his sister said.
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On the other side of the relationship coin, Jennifer was not faring too well either. She was still grounded which meant confinement to the R&D lab. She was also blocked from booting into other bodies. Her only time outside was to take Mr. Binks topside for walks and to use the bathroom.
What made her confinement worse was Angie not talking to her. She purposely stayed out of the lab as much as she could so as not to be in the same vicinity with Jennifer unless it came to recharging.
After the fifth day of silent treatment, she waited when it was just her and Angie in the lab together. As she was walking out to go about her business, Jennifer blocked the door.
“We need to talk.”
“Sorry, I don’t compute hoe talk.”
She advanced forward to walk right through her sister. Jennifer held her hands up pleading with her to stop.
“Please! I’m begging you to just listen to me.”
Angie stopped taking a disengaged stance with her arms folded under her chest, and her head tilted as she burned holes through her sister with narrowed eyes.
“Okay talk, what exactly do you want me to listen to Jennifer?”
“I didn’t mean to feel anything for him,” Jennifer went right into it. “It …it just happened.”
“How did it just happen?”
“It was a coincidence that we met at Barney’s. I was just picking up some purchases for Matt Damon, and he was just there. I didn’t think he would notice me …but he did.”
“You mean he noticed the Replicator you were in,” Angie corrected her with a steel tone.
Jennifer let her have the dig as she continued.
“I was going to blow him off, but he had a stupid shirt in his hand that he actually was going to buy …so I helped him. And then he asked for my number, and I told him to give me his, and if it was fate, I’d to call him. I wanted him to feel how you felt when he blew you off all the time.”
“So why did you call him?”
Jennifer lowered her head while grasping her left arm clearly afraid to unveil to Angie her reason.
“I was curious.”
Her answer caused her sister to lean back with a face of disbelief.
“You were curious?” Angie repeated.
“He kept walking around here like a love-sick puppy,” Jennifer shrugged. “Waiting for me to call him. So, I figured I’d give him one date, and then tell him it wasn’t going to work.”
“But …?” Angie pressed as her orange eyes began to glow brighter with irritatio
n.
“But, it turned out to be a nice date,” Jennifer placed her hand on her cheek as if she was blushing. “Better than other dates I’ve been on.”
Angie’s eyes widened as her face revealed the apparent shock she was in.
“Hold up …hold up …you been on other dates?”
Jennifer’s eyes fluttered in disgust at herself finally realizing what she just said.
“I’m still malfunctioning,” she muttered while palming her own face. “Angie …”
“Shut the hell up Jennifer! You’re not malfunctioning, you’re just a damn liar!”
Angie took a step toward her sister with the aggression to remove her head from her body. She restrained herself using her words.
“You know what I took from this whole incident, Jennifer? That you were out to hurt someone.”
“I wasn’t …”
“Yes, you were!” Angie raised her voice to silence her. “You were out to hurt Adrian who did nothing to you. Do you know why I like him? Because he’s been nothing but kind and honest with me. I know he doesn’t see me as girlfriend material, and yes it hurts, but that’s not his fault and despite it all, he has tolerated my playful sexual advances and badgering, which in the end goes nowhere. Not once when I’m in his presence has he ever seen me as an ‘it,’ or a thing until now. He has always said fix her, not fix it, which is nothing more than a joke.
I may have hi-jacked the Tornado one time to make him late for a date, which now that I know it was you was so worth it, but I never did what you did to him.
I never intended to go out of my way to hurt him.
And then you come along to do just that, and you get to see what I always saw. You get to experience for almost a year what I always wanted. And in the process, you end up hurting Adrian and hurting me.
And out of all this, you got to meet Matt Damon, and have a dog.”
“Angie …I’m sorry,” Jennifer painfully whispered. “I never meant …”
“You know, if you had a particular human orifice, I’d tell you where to shove your sorry,” Angie snarled. “For now, I’d prefer you move out of my damn way before I put you through that door behind you. Remember, I was built with the stronger body.”
Jennifer in enough hot water did as her sister demanded to avoid getting into a brawl with her. As she watched her sister walk away, Mr. Binks scampered over to his owner unleashing a high-pitched bark at her.
She sadly turned looking down at him.
“I know, I know …I really screwed up.”
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The next day Jennifer went topside for Mr. Binks morning walk. She took her time walking around with him before and after he did his business knowing that her time on the surface would be the only time she would spend out of the lab.
“Okay Mr. Binks, our time is almost up,” Jennifer muttered. “Time to head back to our prison and …”
Mr. Binks began barking while wagging his tail, which was not directed at her. Nervously she turned and took a step backward as the last person she expected to see walked in her direction.
“Oh boy.”
Adrian’s eyes filled with hurt and confusion were locked on Jennifer as he got closer to her. Jennifer took a passive stance clasping her hands with her head lowered, while Mr. Binks scampered over to Adrian jumping up on his moving legs looking to be petted.
As he stopped in his tracks two feet away from her, Adrian’s eyes also fell to the ground. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his two-piece blue and white Regulator tracksuit. He was baffled that being in her presence made him forget what he wanted to say to her.
The both of them fidgeted and shifted where they stood with the inability to make eye contact with one another as Mr. Binks sat in the middle looking curiously at the both of them.
After three long minutes of silence, Jennifer decided to be the one to break the ice.
“Hey.”
“Don’t “Hey” me,” Adrian’s voice returned in the form of a stern whisper. “You need to explain yourself to me right now. Do you have any idea how I feel? How much this hurts. Do you?”
Jennifer winced at his words with the appearance that she did not want to be there, yet she remained rooted in place taking it.
“What did I ever do to you to deserve being hurt like this Jennifer?” A wounded Adrian asked throwing his hands up.
“It wasn’t supposed to go this way,” she shook her head.
“What wasn’t supposed to go this way?”
His raised voice made her jump a bit.
“When you approached me, I shouldn’t have spoken to you at Barney’s!” Jennifer answered with a squealing voice. “I shouldn’t have taken your number, I shouldn’t have gone out with you! I was just going to blow you off! But the sight of you wanting to see me again, waiting for my phone call made me curious as to why you wanted to go out with me!”
“You mean Barbara?” Adrian snarled while folding his arms.
“I am Barbara you prick!”
Her screamed response made Adrian jump back this time, as her demeanor read that she wanted to remove his head from his body.
“Name and identity aside, everything else was me!” Jennifer slapped her chest. “I had everything! A life outside of this base that no one knew about! Friends that I started to make! And now my mother is angry at me, my youngest sister hates me! I lost everything to go out with you!”
“So why did you do it then?” An angered Adrian stepped forward getting into her personal space.
“Because I wanted you!” Jennifer cried out.
Her words silenced Adrian as she went to folding her arms around herself for comfort as her metal frame rattled like a slender tree in a gale wind. Jennifer’s voice and mannerism became that of a woman actually crying, although she was incapable of producing tears.
“I didn’t expect our first date to go so well, I did not foresee liking you. I knew if I kept going there was a ninety-nine percent chance this would end badly. I kept saying one last date, and then I’d break up with you. But I couldn’t …I didn’t want to stop seeing you in that way …I didn’t want to let you go. I never meant to cause you any pain Adrian, I know I am just a machine, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted you … and I wanted you to want me …I wanted you to want me …”
Mr. Binks barked and whined at the sight of his owner in distress.
Adrian sighed as he moved closer touching her right arm, physically transforming into her metal composition. He attempted to pull her into his embrace wrapping his arms around her to comfort her, but she began to resist.
“Stop, “I’m malfunctioning again,” Jennifer pleaded. “Diagnostics are not revealing the anomaly causing this, but I know I am …”
“Shut up, you’re not malfunctioning,” Adrian whispered to her. “You’re not malfunctioning.”
Shock formed on her face for a second before she gave in and found herself resting her head on his chest. Time stood still until they eventually met one another’s gaze with their lips inches apart from one another.
At that moment, Adrian came to his senses slowly releasing her and backing away with his hands up.
“Um, I need to figure …I need to go.”
He quickly turned on his heel reverting back to his human form speed walking away while running his hand through his hair. Adrian walked away more confused as before, while Jennifer stood rooted in placing watching him leave with an equally confused visage sprinkled with dejection.
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Two days later, the Regulators sat in their respective uniform and gear in the debriefing room as Rogers laid out their latest mission.
“Listen up people,” Rogers began. “Our only damn lead in regards to the red booster serum finally gave us something. Just to catch everyone up, our big break to this case came in the form of Justin O'Bani
on, the red booster from the Sound Nightclub incident.
It turns out that Justin is the nephew of James O'Banion, a notorious Irish Mob boss from Chicago.
So, we’ve placed heavy surveillance on Uncle O’Banion waiting for him to give us a clue to his association with the dealer of the red booster serum, and he finally delivered.
Last night James O'Banion confirmed with his associates that they received confirmation by a letter sent via courier which he instantly burned they were ago to pick up a shipment of Red Rum in Cali, Columbia. We’re banking everything that Red Rum is the name they are using for the booster serum.”
“Cali Columbia?” Teuila asked.
“Number ten on the list of deadliest places in the world,” Erica pointed out, “It is also in an International territory.”
“Which is what I want to get to before we continue any further,” Rogers continued. “This is not an authorized mission, which means it is not sanctioned by the United States Government nor the Administration. I have shared with all of you why I have decided not to share our knowledge of this red booster serum.
I believe this is something that must be found and destroyed along with whoever created it. We don’t have the power to prevent other governments, or legitimate companies from walking down this road, but if we can stop it or slow it down on the black-market side, this is something that must be done.
Now, this is my view, my belief.
But doing this will have severe repercussions whether we succeed or not.
I mean possible career ending repercussions.
This mission is volunteer only, and I mean that. You are not obligated under any circumstances to take part in this if you do not want to.
I will give those that want to bow out a minute to leave.”
“Save your minute Sarge,” Oliver answer Rogers, “We can’t speak for Sister Shareef, but the five of us have already spoken on this. We’re in all the way.”
Rogers nodded and turned to Sister Shareef waiting for her response.
“You know I’m not going anywhere,” was what came out of her lips.
