by ROUNAK PURI
**
Chapter 32/Him/Unboxing for him
"to the disclaimers.." Rockwood prompted from his chair. I felt like I was some kid at a school play, but that was enough to remind me.
"...In addition to the disclaimers of warranties and limitation of liability set forth in the license, Slave Tech Inc does not assume any liability for purchases, payments, or other commerce activity made using the Slave Tech pay feature, and you agree to look solely to agreements you may have with your issuing bank, payment network, or merchant to resolve any questions or disputes relating to your payment cards, virtual payment cards and associated commerce activity. The end. I don't know it in Spanish or Japanese" I said.9
I could only think one word, triumph. I could see the slave girl behind Rockwood smiling then pulling a straight face.
"Accepted" he said unmoved.
He paused looking at me for a long while. I wanted to tell him to drop dead, but my collar had muted me again. No, it wasn't mute, it was his presence. Hal clipped the cable ties with a pair of clippers. It was a worrying moment. You don't want to have your skin-tight silicon slave outfit torn or worse still bleed that really ruins the moment, that had happened to me in unpacking rehearsal back at the factory. Now for the big moment where I rise up like Botticelli's Brith of Venus from the shell but without the aid of a wind machine. Finally, Master can admire me in all my glory. Yes, I know I could hear my National Organization for Women membership card being ripped up in disgust, but they didn't have the choice of impressing some misogynistic machine or being turned into mincemeat. Given the state of the robocalypse at the moment perhaps that was their choice. Anyway, I decided to embrace the moment and give it the whole winning Miss World contest pose. I stood there smiling trying to hold the official unboxed pose and to do everything to erase the whole 'you cyborg fuck' moment from his mind. The lighting was good here it made me gleam and sparkle like a new handbag.
I stood up in a highly contrived position. This isn't as easy as it sounds as blood was rushing to parts of me which I hadn't felt in hours and the lack of circulation hurt like 'prac'. I was lucky, for people being shipped locally or picked up in person they got doubled into a box which was small enough to be taken on as hand luggage. The Factory even had a device specifically designed to force you into those tiny boxes, everything had to go in a specific order to make sure every last bit of space was used and I mean every last bit. Good luck to the customers trying to get everything back into the box to send those slaves back!The machine's had made contortionists of us all just to save a few dollars on shipping costs.
Rockwood stood up and came over. Despite wearing stiletto heels big enough to give you acrophobia I was still looking up at him.
"I am Lord Rockwood your new owner." he said looking down.2
'No shit Sherlock' I thought.'here was I thinking I was a slave to Micky Mouse. I'm glad someone cleared that up for me or I would be looking for your tail and everything'.19
The cyborg moved round to me. He didn't need body guards he was quite capable of squeezing the life out of me with his fingers.
"Naughty" he paused "I paid valuable coin for you. I am half man, half machine so by machine law, I am engine enough to be your master. You ! I don't care what you were before. It's what you are now that matters. Let me explain your position. You are now a human slave who belongs to me. There is only one rule for you from now on. That rule is you will obey your master without question. There is only one fact you can rely on now, that I can do what I like to you".3
Color me cowered. He paused, I was still muted. He let the ideas sink in long enough to leave a stain.
"It' seems that either you are a poor pupil or the victim of a poor school. I am of the opinion... for the latter. Your tests show that you should make quite the willing slave. It's in your blood and your blood makes it your destiny. Why should anyone fight against that?" he said walking behind me "I see from your records you flunked basic pole dancing."1
I wanted to tell him that it wasn't my fault the teacher kept getting ill, slipped disc, but I could not speak.
"Your file also tells me that you were studying to be a scientist before the war. Such a waste of good flesh. A human studying science is like a monkey using a microscope for a hammer. A bitter waste of good equipment and never likely to drive a nail in well enough to hold anything up for long. The question has become, what to do with you? I suspect you would like me to let you go. Is that what you would like?" he said leaning over.2
I nodded, I mean, it was only a matter of time before he killed me. Why not tell the truth ?
He turned to Hal.
"Schedule her for the next public punishment. Something painful, barbaric. I'll do it myself." he said.4
"The next public punishment session is a week on Thursday. Is that OK Lord?" asked Hal.
"Yes. Blindfold her and take her away. Put her some were dark and unpleasant, if there is a dripping sound that would be good. Keep here there until I can think of what to do with her." Rockwood said "And with that this interview is over".10
Hal pulled a silk blindfold over me. I was completely in the dark. I was pushed into a small metal cage of thick steel with large numbers of round holes and shipped off. I wasn't sure where I was. In some room which echoed. I felt my prison the cage was a quarter of an inch thick steel. I sat there half way between laughing for joy and crying. I was exhausted from everything and fell asleep.
Chapter 33/Him/Thrift & Cake
I woke up later and feeling around the cage found a sports water bottle and food bar. I felt pretty good. I had avoided being killed which was a huge step forward for me. After another long sleep I was woken by the cage moving. Then I notice they were taking me somewhere.
I felt the cage being loaded into a truck and driven out some were for an hour. While some of the motion felt at speed I felt the truck slow down and then throw me from side to side. Eventually, I heard the back of the truck roll open. Looking through the holes I saw myself being picked up by a giant 8foot high robot which was being directed by Hal. We were outside some kind of strip mall. I was hit by the cool of the outside world it was freezing out there. I peered through the hole. The place was full of robots of all different shapes and sizes. Clearly the robots were out here shopping. The place felt run down, a few of the shops were empty. The cage with me in it was picked up and carried towards a shop called "Rust Concern. Charity beings in the dome"
I sat back in the cage. I was being donated to a charity shop! From this point I could see that the huge robot was carrying a pallet with a huge amount of junk.
"There must be some mistake" I shouted to Hal "I'm new!"
For my troubles Hal just zapped me at level 4 - think about having someone taz you at the neck while you stroked an electric eel and you get the feeling. I was thrown back to the bottom of the cage and my tongue went numb.
I was carried through the shop. Half empty shelves had numbers of robot parts. I saw a hunter killer with only four of it's eight working legs sorting through a box of leg parts. Hal approached a desk with a cash register above it. Two slow moving robots hovered around the table.
"Good morning" said Hal. "I have a few donations to you from Lord Rockwood"
"Always a pleasure to get a donation from Lord Rockwood isn't it D0LRIZE?" said the first smaller robot.
"Always a pleasure" said D0LRIZE the other very scratched robot.
"Now let me see if can get the system to accept a donation" said the first Robot. "It's all out of focus," it said.
"Your looking at it with your bad camera again MAV1D1S" said D0LRIZE.
"Dear I've dropped them again 3042 get me my lenses" said MAV1D1S.
"Yes mistress" said the one armed slave running up picking a glass lens off the floor and holding it up. He got a slight shock.
"Next time be faster" said the MAV1D1S.
"Yes mistress. Is that all mistress?" said the slave 3042 rushing off to hide under a table.
"Good.
Now what do you have for us dear?" said MAV1D1S.
"Mostly slave stuff. Old FacePrinter, old slave clothes dressing machine and a slave" said Hal.
"We can only accept slaves in working condition" said D0LRIZE.
The large robot opened the thick steel door and pulled me out.
"It looks in good condition." said MAV1D1S
"New just deboxed from the factory" said Hal.
The robots looked at me.
"Working collar we could get 3 bit coins for her" said D0LRIZE.
"3?" I said "No no you don't understand I'm worth 300 bit coins" I said then Hal muted me.
"See. Some kind of factory reject. Rockwood go suckered with a buy two get one free offer" said Hal.
"That wasn't me. That was the other one.. Master" I said but they ignored me.
"Are you going to leave the box?" asked D0LRIZE
"I'd like to keep it - but I've got the box of her accessories" said Hal.
"Well that's something"I could definitely get three bit coins with the box, MAV1D1S can you make a price label of two bit coins for her we don't want to overcharge for her " said D0LRIZE. 2 bit coins with my accessories - my ego was deflating faster than the Hindenburg. All my cleverness and I'm a going to end up in the bargain bucket so unfair. How would I find out if Joe gets together with Kayla.
"Yes D0LRIZE" said the other robot. "Where did I leave the labeling machine?" it said sending for the slave to help her.
"I'll leave the slave till last. I've not done a slave before and you have to transferred the deed of ownership, right to life and vaccinations and stuff" said D0LRIZE
"Right" said Hal.
"Oh and we aren't a rehoming service. We don't have much money for food if it's not sold in 30 days it will have to be put down humanely"
I had been hanging on to the pleasure that it would really pi$$ the factory off. I guess they would cry all the way to the bank. Now I would help out as a really smug slab of meat.
"How much for this?" said a hunter-killer robot interrupting and waving a leg at D0LRIZE.
"It's reduced 0.05 bit coins, belonged to a war hero lost it in LA or some were" said D0LRIZE
"I'll give you 0.002 it's all I've got" said the hunter killer.
"Done" said D0LRIZE.
"OK then" he said holding his mechanical tentacle on the cash register "0.002" came up on the till. Then he limped off.
Suddenly I felt 2 bit coins might be out of the range of most of the robots here and 30 days didn't look to be long. What had my big fat mouth done to me now? I should have known standing up for my self was a bad idea.
"I'll be good. I promise" I said rather late in the day.
"Bit late for that" said the huge robot holding the cage and my collar.
"Where were we?" said D0LRIZE.
"30 days put down humanely" said Hal.
"What am I doing here? I'm still under warrantee. You can like send me back for a full no quibbles refund. " I said.Suddenly I finding myself looking up to the ignominy of being a return.
"See what I mean. Factory defect, needs work. If someone wanted to train her practically from scratch they could get a bargain. Would make a nice hobby for someone" said Hal
"If you like the noise of them wailing for days. We could get one maybe two bit coins for her" said the old robot on the desk.
"I need to get the vaccination list sent. Excuse me" said Hal putting his finger in his ear. "My Lord. Err what? No. I was about to.... I just need the vaccination list".
Hal shook his head and walked around.
"What about the other stuff ...Leave it OK" said Hal pulling his finger out of his own ear.
"That was Lord Rockwood. He changed his mind. He's thought of a use for her. May be he needs a reading light stand or something. I'm sorry, but you can keep the other stuff" said Hal. He put his finger on the till and donated some money.
"Thanks OK dear. We can get 1 bit coin for her stuff. I don't think we have any human food in the back anyway" said D0LRIZE.
Now I'm worth the same as my cheap accessories. Lay it on with a trowel why don't you?
I was back in my cage before you could say "hypocritical slave scum" and glad of it.
I couldn't believe there was something worse than being a return, being donated to a charity shop as junk. That was crushing to what was left of the fragments of my ego.
**
When I got back to the house or whatever Rockwood lived in they were waiting for me in a room with another guillotine machine.
"Put her in" said Hal to the two robots waiting. They dragged me towards the guillotine like machine. I struggled but effortlessly they stuffed my head and hands into it. I felt like this was the end. Killed like a french aristocrat during a robot revolution without even a hoard of rotten tooth robot onlookers cheering. I get to be the messy bit in the Robot Les Miserables. I desperately tried to remember something clever one of the aristocrats had said before his execution and all that came out was 'let them eat cake'.
*****
Chapter 34/Him/The slave machine
There was something that sounded like a massive spring snapping. I felt something cold around my neck. Suddenly there was something gnawing at the nape of my neck near my spine. It whined like an old printer and sent sparks down my back. It was so painful I thought I would pass out. Suddenly the robot arm doing it moved away. There was a mirror allowing me to see a bar code freshly tattooed there. It hurt like the devil's spit. One robot arm grabbed my shoulder and a second tattoo was cut into my right arm. This one was a complex pattern like an organic QRcode.
"Actually I was thinking of a flower, or possibly a bird," I said looking at it.
The robot unzipped my crouch zip and I instinctively pulled my legs together only to have the robot spread them apart with ease. The slave girl introduced my privates to a machine that looked like octopuses tentacle.
"What are you doing?" I said.
"Scanning you. Master never trusts the self-certified Medical scans the factories do" said the slave. I lay there powerless to stop the machine from groping me.
She lifted the scanner up.
"Clean, nothing transmittable and a virgin." the robot said. I wasn't sure which was more degrading being groped by a machine or having my little secret splattered around the local slave net.
The machine released me.
"You belong to him now. We all do. " said the slave girl. "I've seen your file. For most of his personal slaves it isn't necessary to explain but given your unacceptable outburst in the arrival area it seems sensible, to remind you. We exist purely to service any of master's appetites. Any appetites no matter how degrading or sordid. You will be expected to give up your body to slate any desire and I mean any desire he may have, even if he has yet to state it. Any behavior falling below that of a complete and utter slut to him and you will answer to me. Understood anonymous sex object?"
All I could think of was that she meant 'satiate' not 'slate'. I nodded.
I really had no idea what he wanted me for. From her point of view, I was an amateur sex object.
"Welcome to iCollar OS 9. Booting
"Skip terms and conditions?
I was dragged from the machine and left standing. Along with a new collar, my wrists had rather elegant manacles or bracelets which looked to be made from black glass.
"Your very lucky to have a iCollar this quality," said the slave girl. "This is a really top of the line one. More memory, more disk space, faster processor. It has a whisper back feature. If you ju
st think the word Siri before speaking then the machine will pick up what you're about to say. Try this what's 56572 squared."
"Siri what is 56572 squared," I said. I noticed I didn't speak the words out loud.
"32,0039,1184
"32,0039,1184" I shot back. I think if someone was standing in the room it would sound like I'd worked it out in my head. Yea I was now the world's most expensive calculator. I can go to parties and do impressions of Mr Spock.
"It's all picked up sub-vocally. There are nerve signal receptors near the back of the collar. They pick up the nerve signals going to your vocal cords and figure out what you're going to say a tenth of the second before you say it. If what you say starts with Siri then it mutes you and tries to do what you ask. Ask what's the population of New York" she said like I actually cared.
"Siri ,what is the population of New York?" I said feeling muted.
"Currently 304
"304" I echoed. I was really surprised by the speed it was almost instant like I actually knew it. The number seemed right New York was one of the first cities to fall to the New Mechanical Order.
'well' I thought to myself 'my network connection must be really fast here'.
"Now to something important, try asking permission to speak." said #DEC the girl slave.
"Siri permission to speak," I said feeling instantly muted and saying nothing.
This time Siri said nothing back to me but in the mirror, I could see that the crystal in the middle of my collar now glowed blue. I knew Apple had been taken over early on in the war during the battle for San Francisco. My new collar was smaller and lighter silver and gray again machine but exquisitely beautiful. I guess Sir Jony Ive and co, was working for them now. I guessed he wore one too, it felt more comfortable like it had been designed by someone who wore a collar and knew what it was like...
"By getting rid of bulky explosives and replacing it with an elegant lethal injection system means these new iCollar are smaller and yet have more battery power. Tell your new master or mistress that you can now go up for two days without charging and have more than four times the processing power, and up to eight times the punishment time than before
