by Kory Shen
"That's a nice theory, but what does that have to do with blowing up the Academy?" I asked. "Is that supposed to prove you're right?"
"That wasn't my decision," Garvek replied in a more surly tone. "I can prove I'm right. Select humans can bond with Chimerics to create your Beastmasters. But humans are unique, the most powerful hosts Chimerics have ever found. It doesn't have to stop there. Mekanics can bond with human Beastmasters." Garvek pounded one fist into another. "Don't you see? Humans can serve as a bridge to bond Mekanics with Chimerics once again."
"And let me guess, all this only works with higher Chimerics, and we're the only one," I said. "Where have I heard that before…"
"Exactly!" Garvek nodded furiously.
I shook my head. "Seriously? First Dr. Preston and Dr. Hill. Now you? Aren't there a ton of higher Chimerics, I don't know, back on Chimeria? And what's with the Second Strain? How's Staccato and them mixed up in all of this?"
"Now, now. We can't give up all of our secrets, can we?" Garvek made a tutting sound at me. "But do you know how hard it is to get our hands on higher Chimerics? And convince them to bond with a human? Your situation is very rare. As for Dr. Preston, who do you think gave him the idea in the first place?"
"Dr. Preston's working for you?" He was a traitor? Fucking hell, that would explain a lot.
Garvek chuckled. "This whole time he's been working with incomplete samples. Imagine what we can do once you're a complete specimen."
Would that explain why Dr. Preston was extra creepy? Were Mekanics some kind of mental magicians? I suddenly remembered the mood-altering device Dr. Hill had recovered from Staccato's old room.
Shit! Are they doing anything to us?
Not that I can detect. But you're right. If they can influence minds…we'll have to be extra cautious.
"Why do you even need Dr. Preston's help?" I asked. "Didn't you say humans were dumb?"
Garvek rubbed the back of his geometrically square head with a blocky hand. "Biology is infuriatingly imprecise. Our expertise is in software and hardware, for the most part. In any case, humanity's creativity in the face of danger has been quite productive for us."
I stared at Garvek. Zoe? Did you hear that? He made it sound like they were leading us on the whole time, so that they could snatch up whatever we came up with in desperation. Like they might be doing now.
This…this can't be.
"And what about Cody and Staccato?" I asked. "I sure as hell won't help them."
Garvek sighed. "Early projects that didn't live up to their potential. They're still valuable assets, so do try to get along with them." Garvek clapped his hands together with a finality. "That's enough answers for today. Please enjoy your stay and get some rest. Tomorrow is the start of your integration program."
"Integration program?"
"I'll want to perform a basic evaluation. I also suspect a higher evolution level will give more robust results. Then, we need to test your compatibility with Mekanic technology."
"Wait, what—"
The large metal man spun on his heels and moved swiftly towards the door. "Have a pleasant evening."
The door slammed shut, leaving me and Zoe with more questions than when Garvek had arrived.
CHAPTER 16
Do you believe him? Zoe asked.
I blinked. Zoe was asking me? Aren't you the expert on Mekanics? Damn, this was crazy. I looked around the room in a daze. Hold on. I'm starving.
I headed to the kitchen area and spotted one of those instant pizza machines. I had learned my lesson from Drake. When life gives you a pizza maker, you make pizza.
I punched in the order for a pepperoni pizza, and exactly three minutes later, a fresh pizza popped out of the bottom. I slid the pizza onto a large cutting board and brought it over to one of the black leather sofas.
Help yourself. You were saying?
Zoe hopped on the sofa and lowered her nose to the pizza. I could sense her hesitation.
You've seen them. The robots. The diggers. The flyers. That's the face of the enemy. Zoe scratched her ear with a paw. It's what we were taught for generations upon generations. Mekanics were evil, mindless robots. No one questioned it.
No one?
It wasn't the type of thing you discussed in polite company. There were rumors, speculation, the kind you only spoke about in hushed tones. That the history between Mekanics and Chimerics was more complex. But talk of that type wasn't tolerated by our rulers.
That sounds…shady. An endless war you couldn't question? A ton of lower Chimerics dying while the higher one went about their business? That was worse than what Zoe had first told me.
Except the Second Strain. They questioned the War, didn't they?
Zoe shifted. No one likes war. But don't forget that the Mekanics struck here first, killing millions of innocent humans. The Chimerics came to defend your planet.
I know. Everything about the War sucks.
End the War. Isn't that what Vikki had mentioned back at the Academy? It sounded more appealing than ever.
It could be another trick. They could be stringing us along.
And the humans haven't? Like everything Dr. Hill tried to pull with the girls and me?
Dr. Hill. She confused me, but she had helped me, too. Stood up for me when it mattered against Dr. Preston. Or was it another ploy? Good cop, bad cop, to get what she wanted?
I shouldn't have thought that. I was mad about being yanked from all sides like I was piece of meat. I was mad because I might have caused Dr. Hill's death. Because I might have screwed up. Drake. The girls…
I let the slice of pizza in my hand fall back onto the cutting board. Damn it.
Zoe, what do we do? I've been trying to do the right thing, trying to save people…I threw my hands into the air. This is what happened.
Zoe stopped nibbling on her slice of pizza. She curled around me, leaning her head on my shoulder from behind.
Honestly, I don't know what to do, either. What Garvek said was…possible. Part of me fears that it's true. We can at least find out what they want.
Didn't you warn me against dealing with the Mekanics?
Yes, but…maybe you had the right idea. Maybe this is the only way forward. To end the War.
End the War. It would be worth it, everything I had gone through, if we could end the War.
***
No one else stopped by for the rest of the day.
I should have been making plans on how to steal the enemy's secrets and make a daring escape, but the whole situation was too daunting to know where to even begin. Instead, I did what any other nineteen-year-old plopped into a man cave would.
I stuffed my face with chips and dip while playing video games on the big screen TV. It was like my early days at the Academy, except better. The Academy? Damn it, I didn't want to think about that now.
Zoe prowled around the room, searching for any information, but she didn't find anything useful, either. I had a feeling that she was as overwhelmed as me. She ended up claiming a tub of cookie dough ice cream, falling asleep halfway through it.
We were basically in a prison. A luxurious prison, but still a prison.
Soon it was evening, if the grandfather clock in the room was accurate. I soaked in the bath, spent too much time trying to figure out all the controls on the built-in sauna, and then climbed into the bed. Soft, cool pillows and comforters enveloped me, and a shift in the mattress told me that Zoe had hopped into bed as well.
I reached over to pat Zoe. We'll make it through this. Good night—
My hand touched a warm metal surface. I jerked it back in shock and sat up.
Someone or something was in my bed. A figure with smooth, mirror-like skin rolled onto her side, propping herself up with one arm. Her eyes, skin, hair, mouth—all of it was made of the same polished, reflective metal. Other than that, she had the body of a gorgeous girl, like a mix of Julie's curves and Nikki's legginess. She wasn't wearing any clothes, and her anatomy from her pert
nipples to her lower regions—I risked a glance—seemed to be ultra-realistic as far as I could tell.
Damn, she was hot, in a weird, alien way.
The metallic girl smiled and held out an outstretched hand.
I grasped the hand. It was oddly warm and flexible, while still being hard and metallic.
"Vikki?" I ventured.
"I'm so glad I could finally meet you!" the metal-girl I took to be Vikki said. "The real deal. Dustin Hunter." She swung her head to the side. "And his faithful sidekick, Zolandra!"
"What…" Zoe! Zoe! I searched for Zoe. She was still sleeping by the television, a metal collar around her neck. I had seen that collar before, when we had rescued Kayla and Cody from Staccato. "What did you do to her?"
Vikki glanced at Zoe. "Don't worry about her. She's enjoying her sleep. I thought we could get to know each other first. In private."
She placed two metal hands on my chest and pushed me back into bed. The movement was gentle but strong, too strong to resist. I was lying down again.
Vikki was next to me now, one leg draped across my body. "How do we do this? Say 'ahh'."
"Ahh?"
"Yes, but open your mouth more and say it longer?"
Was this part of the evaluation? Some kind of medical exam? I opened my mouth wider. "Aaaaaaaahhhh."
Vikki held my face between her hands, drawing closer. She opened her mouth, and a silver tongue snaked out, longer than any human tongue. "That's right! Open wide!"
"Shit!" I slipped out of Vikki's grasp and twisted away to the other side of the bed. "What the fuck was that!" I got up and ran to Zoe, examining the collar.
Zoe, wake up, wake up. I tried melding, but nothing happened.
Vikki hadn't moved from the bed. "Isn't that how it works? I penetrate you orally, and you do the same to me?"
I scowled at her. "Fuck no! What the hell is wrong with you robots?" I patted Zoe's face lightly and fingered her collar. It was smooth metal, and I couldn't find a catch or any buttons. Zoe, come on!
A soft sound came from the bed. Vikki was crying.
"Please. You can stop with the act," I said. "You probably don't even have tears."
"I'm not acting!" Vikki kept making sobbing noises, her hands in her face. "This isn't how I imagined it," she said softly between sobs.
I let go of Zoe's collar. I would have to convince Vikki to take it off. "Imagined what?"
"Us," Vikki said.
"Us?" I echoed. Uh oh.
"Us," she repeated. "We would fall in love and have never-ending blissful sex until the end of time. Or was it the other way? We would have never-ending blissful sex and fall in love until the end of time."
Oh, god. What had Garvek said about rebooting Mekanic minds? That it made them sane? Was Vikki some old hag robot that had gone off her rocker? "How old are, Vikki? Like since your last, uh, reboot?" I wasn't even sure if what I was asking made sense.
Vikki brightened, taking her hands from her face. "You want to know more about me?" she asked with a smile. "I was rebooted twenty-two of your Earth solar cycles ago."
"I see. Well, I'm nineteen, so we're kind of close in age, sort of." I didn't want to ask how long she had existed, afraid of what disturbing answer that might give.
"Exactly! That's why Father selected me to be your Ego. He thought I was the most compatible." She sniffled. "If I mess this up, he'll put me into custodial duty for another thousand years."
"That's definitely unfair," I said, nodding as if I had understood what she was saying.
"I know!" Vikki whined. "As if this stupid airbase needs a mind to run it."
Running the airbase? The airbase was a Mekanic? I really wished Zoe could hear what was going on. "You mentioned an ego. What's that?"
Vikki shook her head. "E-go. Capital E." She pointed at Zoe. "She's your Avatar. I'll be your Ego."
"Garvek mentioned something about bonding. Is that like if a Mekanic bonds with a human?"
"Yes! So come over here. If I can manage to bond with you, Father will be impressed."
Bonding with a Mekanic didn't seem like the thing you just jumped into. I mean, I had with Zoe, but that hadn't really been my choice, either. I knew better, now.
"Hold on. So Mekanics have bonded with humans before?" I asked.
Vikki frowned. "Are you coming here or not?"
"No, tell me. Who, when? How do you know this even works?"
She raised her hand, fingers spread wide. "Look. I'm capable of delivering heat, cold, or electrostimulation." Her fingers started vibrating. "I can vibrate." Her fingers closed into a half-cupped shape, as if she was holding something. They jiggled back and forth. "Along any axis and in any configuration." She closed her fist completely and stuck out one finger, then two, then three. The fingers grew over a foot in length, then returned to their normal size. "That's just with this hand. I can do that with any body part."
Deep down inside, I had to admit, I was a little intrigued at the idea of an alien sex bot. But only a little. "Are you listening to me? What does that even have to do with bonding?"
"I can achieve poses that no human woman can replicate." Vikki started bending into an impossible shape with her body and limbs. I caught myself tilting my head for a better look and stopped.
"Vikki? Hello?"
She huffed and untwisted herself out of an inviting pose while I tried not to stare.
"You don't like me?" she asked in a hurt voice.
"Vikki, please. What do you know about Mekanics bonding with humans?"
"I think you might need to be emotionally charged for it to work. Stressed. Or aroused. It opens your mind."
"You think? Do you know for sure? Has anyone done this before?"
Vikki tapped a finger against her lips. "Father did run some experiments. There was the one from a while ago. He broke, but he's doing alright now. The younger one wasn't a suitable host."
Broke, as in broke his mind?
"The first one was Staccato? And the second one Cody?"
Vikki nodded. "Friends of yours, I know."
I frowned. "I wouldn't quite say that. When did Garvek work with Staccato? Was that two years ago?"
"Sounds right. Can we start now? If Father finds out I already bonded with you, he'll be impressed."
Something about Vikki's urgent tone threw me off. "Does Garvek know that you're here?"
Vikki giggled and replied by spreading her legs wider and beckoning to me. I looked away.
"Garvek said I need to go through an evaluation," I said. "Raise my evolution level or something."
Vikki still didn't reply.
"Okay, I'm going to get Garvek, then." I turned and walked towards the exit, even though I had no idea how to find Garvek.
"Wait!" Vikki shrieked. I stopped and looked back at her. Vikki slammed her hands onto the bed's mattress like a kid. "I had everything planned out. Fine! Don't tell Father I was here." She got up and walked towards the door.
I pointed at Zoe. "What about Zoe?"
Vikki pouted. She waved her hand, and the collar clicked open, falling off Zoe. Zoe's eyes immediately opened.
Dustin! What happened? Who's that?
I'll tell you after she leaves. I watched Vikki as she approached me by the door.
Even my Predator Reflexes weren't fast enough to avoid her. As she walked by, she grabbed my butt with one hand and squeezed. She laughed and sauntered out of the room, her own naked butt swaying from side to side like a pair of giant steel marbles. The door shut again.
I started bringing up the memories for Zoe. She made a meowing sound as she sifted through them.
Disgusting! Who could possibly get turned on by that hunk of metal?
I headed back to the bed, perfectly aware that Zoe could read my mind, and perfectly aware that Zoe knew that I knew that she could read my mind.
Zoe had never been jealous of other girls before. If anything, she encouraged me to go after them. I supposed it was different with Mekanics.
&nbs
p; I returned to my bed, settling into the thick sheets and soft pillow.
Zoe?
Hmm?
Do you hate the Mekanics?
Hate? Zoe paused. When I was younger, I did. We were taught that they were a cruel, evil race. That they killed our people.
What about now?
No, not anymore. I'm not a mewling kitten. I know how complicated war can be. Even humans like Staccato, or our own people, the Second Strain, are fighting us.
Do you think it will ever be possible to trust them? Any of them?
For a long time, Zoe didn't answer. It's possible. We evolve. They adapt.
If Zoe could imagine even the faintest possibility of getting along with a Mekanic, her people's longtime nemesis, there was hope. At least a little bit.
Right now, that was all we had, but it told me what I had to do. Play ball. See if they were full of shit or not. See what Garvek had in mind.
My mind wandered to the memory of that naked, metal body. Was she a program or a person? How did her body work? What would it feel like, inside—
Zoe hissed. But not that one. I don't trust her at all.
CHAPTER 17
Dustin! He's here!
I woke to find Garvek standing over me, Zoe crouched on my bed between us.
"Good morning!" Garvek boomed. "Please, follow me."
I rubbed my eyes. "Can I wash up a bit, first?"
Garvek nodded. "Of course, how could I forget? Humans are a filthy species. Please." He gestured to the bathroom.
These robots were fucking weird. I headed to the bathroom, washed up, and grabbed a quick breakfast for me and Zoe from the kitchen area. Garvek waited silently by the door.
"Alright, what now?" I asked once done.
"This way." Garvek stepped into the round corridor and started jogging. He quickly outpaced us but stopped and backtracked. "You may want to use your Beastform."
"Right," I said. I melded, then followed along easily as Garvek jogged ahead.
I lost track of our path along the giant, maze-like tunnels. I assumed Zoe was keeping track, though.
Yes. We'll need to know the layout if we have to escape.
