by Greg Krojac
Coppélia looked sad.
“But will you send me back to them? I like being with you. You’re my friends. Luke, Toby, Georgina, Amelia, and Adam; you all know I’m not human, I’m a gynoid, but you treat me like a human.”
Karen wasn’t sure how to respond. She didn’t want to lie to her. But she couldn’t rule out anything at the moment.
“I can promise that we won’t allow you to come to any harm, Coppélia. Whatever happens.”
10
Rachel was worried about Karen. To anyone looking in from the outside, they might think that Rachel was jealous of the attention that Karen was giving to Coppélia, but the truth was that she was afraid that the line between android and human was becoming blurred, to Karen at least. Rachel readily admitted that Coppélia looked every inch a human being, even in her movements which were fluid and natural, but at the end of the day, she was still a machine. Sure, she herself used the female pronoun when talking about Coppélia – it was hard not to –but Rachel had no problem remembering that Coppélia wasn’t human. She hadn’t been born or even grown in a test-tube. She wasn’t a clone; she’d been assembled from components. Coppélia reacted to social cues just as anyone might, but was that really just lines of computer code responding to her programming? Conspiracy theorists might think that perhaps Coppélia was manipulating the humans around her for some nefarious purpose, but Rachel didn’t believe that was the case, although it certainly wasn’t an impossibility. Karen was more than a boss, she was a friend too, so that’s why Rachel arranged to meet Detective Inspector Vismay Rajan privately.
The rain was pouring down and the apologetic Vismay arrived five minutes late but neither bothered Rachel; what she had to discuss with Vismay was too important to leave to another day.
“Sorry to drag you out on a night like this, Vismay, but you’re the only one I can talk to.”
Vismay drew himself tighter to the shelter of his umbrella.
“It must be pretty important. What can I do for you?”
“It’s about Karen.”
“I haven’t seen her for a while. She’s not been answering my calls. I think she’s cooling off on me.”
In any other situation, Rachel may have been tempted to console Vismay with platitudes, but his relationship with Karen wasn’t particularly important to her, although it was indirectly relevant and the reason why she had contacted him in the first place.
“You know that Karen has been spending time – all her time – with the android.”
Vismay knew only too well that that was the case.
“Yeah. I know it’s daft but I’m a bit jealous of it really. I mean, if I were competing with a human being – well, that’s just life isn’t it? You do your best and if you can keep the relationship going, great. If you can’t, you move on. But I’m not moving on so easily for a bloody robot.”
Vismay didn’t know it, but he’d touched on exactly the reason why Rachel had met up with him. Rachel seized on the opening.
“Nor should you. I hope I’m not teaching my gran to suck eggs but I think you should go on the offensive. Remind her that she’s human and show her that her obsession with Coppélia isn’t healthy.”
“But aren’t you and your team obsessed with her too?”
“It may look like that, I suppose, but we’re not shutting out other important parts of our lives. Toby, Adam, and Amelia have their families – husbands, wives, and kids. So do I. Georgina is dating a new guy now and has her jiu-jitsu sessions. She’s training to be an instructor. As far as I know, Luke still goes to the pub with his mates or plays with his sexbot at home –.”
Vismay laughed.
“Luke’s got a sexbot?”
“Yes. But don’t let him know you know. We all know – all except Karen – but he thinks we don’t.”
“Whatever turns you on, I suppose. I just thought, working for the Sexdroid Unit, it would be like taking your work home with you.”
“Well, going back to my original point, that’s the problem. Karen quite literally takes her work – Coppélia – home with her every night. She’s becoming too close to the case and I’m worried she’s losing her objectivity.”
“Has she been trying to find out who the android belongs to, or was that something she said just to pacify me. I meant what I said to her. If she doesn’t do anything, I’ll start investigating myself. I like Karen. I like her a lot. But I have to think of my career too.”
“No, don’t worry. We’ve found out who created her, who owns her. It’s some company called Syber Android Industries. Syber with an S.”
It seemed pretty straightforward to Vismay.
“Well, can’t we just give her back? It’s not as if we’re giving a child back to an abuser. If she’s their property we should just hand her back to them.”
“It’s not that simple, I’m afraid. On this point, I agree with Karen. This company, SAI, receives a lot – and I’m talking billions of dollars – a lot of money from dozens of countries.”
“So what’s wrong with that? Investment has always worked like that.”
“The problem is that the money seems to come from defence budgets. It’s military spending.”
Vismay still didn’t see the problem. Rachel explained.
“If military money is paying for Coppélia, then it kind of follows there’s probably a military purpose for her creation.”
“Are you saying she’s a Terminator?”
“I don’t know what I’m saying, but surely it’s a possibility – maybe a probability – that she’s some kind of super-soldier.”
“You are joking, aren’t you?”
Vismay could see that Rachel was deadly serious.
“So Karen could actually be in serious danger?”
“I don’t know. From what I’ve seen of Coppélia, I don’t think so. But you can never be sure. And Karen definitely needs to be reminded that her houseguest isn’t human. I think you need to talk to her.”
“If she’ll see me.”
“She hasn’t officially dumped you, has she?”
“No.”
“Then it’s got to be worth a try, hasn’t it?”
The tête-à-tête over, the two went their separate ways, Rachel back to her husband and daughter, and Vismay to the pub; he needed to think about his next move and a pint of ice cold lager would help his thought processes.
An hour and a half later Vismay stood outside Karen’s apartment block, prepared for a verbal sparring session with Charles, the building’s security-bot. He thought he might have problems getting access to the building, but Charles allowed him to enter with no attempt to dissuade him.
Upstairs in her apartment, Karen had been both expecting and dreading this visit. She knew that she couldn’t avoid Vismay anymore, so she gave permission for him to come up to her apartment whenever he arrived. When the elevator doors opened on the top floor, he found Karen waiting for him by the open door of her penthouse suite. She looked incredibly sexy, her wet hair dripping occasionally onto her white towelling bathrobe. Vismay was simultaneously aroused and embarrassed by his timing.
“I’m sorry, did I interrupt you taking a shower?”
Karen shook her head.
“No, don’t worry. We were in the pool.”
“We?”
“Coppélia and I.”
Vismay had never been in Karen’s swimming pool and here she was, sharing the experience with a robot. Karen could see Vismay’s discomfort in his eyes.
“Come and join us. There’s plenty of room for three.”
Normally Vismay would have jumped at the chance, but that wasn’t why he’d come to see Karen. However, his girlfriend – if she was still his girlfriend – wasn’t in the mood to take no for an answer and pulled him by his tie onto the apartment’s terrace, where a conservatory housed a small heated swimming pool. He’d heard about Coppélia’s super strength and didn’t want to upset the android – especially bearing in mind the conversation he’d had with Rachel – so he did
n’t put up too much resistance. He was determined not to go in the water though.
He tried not to look at Coppélia, arms outstretched resting on the edge of the pool, the lower half of her body underwater. The water was crystal clear, and he could tell that she was completely naked. He also noticed a half-empty wineglass a few inches from the water’s edge, alongside an empty wine bottle and another one that had been recently opened. He found his eyes being drawn back towards the android. Her posture pushed her already ample breasts forward, making them seem larger than they actually were.
“Hello, Detective Inspector. I hope you are well.”
Armed with the knowledge that he had been given earlier that evening, the android’s greeting took on a more sinister air. Coppélia was too perfect, too lifelike, and that made the android even creepier. He’d entered the uncanny valley.
He turned away from the android to look at Karen who had let her bathrobe drop to the floor. Wearing a white bikini that was so small it might just as well not have been there, she winked at him.
“Are you coming in for a dip, Detective Inspector?”
He tried but he couldn’t prevent his gaze from moving down her body tracing every curve with his eyes. Karen trotted forwards and gave him a quick peck of a kiss on the lips, before turning away and slowly entering the pool.
“Coppélia, be a dear and fetch Viz a beer from the fridge please.”
The android rose out of the water, the liquid sliding off her naked body like a sheet of transparent plastic. Unlike Karen, who had submerged herself completely beneath the water and then surfaced like a mermaid, not a single droplet of water remained on Coppélia’s body – she was bone dry.
While the android was in the kitchen, Vismay seized his chance.
“Look. I know you’re drunk –“
Karen giggled.
“Yes, I am, aren’t I? Anybody would think you’re a detective. D’you think I’m sexy? Do you?”
Vismay couldn’t deny the obvious.
“Yes, of course you are.”
“Sexier than Coppélia?”
“Of course you are. She’s a machine. She’s not sexy.”
Karen put a finger up to her lips.
“Shhh. You’ll hurt her feelings.”
“She hasn’t got feelings. She’s a robot.”
Karen became defensive.
“Of course she’s got feelings. She’s different. Not like anything I’ve seen before. She’s got feelings and emotions.”
Vismay was getting desperate. It wasn’t easy trying to have a sensible discussion with a semi-naked intoxicated woman.
“Look. I know about Syber Android Industries.”
Karen frowned at him.
“Been snooping Mr Policeman?”
“If you must know, Rachel told me. She’s worried about you too.”
“She’s jealous ‘cos I’ve got Coppélia and she hasn’t.”
“No, she’s not jealous. She’s just worried that you’re forgetting that Coppélia’s not human. You’re too involved.”
“No. You’re right. She’s not jealous. She’s got Dylan and the cute lickle Lydia.”
Karen’s use of the word ‘lickle’ set Vismay’s teeth on edge. He hated baby-talk.
His girlfriend leaned backwards and let the water support her body.
“Come on in, Viz. The water’s lovely.”
Coppélia returned to the pool, carrying a tray with two cans of ice cold lager. Vismay’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“Karen. Listen to me. Coppélia could be dangerous. I know about the military funding. You could be in danger. We have to contact SAI and give her back.”
“Can’t and won’t.”
Vismay was feeling exasperated. How could he persuade Karen to do the sensible thing? It certainly didn’t help that she was drunk. There was no reasoning with her. Karen reached out from the pool and tugged on his leg.
“Come on Viz. Don’t be a spoilsport. Join us for a threesome.”
She turned to Coppélia.
“That would be ok with you wouldn’t it, Coppélia?”
The android nodded.
“If it makes you happy, it makes me happy.”
Vismay admitted to himself that it would probably make him very happy too, but he had other things on his mind. He left the terrace and made his way to the entrance to the apartment, stopping briefly to call out to Karen.
“I’m sorry.”
Karen cracked open one of the beers that Coppélia had brought for Vismay and took several large swigs before swimming across to Coppélia, who had reentered the water.
“He should be sorry. It’s not every day a guy gets the offer of a threesome. It won’t happen again anytime soon.”
11
The next day, the slightest of movements and the quietest of sounds assaulted Karen’s brain as if she were under heavy artillery fire. If she hadn’t been the boss, she would have taken a day off work sick. Maybe she should have done so. She had a vague recollection of Vismay coming round to see her, and couldn’t for the life of her remember what they’d talked about, but the words ‘naked’, ‘pool’ and ‘Coppélia’ seemed to be important. She felt mortified. Perhaps she should call him and apologise, but she didn’t know exactly what she would be apologising for – and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know either.
She muttered good morning to her team and shut herself away in her office, darkening the windows to hide from the outside world, while Coppélia joined the rest of the team in idle chit-chat. Karen sat at her desk, staring into space, trying not to focus on any object whatsoever lest it should suddenly grow teeth and bite her throbbing head off. After a couple of minutes, her lack of concentration was interrupted by a timid knock on the office door. She knew she couldn’t hide away for the whole day.
“Come in.”
Just as she had suspected, it was Rachel, who entered the room bearing two mugs of hot coffee – one black and one white – and closed the door quietly behind her. She placed the black coffee on Karen’s desk.
“I thought you could do with this, ma’am.”
Karen looked at the steaming mug before her. She wasn’t sure if she could drink it all, but she’d give it a try.
“Thanks, Rachel. I feel like there’s someone inside my head, trying to burrow his way out with an ice-pick. ”
“You’re welcome, ma’am. I know just what you mean.”
“I know we’re on duty, but let’s cut the ma’am crap, shall we? You know the score. We’ve been out on the town enough times together for you to know when I’m hungover.”
Rachel nodded in agreement.
“And you’ve seen me in the same condition.”
“Not a pretty sight – me, I mean.”
“I’ve seen worse. And we’ve both been worse.”
Karen shook her head.
“I don’t think I’ve been worse, Rachel. I surpassed myself this time.”
“What do you remember about last night?”
“Bits and pieces. Vismay came round. I was naked. I think I was. Or maybe I had a bikini on. If I did, it was my teeniest one and I felt naked. Anyway, everything on the market stall on display. I think I came on to him. Strong. Very strong. I think I’ve scared Vismay off, Rachel. He’s never going to want anything to do with me now. I’ve blown it.”
Rachel consoled her boss, knowing that he’d felt forced into choosing between his career and Karen. He had chosen his career but she couldn’t tell Karen that.
“Kaz. I know for a fact that he really likes you. It may not have been your finest hour, but don’t write him off yet.”
Karen took a bottle of water from her desk drawer to wash down two 500mg tablets of paracetamol in an attempt to kill off her headache. Hopefully, those plus the coffee would do the trick. She peeled herself off her executive chair and looked into a small mirror that hung on the back wall of the room. She blinked twice and contorted her face as if she were limbering up for a gurning competition.
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“Do I look too terrible, Rachel?”
Her DS was economic with the truth.
“You look fine. Well, okay at least. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. We’ve all been there. And you’ll feel better once the paracetamol kicks in.”
As the fast acting painkillers forced her headache to recede, a smattering of additional memories crept onto centre stage, uttering the word ‘threesome’ into her inner ear. She didn’t want to remember any more.
Another knock at the door, this time harder and not respecting the fragility of Karen’s head, dragged the Detective Inspector back into the world of policing the city’s sexdroids. She had work to do.
The Unit’s four police hoppers descended silently, the induction magnets cushioning the descent of the vehicles and allowing them to land in a dignified and almost graceful manner. Stealth was the order of the day; they didn’t want to forewarn the occupants of the building by announcing their arrival with sirens and flashing lights. A minute later, two SWAT squads arrived and eight SWAT members made their way along the flanks of the wood to take up position around the house. Karen briefed her team.
“We’re to let SWAT go in first and secure the place. We don’t know what we’ll find in there. This is heavier than we’re used to, more than just breaking down an apartment door.”
She was distracted slightly by Coppélia, who was studying one of the trees.
“What are you doing, Coppélia?”
The android pointed to a branch above their heads.
“I recognise this tree.”
“What do you mean? They all look alike to me.”
“I remember it. Look up there.”
Karen dutifully looked at the branch that Coppélia was pointing at.
“There’s a wasp nest. So what?”
“I was attacked by the wasps from that nest when I escaped from the house. This house is the house I escaped from.”
Karen was tempted to ask about stings and then remembered how resilient Coppélia’s skin was.
“So what can you tell us?”
The android searched her internal memory.
“Two entrances, one at the front and one at the rear. Four security staff.”
