Rachel snorted and grinned. “I’m straight too.”
Seetha grinned back. “Well, I’ll believe that when I hear a man tell me. I’m going to be thinking about your grope for the rest of the day and worrying about what it means. I may even have to call King for some emergency hetero nookie. Come to think of it, I think I need some right now.”
Rachel laughed and rubbed a hand over her face. “I am never…going to be…normal again…am I?”
Seetha snorted, but she also looked away. That question was one that definitely would not be served by too much honesty in such a sensitive moment. “I’ll give you my best advice, baby girl. Define normal by your own standards. My definition has changed radically in the last couple of years.”
Rachel crossed her arms. “What will happen…if I do not…upgrade?”
Seetha busied herself with putting away tools so she could have a few moments to think of how to sugarcoat the explanation so Rachel wouldn’t freak on her again.
“Seetha…I need…to hear…the truth.”
Their gazes met and locked.
Seetha sighed, giving in. “Okay. I’ll tell you what will happen. Your voice will keep getting worse, but other things might start to fail as well. Anything your processor controls is at risk for failure. Being out of sync for a cyborg is like…”
“…having a human mental disorder,” Rachel finished.
Seetha nodded. “Yes. I think that’s a fair analogy. Since you’re a unique creation, none of this is for certain. But given what I’ve seen in the ones we work on here…”
“…you are ninety-nine…percent there…in your…thinking,” Rachel finished, having heard Seetha dramatically express the sentiment many times.
Seetha confirmed the statement with a silent head nod, sympathetic when Rachel sighed and touched her throat. At least the girl was temporarily adjusted. If she chose, Rachel could remain in denial for a little longer. But when that time ended, her assistant was going to have to let Kyra Winters finish evil Brad’s work of turning her into a cyborg. There really was no other choice.
“I hate this for you as much as you hate it for yourself. But Kyra is right about the solution. You’d be a new woman afterward.”
“No…I cannot…until there is…no other choice.”
Seetha nodded and watched Rachel fold into herself as she readied the lab for the next broken cyborg who crossed their threshold. Knowing how little choice Rachel had about getting a new processor, Seetha suddenly had a keen appreciation for Kyra’s hard-ass determination to individually fix each and every one with whatever they needed.
It had never occurred to her when she started this job that part of it would be to help fix people she worked with day-to-day. Seeing Rachel’s struggles, she was now exceedingly grateful that all King had lost in his final restoration was access to some memories.
***
Marcus stood over Eric’s shoulder and pointed. “There. That’s him. His name is Nathan. I never got his last name. He never stated it.”
Eric snickered. “And we’re researching this geeky kid because…?”
“Since when do you need a reason to check someone out for me?” Marcus frowned when Eric laughed at his complaint.
“Unbelievable. You’re lying to yourself…and nearly lying to me,” Eric said sharply, grinning at the glare he got for his words.
“No, I’m not. I never lie,” Marcus said stiffly.
Eric shrugged. “Denial. Lying. Both prompt a person to seek a rational reason for doing something he or she knows is irrational and/or wrong. In people like you, it gets interpreted as stiff-lipped denial.”
Marcus narrowed his eyes and let himself think a few evil thoughts about wiping away Eric’s grin. “You need to get out of here as soon as you can, smartass. You’re starting to sound like Nero.”
Eric grinned again and raised his middle finger. “Okay, dumbass. Let me clarify the data so even an all brawn and no brain guy like you can understand. You’re jealous of the kid for having coffee with Rachel and making her laugh. Admit your weakness for a woman too young for you, realize how stupid it is, and then get on with your life. I told you before, either make your play for her, or stay away from her.”
“I am not jealous of any geeky kid,” Marcus declared. “I just want his damn info. Something was off about him, Eric. You use your gut to make decisions about people all the time. Well, I’m using mine now. Look him the hell up.”
Eric snorted, well used to Marcus getting huffy when they disagreed. It was usually entertaining.
“Okay…I think it’s a waste of my time, but if you insist…” Eric’s eyes widened as they studied the screen of information. “Uh oh…”
“What? What’s uh oh mean?” Marcus demanded.
“The geeky kid…he’s…wait this can’t be right. For one thing, he’s way too young.”
Eric’s fingers flew as he input commands and cross-referenced. It was in both places—not even hidden.
“Well holy hell. Seems your gut was right in this case. Rachel’s mystery date is a cyborg. His name is Nathan 180. He’s got a panel like us—but as far as I can tell—no prosthetics. His enhancements are comprised of multiple neural implants. They also include a state of the art logic chip to run those neural implants, which probably makes him smarter than most com systems. He also has a high-speed processor, which channels pulses through a customized bodybuilding program more sophisticated than our military spec one. He’s about a half a year into whatever six-pack he’s got growing under the skin-tight shirt he’s wearing in his Norton ID photo.”
Marcus walked to the chair beside Eric and sat down heavily. “How does a new brand of cyborg end up working for a company who would prefer to see all the cyborgs they’ve created turned into mindless AI slaves?”
Eric shrugged. “I don’t know…but I have another question. Who the hell converted him? Nathan 180 exists in the database, but his cyborg file doesn’t show a creator. Norton clearly has him cataloged as a cybernetic hybrid human. Every scanner in the world is going to identify him that way. That means someone here at Norton hired him knowing exactly what he’d had done to himself.”
“I saw the kid. He couldn’t have been over twenty-five years old, Eric. What the hell was he thinking getting those things done at his age? There used to be an age minimum of forty because they wanted to make sure your body was through all its natural growth cycles. You’re one of the few guys I know who was converted before thirty. I don’t like this.”
Eric nodded. “I was a military special case and I hear you. I don’t like it either.”
“Rachel said he was an old friend from college. Maybe I’ll ask her for background information on him.”
Eric laughed. “Dude…don’t be so lame. She didn’t know him in college. The woman you’ve been stalking steadily lied to you about the guy to keep your interested nose out of her dating business.”
Marcus ignored the wit of Eric’s criticism, but it was impossible to ignore the truth of his statements.
“The Nathan guy being a cyborg doesn’t work for me as an explanation for what my gut picked up on. Rachel walked away from him at the coffee shop because he was going on and on about rogue cyborgs and how he thought all cyborgs should be controlled by the government. She got highly agitated and booked after ten minutes of his ranting. Being upset was why she blew past the scanner guard in her building.”
“Kid may have been putting on a show for her. Wonder why he felt the need to lie?” Eric crossed his arms and studied the image on the screen. “Now I’m getting a weird feeling. If this kid somehow got customized cybernetic enhancements, how many others have done something similar?”
“And I’d like to know why he didn’t claim what he was when it was easy for us to find out,” Marcus said, frowning as he stared blankly across the room. He could barely recall any details of Nathan’s actual appearance. The only image in his mind today was that single tear rolling down Rachel’s cheek when she was facing t
he guard bot.
“I am nearly a hundred percent sure Rachel has no idea he was a cyborg. I think she just liked him because he was attractive and funny.”
Eric laughed at the disappointment in his friend’s tone. “Dude—you’ve gone too long without sex if guys are starting to look good to you.”
“Yeah, I’ve definitely gone too long,” Marcus agreed, not able to even recall his last intimacy. He’d had Kyra pull his Cyber Husband chip and erase all records. At the time, he’d wanted to forget all women, especially his ex-wife who had no longer wanted him. Too bad memories of her hadn’t been on a chip.
Marcus crossed his arms. “So the guy converted himself into the very thing he pretended to fear. That makes no sense. I was sitting right behind him, Eric. He sounded completely sincere.”
Eric shrugged. “Maybe he’s delusional. No telling what those neural implants are doing to his mind.”
Marcus looked at Eric as he thought it through. “I had hoped the guy who was following King was the last of the weirdoes at Norton. Don’t any normal people work here? ”
“Define normal,” Eric said, looking back at the screen. “Here’s an alarming theory for you. What if the geek truly doesn’t know he’s a cyborg? Whoever kept programming William found ways of making him forget who and what he was.”
Marcus looked at the screen again, considering the possibility. All he saw was a relatively attractive guy who’d had enough charm to make Rachel laugh—at least he had before he started talking smack about cyborgs. Oddly, he felt a tug of empathy too. He had tried to make small talk over pizza last night and failed to obtain a single giggle for his trouble. Not only did he not get a chance to kiss Rachel goodnight, he’d left early to avoid the awkwardness his efforts seemed to cause between them.
“I think I make Rachel nervous,” Marcus confessed. It made him angry when Eric laughed loudly at his admission.
“Gee…do you think? In case your processor isn’t picking up the nuance in my tone, yes I’m being sarcastic. Next to King, you’re the most intimidating guy in our group. Surely, you know that about yourself.”
Marcus huffed. No, actually he didn’t know that. “Intimidating? How am I intimidating?”
Eric turned from the monitor and waved a hand. “Look at you, Marcus. All those tats. Not shaving often enough. You wear clothes war refugees wouldn’t even wear. I can understand you being depressed about losing your family, but you need to overhaul your image, dude. I wouldn’t date you either. You look like some crazed stalker…oh wait…you are one.”
“I don’t find that funny…nor do I believe it,” Marcus said.
Eric waved to the guy on the monitor. “Look at him, Marcus. The guy may be a cyborg, but he’s not scary.”
Marcus snorted. “Damn right, he’s not.”
“See? That’s what I’m talking about—you like looking like you do. I think you need to lighten up if you want Rachel to feel comfortable around you. Take a break from looking over your shoulder now and again. Learn to enjoy the fact Rachel gets so hot and bothered around you she can’t talk to you normally. That’s actually a positive sign.”
Marcus glared. If Eric mentioned her adrenaline spikes or how she smelled when aroused, he was going to knock him out. “How the hell do you know how Rachel gets around me?”
Eric chuckled and smirked. “Maybe because I pay close attention to women with legs like hers…just like that attractive geeky guy did.”
“More sarcasm—I get it, smartass,” Marcus declared. “How do you know Rachel gets that way because of me?”
Eric laughed and patted his own midsection. “That’s instinct, Marcus. I am a finely honed guessing machine when it comes to understanding the ladies.”
Marcus sighed and closed his eyes as images of Rachel’s legs ran through his mind. His loss of control around her was not comfortable for him to deal with. His worry about what she thought about him was worse.
“Am I being pathetic to hope you’re right about her interest in me?”
“No,” Eric declared, smacking Marcus on the knee. “You’re being really human for once. Now run with that. I want you to figure this shit out so you can rescue the girl from herself. Rachel’s processor is dying. I heard Nero and Kyra arguing what to do about it.”
“What’s there to argue about? A processor can be easily replaced,” Marcus said with a shrug.
“Not hers, dude. Rachel’s going to need a more extensive overhaul…more along the lines of William’s complete re-chipping procedure and possibly a new wiring job to make the processor work with her implants.”
Marcus rubbed a hand over his face. Peyton and the others had adopted the captain from the work camp into their group. But William never seemed completely stable to him. The tortured captain’s restoration hadn’t exactly turned out like most. The man always looked ready to either slice his own throat or someone else’s.
Rachel’s youthful exuberance potentially turning that dark was simply unacceptable.
“She’ll never agree to let them do that much modification to her cybernetic components. Rachel doesn’t want to be a full cyborg,” Marcus said at last.
Eric shrugged as he met his friend’s gaze. “It’s too late for such wishing. She already is one. Her processor just hasn’t been fully functional all this time. Evil Brad scaled it’s functioning back to try and leave her as many female emotions as possible. Apparently women go a little nuts if they don’t get to ride their hormonal surges. All Rachel’s urges are throttled at the moment…just like her voice.”
“Fucking bastard. I should have killed him when I had the chance.”
Eric shook his head. “Evil Brad is a human robot. He’s a walking example of the very thing Norton tried to make out of us. I think that’s why Kyra keeps him here and on camera where everyone can see his fate. What happened to him is worse than death. He’s not getting to live as himself.”
Marcus thought about it—then he thought about how distressed Rachel was about what had happened to her. To become more of what she hated would be worse than death to her. It was critical to his peace of mind that she remained both alive and at peace with herself.
“How am I supposed to convince Rachel life is okay as a cyborg? I’m in a worse position to do that than anyone. I lost everything important to me because I became a cyborg. My life didn’t change a few months ago when Doc released us. My life changed because I chose to be cybernetically enhanced for the war. I even knew back then what it was going to cost me and I still did it. I lost my family because of that decision.”
Eric shrugged. “You’re just one of those people who have to live their irony. That’s why everything seems so illogical if all you do is explore the data you’ve collected. Life will end up biting you on the ass over and over by repeating your single biggest challenge until you either go insane or resolve the puzzle of it. No one can explain why or how this always happens to people like you. On the plus side, a hot mess like yours does tend to resolve itself eventually, even if you do nothing.”
Marcus leaned back in the chair and narrowed his gaze. “I have no idea what you just said. All I heard was blah, blah, blah—life is going to bite you on the ass, Marcus. Hell, I already knew that.”
Eric laughed and shook his head. “What I said is Rachel has to be upgraded and learn to live with being the thing she hates. You’re going to have to find a way to make her like you despite what you are.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Marcus declared.
“Okay, I will. You can’t tell Rachel she just had a date with a cyborg. If you do, she’ll hate you and who knows what she’ll say next time she sees the geek. The way she feels about what she is now, the last thing she needs to know is that she’s surrounded by cyborgs who are lusting for her.”
Marcus swiped a hand through his shaggy hair, which he knew was in bad need of a cut. “So what can I do not to fuck this up royally, Dr. Armchair Shrink?”
“Wow, that was some sucktastic sarcas
m, Marcus. At least you’re trying though…” Eric’s teasing smile quickly turned into a serious frown as he saw how seriously concerned Marcus was. “If you really want to spend your time keeping track of someone, start stalking Nathan 180. See what you can learn about him before we have to tell Kyra and Peyton. They need to know about him.”
Marcus nodded and clapped Eric on the shoulder as he stood.
Chapter 5
“He…bought me…a freak…ing…handheld.”
Seetha snickered. “Makes perfect sense. What other kind of love gift would a tech-loving geek buy the woman he’s interested in? Not every man is the flowers type. King brings me food.”
Marcus 582: Book Three of Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined Page 5
