‘I am?’ Ella asked, her expression sceptical.
‘You are. And I think we’ll put you on a bit of a fitness programme, tone up those muscles a little.’
Ella looked down at her body sheathed in Xinti-engineered super-cloth. ‘You think I need toning up?’
‘I think that if we make you a little stronger and a bit more trained, I won’t need to worry about you so much and you’ll be more confident about yourself.’ Aneka looked at her.
‘Okay, so I have a few little insecurities. Who doesn’t?’
‘No one I know of,’ Aneka replied, grinning, ‘but maybe we can get rid of some. You’ll love it. Lots of rolling around on the mats with me. Get those boots off and we’ll get started.’
Bending down Ella began unstrapping her boots. Well, the rolling around sounded good and… ‘I guess I’ll look better in a cropped top if I tighten up my abs.’
Aneka chuckled. It was not as though Ella was shallow, but she came from a culture that tended to view beauty as a given, and an ideal. ‘Okay, the first thing you need to learn is how to fall without hurting yourself.’
‘That sounds like it’s going to hurt.’
‘That’s why you’ll learn quickly.’
Ella let out a groan.
~~~
‘Wu yu wuda ooshang yushang,’ Ella said over the sound of the shower.
‘What did she say?’ Cassandra asked.
‘Uh… She’s complaining about being bruised. “I have bruises on my bruises,” I think.’
The android was on the top bunk; there was, they had decided, no point in using more than one room when Aneka and Ella only ever used the bottom bunk. Looking down she said, ‘That software of yours works fast.’
‘It’s still guessing a lot, but it’s got the basic tenses sorted out and it’s building vocabulary. She’s been complaining about bruises a lot.’
‘Na shu ye wuy wa chung shan tung tao ting ta chung she,’ Ella said as she emerged from the shower.
‘You are not,’ Aneka replied. ‘There are several parts of your body which aren’t purple.’
Ella’s eyes narrowed. ‘Ne chu shutzi soor tzi pebeen sing chen qua.’
‘Now she says I’m just doing this to get out of sex.’
‘That seems unlikely,’ Cassandra commented. She had returned to lying flat on the bunk. ‘I can’t recall you ever actually refusing her.’
‘No, I…’ Aneka was interrupted by a long series of syllables which left her blinking at Ella.
‘What was all that?’
‘There is no way I’m translating that,’ Aneka replied. ‘For one thing, I didn’t understand half the words, and for another what I did understand involved what she was going to do to me when she can move properly again.’
Cassandra peered over the edge of the bed at Aneka. ‘I can’t imagine why you’d be bashful about it. I’ll probably be in the room when she does it to you.’
‘She does find Human behaviour quite fascinating,’ Al observed. Aneka was not sure, but it sounded a lot like he was trying not to laugh.
‘Wer chum ye tamada yuchoi,’ Ella said, grinning like a wolf that has just spotted a wounded animal.
‘I’m not translating that either,’ Aneka stated flatly.
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Aneka hit the mat on her back and Ella immediately went for an arm lock which would have worked perfectly on another Jenlay. It was not quite as effective on someone with motorised joints, but Aneka went with it since she was trying to teach Ella to fight people, not robots.
‘You are getting quite good at this,’ Aneka commented.
‘And your Rimmic is just about perfect,’ Ella replied. ‘Of course, this isn’t a real situation. I think I’d freeze if someone really attacked me.’
‘That’s why we drill it into your muscles. When your body can do this without you having to think about it, you’ll just react.’
Ella let go of Aneka’s wrist and helped her up. ‘There’s more to it than that though. When you took down that assassin you were so relaxed, but you seemed to know what you were doing, where you were going.’
‘That takes experience, practice. You don’t need to be able to do that. You need to know how to get out of dangerous situations, and that usually means running like hell. What I’m teaching you is for when that doesn’t work.’ She checked the time. ‘We’ll take a break. You need food and fluids.’
They were walking to the mess when Al spoke. ‘Aneka, I have a… proposition.’
‘Uh, what kind of proposition?’
‘Well, as you know, Cassandra is a rather physical entity. With regards to her… expression of affection.’
‘Yeah, it was mentioned, but you don’t have a body and she can’t express her affection for you that way.’
‘Yes. We have something we would like to try. A practical trial of a theory we have come up with, but it would need your help.’
‘Uh… You said you couldn’t control my body.’
‘And I can’t, but I do have access to your mind. I generally limit myself to your conscious thoughts and I almost always back out entirely when you and Ella are being intimate. The overload of sensory data is… a little alarming, but I can “feel” everything you feel.’
Aneka frowned. ‘You’ve been with me long enough to know that’s not all there is to it. Part of sex is the shared experience. It would be me making love to Cassandra even if she was doing it with both of us.’
‘I think she should explain that part. The summary is that she feels that the interaction might satisfy her needs and… If you’re willing I would like to try.’
‘I need to talk this over with Ella. This is a bit more intimate than her orgies with the neighbours. That’s recreation, this is deeper.’
‘Cassandra said you would wish to do that,’ Al replied calmly. ‘She agrees that Ella should be willing to allow you to participate and won’t go ahead without that agreement.’
‘You two have thought about this a lot.’
‘On and off for the past two months.’
‘Right.’ Aloud she said, ‘Ella, Cassandra and Al have something they want to try out.’
‘Yes,’ Ella said.
‘You haven’t even heard what it is?’
‘Cassandra wants to have sex with you, which is kind of like having sex with Al. I’m not quite sure how it’s going to work for Al, but I think you should give it a go.’ Aneka blinked. ‘I don’t need you to do the basic training you taught me. You can have the cabin all to yourselves this afternoon.’
‘Uh… You realise…’
‘That it’s more intimate than sharing you with Kat and Dillon, or Gillian, or Drake and Shannon. Uh-huh, but it’s more like you’re acting as a surrogate. She won’t be making love to you, exactly. I’d imagine they’ll be communicating with each other all the time. Actually, I’m more worried about you.’
‘Me?’ Aneka squeaked. Ella had obviously come up with the same idea and thought about it a fair bit herself. So why didn’t I?
‘Yes. You might come out of this feeling a bit… used.’
‘Oh. I hadn’t thought of it like that.’
Ella nodded. It was a professional, psychologist sort of nod. ‘I think you should think of it just like the situation with Kat and Dillon. Ignore the emotion and just view it as something recreational. Be a little detached about it.’
‘Right. Actually, I’m starting to just feel thick. If everyone else has been thinking about this for ages, why didn’t I come up with the idea?’
Ella gave her a grin. ‘Too close to the problem, and you’re neither an AI nor a psychologist. Cassandra can distance herself professionally, so can I. Al was made for sitting back and analysing behaviour.’ The grin got broader. ‘Actually, I think it could be a very interesting experiment. I mean, Al wasn’t designed to feel pleasure the way you were. Will he get out of it what Cassandra presumably hopes he will? Will she?’
Aneka’s shoulders slumped. ‘Now I fe
el like a lab rat.’
‘Maybe,’ Ella replied, ‘but a really sexy one.’
~~~
‘I don’t think I broke them,’ Cassandra said, her tone a little uncertain. She was standing beside Ella, both of them looking down at Aneka who was lying on the bottom bunk with her arm draped over her eyes.
‘You were at it for a couple of hours,’ Ella replied. ‘That’s bound to take some recovery. Did you enjoy it?’
‘Yes, though not in the way you would. I have neither the organs nor the software to appreciate sex as you or Aneka would. My brain reacts positively to my giving pleasure to my partner. A basic feedback system, but effective for the kind of role my model was built for. I can mimic Jenlay behaviour, but it is just that, faking. There was no need for it.’
Ella nodded. ‘So… It was two hours of you working Aneka into a lather? No wonder she’s tired.’
‘I’m not tired,’ Aneka mumbled. ‘I’m shell-shocked. I think Al’s the same.’
‘I assume you enjoyed it?’ Ella asked, grinning.
‘I think I died. Several times. Her tongue…’
Ella looked around at Cassandra, frowning, and then light dawned. ‘You’re model has an extensible tongue. That has to be amazing!’
Cassandra’s eyes dipped away. ‘I’ve never had any complaints about my performance.’
Ella giggled. ‘I want to go over how it felt for all three of you. I know it’s kind of crass to reduce this to a psychology experiment, but I don’t think this kind of thing has ever been attempted before and we owe it to Science!’
Cassandra’s laugh was musical, joyful in a way Aneka did not think she had heard from the android before. That, more than anything, made it worthwhile. ‘All right, we’ll do that. And, if we decide to do this again, I think we should all be involved.’
Ella beamed. ‘I was really hoping you’d say that.’
Aneka considered what would happen if Cassandra taught Ella a few of the tricks she had just performed and groaned. ‘I’m doomed.’
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Drake sat in the mess surrounded by three attractive women, but his attention was entirely focussed on the light snack he was consuming along with a lot of water dosed with electrolytes. Cold sleep would do that to you.
Strictly, according to the regulations, he had not been required to do a flight check because the trip was shorter than fifty days, but with a new engine and a new computer he had decided that safe was better than sorry. He need not have worried; halfway through the journey they were right on course and there were no problems to report. Aggy had looked pleased when he had congratulated her on running things so well.
‘So what have you three been up to?’ he asked, mostly for something to say.
‘Ella’s been learning self-defence,’ Aneka replied. ‘I’ve learned Rimmic. Cassandra has been analysing some experimental data.’
‘Experimental data?’
Cassandra had, in fact, been studying data Al had collected during their ‘experiment’ and was finding it fascinating. She claimed she was close to discovering how Aneka’s brain perceived an orgasm, as well as forming some very interesting theories regarding Al’s reaction to it. ‘It’d take a while to explain,’ Aneka said, because she did not want to. ‘It’s a… problem to do with machine psychology.’
‘A fascinating one,’ Cassandra agreed.
Drake looked between them and then shook his head. Whatever it was, he clearly did not need to know. ‘If I might make a suggestion? Take some time to go over what we plan to say to the Administration Reps when we get to New Earth. We’ll be there in about two weeks. It might be worth reviewing our plans.’
‘I believe that would be wise,’ Cassandra agreed. ‘Between myself, Ella, and Al we can analyse the psychology, and Aneka can provide a military and “real-world” viewpoint.’
Drake finished his bottle of isotonic water and stretched. ‘Sounds good to me. I need to get back in the freezer; I’m starting to feel Jenlay again.’
‘Can’t have that,’ Aneka replied, grinning. ‘We’re getting everyone up three days before arrival, right?’
Drake got to his feet, followed by the three women. ‘We’ve nothing to prepare aside from ourselves. That should be enough. Hopefully that’s being over-cautious.’
‘Huh,’ Aneka grunted. ‘We’ll be dealing with politicians. I don’t think we can be too cautious.’
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‘We should plan something,’ Ella said. ‘I mean, I know we’re probably going to be busy, but that’s all the more reason to plan something so we can take a break.’
Aneka looked at her from the washroom, a towel busy rubbing over her back. ‘You’re making less sense than usual, love.’
‘It’s going to be Christmas soon. The twenty-fifth, right? That’s mid-week break, and then the next weekend is First Day. We should plan something.’
Cassandra had the distant look about her eyes which suggested she was busy working on documents inside her own brain, but she was not entirely oblivious to her surroundings. ‘What is “Christmas,” please?’
‘It was this festival they had on Old Earth,’ Ella said enthusiastically. ‘A family time with presents, and eating a lot, and drinking too much… And we could sit around and watch bad vids and, uh… Well it’s mostly about being together. Last year we were in space. We’ll be home for this one.’
Aneka looked a little sceptical. ‘Well, my “family” now is this crew. I’d have to invite everyone and there’s no way we can have everyone in our flat. Plus the kitchen isn’t up to it.’
‘I bet we could get Gillian to host it,’ Ella countered. ‘She’s got a huge house, and a big kitchen.’
‘And she’s asleep and can’t agree.’
Ella grinned brightly. ‘Oh, she will, and she’ll have five days to say so before we take over her home.’ The redhead was starting to bounce, always a sign of impending danger. ‘We’ll need presents, and food, and costumes…’
‘Costumes?’
‘I’m sure we need costumes.’
‘Uh…’ Aneka looked at the slightly unsure expression Ella had developed. ‘Well, I’m sure we can dress you up as an elf.’
‘Fridgy!’ Ella replied, beaming again. ‘What’s an elf?’
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‘Are you going to show me?’ Ella asked as they walked down to the cold-sleep room.
‘No,’ Aneka replied. She was trying not to smirk, and failing.
‘But…’
‘No. It’s a surprise. It’s one of your presents. You don’t get to see it until Christmas morning.’
‘That does seem to be the general idea, Ella,’ Cassandra pointed out.
‘Yes, but… I want to know,’ Ella whined. ‘I’m going to have to wear it.’
‘You’ll love it, now shush, the others should be coming to…’
‘In approximately fourteen seconds,’ Aggy supplied. ‘I believe Delta will be the first to wake again.’
‘And Gillian will complain about her age,’ Aneka added.
‘Uh-huh,’ Ella agreed. ‘We should probably wait until she’s eaten before asking her about the party.’
‘Uh-huh.’ Aneka turned towards Delta’s pod a fraction of a second before it opened.
‘Uh! Oh Vashma’s tits I am never going to get used to that,’ Delta groaned taking the bottle of water Aneka handed her. ‘Next time I’m staying awake with you guys.’ She sucked down water, looking to her left as Monkey let out a groan. ‘I don’t care if I have to pay with my body,’ she added.
Aneka giggled. ‘Believe me, on long flights you’re better off in there.’
‘I don’t know,’ Monkey put in after a drink. ‘Military vessels’ crews stay awake all the time. We sleep to cut down on resource usage. No one actually likes it.’ He took another pull on his bottle. ‘If she’s paying with her body, I want a cut.’
‘Ten per cent?’ Aneka suggested.
‘I think Drake will want some of
that action,’ Ella said, keeping her face straight which had to be an effort for her.
‘And Shannon,’ Monkey agreed, ‘though she can probably pay them both off at the same time…’
‘I withdraw my suggestion,’ Delta said. Her cheeks were a delicate shade of red.
‘Shame,’ Aneka said, grinning mischievously.
Bashford sat up to get his bottle of water, ‘Quit teasing our newest crewmember,’ he said before pulling down a long suck of water. Delta relaxed visibly. ‘Oh,’ Bashford added, ‘if she changes her mind again my cut’s five per cent.’
Delta let out a whimper.
~~~
‘All right,’ Gillian said, ‘let’s get started now that everyone’s blood sugar is back up to normal and we’ve stopped teasing Delta.’
Delta blushed, again. ‘I’m sure I was up to about a hundred and fifty per cent,’ she grumbled.
‘We need to be sure we’re all singing from the same staves when we get in front of the Administration,’ Gillian continued, ‘so we’re going to spend the next couple of days going over everything. Frankly I doubt they’ll be calling on most of us to consult on the diplomatic proceedings, but there are bound to be questions.’
‘Yeah,’ Delta said, ‘as if the scouts weren’t bad enough.’
Gillian gave her best lecturer-reassuring-a-student smile. ‘You’ll be fine. You tell them what you saw, what you thought. You’ve nothing to hide. None of us has.’
‘Well…’ Delta frowned. ‘No, I guess we don’t,’ she conceded.
‘Exactly. I believe that their main concern for most of us will be to ensure that we were not influenced in some way.’
‘I expect they’ll want to use some additional verification methods,’ Shannon said. ‘Federal Security has a number of psychics on their payroll. Good ones.’
‘Does it hurt?’ Delta asked. ‘I’ve never had my mind read.’
‘As long as you don’t try to resist them, you’ll be fine. Put up a fight and it can get uncomfortable. If you want, I can show you later. I promise not to dig too deep.’
The Cold Steel Mind Page 23
