by Azza Sumner
Adam awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs cooking in the kitchen. It made him instantly hungry so he tossed back the covers as he launched from the bed. He found Alicia at the stove with a pan full of sizzling bacon and fried eggs. She smiled when she noticed him and greeted him with a cheery “Good morning.” Adam stepped back suspiciously. He was very hungry. “Smells great.” he said adding “I know you’re going today and I hope you understand why, but I don’t suppose theirs enough for two?” “No.” Alicia replied with a happy smile. Adam’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. He knew it was too much to hope for from her. She shoved a heaped plate at him saying “Enough for one. It’s all yours. I don’t eat a fried breakfast. Gotta watch the figure you know.” She pointed at the bowl of cereal she had been eating while she cooked.
Alicia guided him to the lounge and sat him down. Adam was still in shock it looked delicious, and it was all for him. “Are you sure?” he asked. Alicia nodded saying “I know I may not have made the best first impression in the last few days. I wanted to show you the real me.” Adam was in heaven. Good food and a hot girl being nice to him. This was a dream come true. Shame it was all a scam he could spot a mile away, but he decided to eat before calling her out. She had even started another anime for him to watch while he ate. Adam knew it was too good to be true. He was too suspicious after her behaviour from the previous day, but was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
Alicia disappeared to the kitchen and returned with a cold glass of cola. As she leaned forward to hand it to him her blouse fell forward offering him a good down blouse glimpse of her cleavage and bra. When she saw him look and quickly turn his head away she placed a hand to her chest feigning coy embarrassment. Adam placed the plate and the drink down and stood saying in a serious tone “OK, the new personality was nice, the breakfast was great and the boobage was ..... not bad, but I’m not stupid.” “What do you mean ‘Not bad’?” Alicia spat angrily. She sat down defeated and sighed “It was worth a try. I got nothing left.” Adam was glad she had dropped the act already as he asked “So what do you want Alicia? I explained why you can’t stay.” Alicia replied innocently “Nothing. I just want to tell you something. I’m going to tell you the truth. All of it. I need you for more reasons than I understand. It’s confusing. I don’t want you to hate me, but I feel that I should be open and honest with you.” Adam nodded in agreement saying “Correct, but it’s too late. Every time I start to.…not hate you so much it turns out to be lie and you turn psycho again. I need the job, but you’re too much.” Alicia grabbed his hand with both of hers and looked him in the eye admitting “Actually there’s a few things I need to tell you. Just listen ok. The first is more of an omission than a lie. My father has gone away but he isn’t on a trip. He didn’t really abandon me and dump me on you. It was his dying wish that I come to you. He couldn’t trust anyone else. You see....” Adam felt her grip tighten. Before Alicia could continue they were suddenly distracted by a loud crunch sound from outside.
Adam cursed loudly. Just when it looked like she was going to open up and be honest. He thought it was probably just going to be another scam anyway so maybe it was good they were interrupted. He was terrified he would weaken eventually. In a way he wanted a good reason to. Something inside him kept making him to want to give her more chances. It disturbed him as he struggled to ignore the feeling. It would only cause pain in the end if he admitted the truth to himself.
Adam walked to the door with his fingers crossed hoping his car was ok after the loud crunch sound. He opened the door and saw two figures in military looking camo and legionnaire's caps. They were arguing beside an old blue hatchback that had just run up the back of his car. Surprisingly his car looked to be only slightly dented on the back and bumper but the bonnet on the blue car was a little buckled. The two people arguing were both young women or girls. Short girls he noted, especially the one with a large knapsack on her back and wearing sun glasses. The shorter girl would have barely been chest high to him. The other was taller but still not much over five foot. She was carrying a small white case. The uniforms worried him so he whispered to Alicia suggesting she hide. He listened trying to figure out who the strange girls were. The taller of the two girls was saying to the other “Emma is going to kill you.” while the shorter girl was defending herself with “Well you try driving with this on your back. Better yet learn to drive yourself.” Adam decided it was just a pair of idiots with poor fashion sense as he approached to closer inspect his car.
The shorter of the two saw him approach and said cheerfully “Hi, Adam, sorry about the car. I’m sure it’ll just buff right out.” There was no way the dent or buckle in the rear bumper was going to just buff out, but he wasn’t overly concerned about it. It was still good enough to drive. He asked the girl “How did you know my name?” She stepped forward so he could see her clearly. Now they were both facing him he noticed they were very attractive girls despite the outfits. Apart from the height difference, they looked like twins. The taller girl stepped forward to talk saying “I am Gem and this little one is Fay.” She indicated her shorter companion and said “We are from the Lorene Cybernetics Institute. We have come to check on Alicia Kingsworth.” Adam noticed a shock of blue hair sticking out from under her cap, and her sparkling blue eyes seemed a little large. He knew little about women’s make up so he dismissed it as a cosmetic illusion. They didn’t wear any of the markings or insignia of military but he decided not to trust them yet, as much as it would be easier on him to just hand Alicia over.
Adam lied as he replied “Never heard of her sorry.” The little one called Fay shook her head saying “I’m linked to her now silly. She’s hiding in the shower with the curtain closed. Don’t worry we mean her no harm.” Adam was shocked as he stammered “Linked? Are you.....like her?” Fay was already walking inside as Gem motioned for him to follow. Once inside Gem paused looking at all Adam’s posters and junk laying around. She smiled reflectively as she said to Fay “Does this place remind you of anyone?” “Very much.” Fay answered looking at the anime figurines on the window sill. Alicia emerged from hiding. She looked like she had seen a ghost. Alicia sat on the lounge and asked Fay “Was that you.....networked to me? I thought I was the only one.“ Fay nodded saying “Yep, Fay and Gem from Lorene Cybernetics. Our mother was a friend of doctor Kingsworth. Don’t worry we were just sent to check on you and make sure you had made it safely to your guardian. Sorry about your father. Mother says he was a good man, unlike that assistant Khall of his. Your father was part of our plans to gradually introduce new technology and make sure it didn’t end up in the wrong hands. We wanted it to be his discovery to keep attention off us. He was like a middleman for us.“
Alicia sat on the lounge and asked Fay “Your mother? Is that the Ellan woman he used to chat with online? You have the same face.“ Gem nodded saying “Yes, Ambassador Ellan Elore. She helped him design your interface based on ours. In return for mother’s help your father was going to share the technology within the right circles to help others with the same illness that killed you. Eventually the technology would help many disabled with various problems. Khall was stealing his research and leased an old tannery where he set up his own lab. He already had investors interested in his latest super soldier drug. It’s a a new version of the one that rebuilt your body. The new version causes you to turn into a violent psychopath eventually and we can’t cure it. He’s also trying to make interfaces but changed the shielding, so they are not as good. They work, but not like ours. We also suspect him of kidnapping one of our people that went missing. We were sent to investigate him, but mother asked as to check on you while we were out.” Gem sat beside Alicia and opened the case she was carrying. She pulled out a probe of some sort on a long lead. “This is just a harmless scan.” she reassured Alicia as she waved the probe in her face.
Figuring that these girls seemed to know everything Adam asked “So what exactly is she? Actually what are all of you?“ Fay looked t
o Gem who shook her head before she explained “We are biods helping our mother. Guardians of our institute’s technology. Alicia is a different type of biod. Well.....she’s a crude knock off anyway. She uses more primitive technology, but based on the same concept and design.” Adam replied looking smug. “I know what a biod is. I read the book once. I don’t remember much about it, but that was all science fiction. Alicia is a real person.” Gem looked surprised as she responded “The book is serving it’s purpose then. Emma wrote the book in memory of someone she had lost. It was initially for her children. We made it public to help people get used to the idea of biods. You see they are real, and one day soon they will be part of the wider community. We wanted to reduce the shock affect and curiosity in a way. Gauge public opinion. I’m sure you’ve seen how the public reacts to anything new they don’t understand. They panic and think the worst straight away. You probably had trouble accepting Alicia as a biod yourself. The government thought it was good idea anyway.”
Taking a seat at his desk Adam tried to remember the rest of the story. He asked “So does that mean you expect me to believe the book was a true story? “ Fay laughed “No of course not. There is no such things as aliens, or space cities. That’s just ridiculous. The basic theory behind biods however is real. Just look at Alicia, or us.”
Gem returned her probe to it’s case and delivered her report stating “She is a simplified biod. She doesn’t even have the capacity to hold a single training module. It is all Kingsworth’s work with none of our components. No unauthorised data. No data regarding the missing biod. No memories prior to death. Her genetics is unchanged. Muscle and nerve tissue has been artificially boosted with Khall’s synthetic steroid like the one we saw before. Not a dangerous level and not the new batch. I believe she does possess our same inherent design flaw though. She has malfunctioned shortly after activation.” Gem leaned over and whispered something in Alicia’s ear. Alicia sat bolt upright smiling and asked “For real? I can?” Gem nodded saying “I did.”
Fay stood up and said cheerfully “Great news. So she’s none of our concern. We can leave her alone. She has a guardian to watch over her, so we can be on our way. Sorry we can’t explain more. We probably said too much already. Obviously this is all confidential, so we were never here.” Adam spoke up saying “Wait. Look, I’m not a carer, babysitter or bodyguard. I can’t even stand this girl most the time. She’s just using and manipulating me. Why can’t she go with you? I never agreed to all this. Actually I never agreed to anything. If she’s malfunctioned as you say, take her with you, or at least fix her. Maybe make her more likeable if you can. She still thinks she isn’t real.”
They all heard Alicia growl “I am very likeable you jerk. I just hate loosers like you.”
Gem placed a hand on his shoulder and said to him “We can not change her personality. She has malfunctioned already. It is a good thing. I am sure our mother meant for it. Please do not judge her so harshly. Ask yourself why she is like that. You may not need to change anything. Not all change requires a program. Find a connection with her heart. ” Adam muttered in disappointment “I don’t think she has one.” Alicia glared at him and yelled “Stuff you bastard. You don’t even know me. You don’t even try to. I’m fine the way I am. Anyway I’m an AI, a program. Of course I don’t have a heart you jerk.” With that she ran to the bedroom in tears.
Gem took a last look at the flat and returned to the car. Fay stood before Adam shaking her head and said “Tsk, tsk. It always amazes me how men never see things for what they truly are. You never see the forest for the trees. Look closer dummy.” With that she lifted her sunglasses, winked an oddly large purple eye at him and left.
As the car pulled away making a horrible tapping sound Adam noticed the window sill where some of his figurines had been sitting. They were gone. “Very strange girls.” he muttered as he returned to the lounge. He could hear Alicia sobbing from his room and cursing as she punched the pillows. Feeling guilty he felt he should check on her. He poked his head in the door and asked if she was ok. A pillow flew into his face knocking him backwards. “Piss off jerk.” was all the reply he got.
He went and sat at his desk feeling lousy. He probably had spoken a little too harshly.
Biod or not, she was still a girl, or at least acted like one. He remembered the key and wondered if he could wipe that part of her memory or cheer her up somehow. He didn’t feel confident to change any settings without more investigation. Instead he switched on the audio link and listened to her sobbing. He felt he deserved the pain of hearing it as punishment. Soon he heard her muttering to herself “What the hell’s wrong with that jerk. Doesn’t he understand what it’s like to be dead? How it feels to be a machine? I hate him. I hate him so much. Why did I bother trying to open up this morning? Dad chose him, but I hate him. That looser, jerk, perve. He’s nobody.” Adam shrank in his chair. He couldn’t feel any worse. So she really was trying to open up to him this morning before they were interrupted. He heard her speaking softly to herself again saying “That’s it. I’ll go. I’ll just go and hide till they catch me or I stop working. I hope he sees what they do to my body then. I hope he suffers from the guilt. Damn that jerk.” Adam switched it off wondering how to fix this.
Soon he heard Alicia pass behind him and grab her handbag. “Stop, I’m sorry.” Adam called out. She ignored him so he blocked the door. “Please.” he pleaded “I really am sorry. This is a lot for me too you know. Let me make it up to you. Just talk like adults.” Alicia stood in front him and ordered “Move you dishonourable jerk. I’m not ‘likeable’ remember. I don’t have a heart and you think I’m just using you. It’s obvious you hate me, so I’ll just go and die under a bridge somewhere.” She brushed him aside with the strength of two full grown men slamming him into the wall causing a large crack to appear. As she stepped through the door she turned and added sarcastically “Oh, and my boobs were just ‘not bad’. At least their real not like your pervy posters and cartoons and crap.”
By the time Adam regained his composure and checked himself for injuries, there was no sign of her in the street. Alicia was gone. He raced back to his desk and grabbed his car keys. For the rest of the day he checked every park, street and other place he thought she might go. He even checked under bridges. As night fell he drove out to her fathers house, but saw there were no lights on, so he turned back. He couldn’t understand why he felt so responsible. She wasn’t really his problem. It struck him then. She was alone in the world. No family she could be with, nobody she could trust. As unpleasant as he found her most the time, he was all she had. He was the one her father had told her to run to. He had rejected her though. Adam couldn't feel like a bigger heel than he did now.
When he got home Adam showered quickly to wake himself up a bit. He forced down some cold left over chicken. It was the chicken she had bought to thank him for helping her with the shopping. He nearly choked on it with guilt as he remembered. He tried accessing her with the key again, but she was still nowhere in range. Adam felt tears welling in his eyes as he cursed himself for abandoning a girl in need. He was disgusted in himself.
Eventually he made sure the door was unlocked just in case by some miracle she returned and went to his room to think on his horrible words. He lay there for hours feeling like the biggest jerk in the world. Around midnight he was awoken by a loud crash and thump from the lounge room. Adam bolted out to find Alicia laying face first on the floor. She wreaked of a smell he knew well from the days he could afford to go out. It was bourbon. An old man in a blue shirt stood in the doorway with his hand out. Adam looked at him quizzickly. “Cab fare.” the man said before adding “And cleaning fee. Pukey here made a bloody mess.” Adam gave the man two hundred dollars notes from the envelope and thanked him. He seemed content and turned to leave. “Oh I forgot.” he added as he left “Her shopping is just outside the door.” Adam picked up the carton of bourbon cans and placed it just inside. It was sti
ll cold and unopened.
He tried to help Alicia to the lounge but gagged at the smell of her. Looking close there were chunks in her hair. He couldn’t leave her like this. He dragged her to the shower and made sure her interface seal was secure. Without looking he removed just her skirt and than ran the water. He pushed her under, soon noticing that leaving the blouse on was kind of pointless. It was fairly transparent when wet but at least her bra kept things reasonably concealed. Alicia sat cross legged in the shower moaning as Adam washed her hair and rinsed the vomit from her blouse. As he was nearly done she opened one eye looking at him and began to slur. “Stills a virrrrrgin. Yous rights. Nobodies wants me. No mans before I dies or gets hacksed to pieces and experimats on. Justs a orrible bitch.” She started poking herself in the chest saying “Not bads, only not bads.” Adam stopped her poking and held her hand saying “I’m sorry I lied. I didn’t want to give you a big head. That’s all. Honestly they are wonderful. Perfect.” Alicia smiled at him in pride with her eyes closed and muttered “Thanks you. You wants a look?” “No.” Adam forced himself to yell as she fumbled trying to unhook her bra. He stilled her hands again saying “You’re drunk. You will only regret it later. Besides you don’t like me remember.” Alicia shook her head mumbling “Not true. I do like. Just can’t show good. Yous all I got Adam. I wanteds to talk in this morning. Tell you truths. You saids ‘not bad’.” She began poking herself again.
There was another knock at the front door. Adam left Alicia to her poking and raced to see who it was. A middle aged woman in a low cut black top and pants was standing there. She smiled and asked “Did the girl make it home ok?” Adam replied “Yes she did thank you. Where was she?” The woman chuckled “She was at the pub I work at. She only had a few drinks and started flirting with all the men. One guy tried to cop a feel but she picked him up and threw him across the bar before he could. I figured she wasn’t much of a drinker, or really as willing as she was trying to make out. I put her in a taxi and sent her to the address she said was home. She wouldn’t leave till I agreed to sell her a carton for her guardian. She said it was an apology for him. The guys in that place would have had a young hottie like her for breakfast. They aren’t the most respectable types. Anyway I just thought I better see if she made it safely. I was just on my way home after my shift.” Adam thanked her and handed the woman two more hundred dollar notes. She refused, but he insisted saying “Thank you so much. You probably saved her from a really regrettable situation. She seems unharmed. I’ll make sure she sleeps it off when she finishes her shower.” Adam turned at the sound of a crash behind him. Alicia was stumbling towards them still in her wet blouse dripping water everywhere. “More drinks.” she demanded. The woman laughed “Well it looks like you got your hands full.” “Take care.” she called to them both as she left.
Adam closed the door and guided Alicia to the lounge. He quickly grabbed the last dry towels from the cupboard and after wrapping one around her, started drying her hair. In the short time he had been away getting the towel Alicia had managed to grab a can from the carton by the door and open it. She had already sucked half of it down. Suddenly she stopped and sat upright. She rose to her feet and staggered to the door. Lifting the carton she handed it to Adam saying“I forgots. Sorry pressents for Adam.” If she wasn’t so drunk she could barely stand, he would have thought it a very sweet gesture. He thanked her and guided her to sit again so he could finishing drying her hair. She murmured to him “Touch me. Like real girl. Not machine.” Adam ignored her as she drifted in and out of coherency. When he started brushing the knots out of her hair she was purring like a kitten with a huge smile on her face. It wasn’t long before she was asleep. He carried her to his bed and removed the wet blouse with his eyes shut. He then placed her under the covers laying her on her side. Next he found an old bucket and sat it within reach.
He returned to the lounge and turned on the TV. Adam figured she must have forgiven him, but they really did need a serious talk. It seemed they both felt a need to open up to each other and explain their situation. He realised that he wasn’t the only one overwhelmed by everything. Adam saw the carton on the floor and grabbed a can. It was going to be hell in the morning and he was terrified that she would kill him as soon as she awoke in just her bra and panties. He decided a can or two now might be a good idea.
Late in the morning the following day Adam awoke to a shrill voice screaming “What the hell?” Alicia was awake. He panicked and locked himself in the bathroom. He heard heavy footsteps stomp from the bedroom to the lounge room. Alicia swore as she tripped over the pyramid of empty cans Adam had piled up on the floor as he contemplated what fate the morning would hold for him. He listened at the door as Alicia muttered to herself. “Did I drink all that? No. Adam. Where is he? Did I kill him? Did I apologise? Did we...... Oh no. We must have, and I missed it. Wait, maybe he forced me.” “I would never do that.” Adam protested rushing back to the lounge room to defend himself adding “I swear I was nothing but a gentleman.” He froze as he noticed Alicia was still in her underwear. Her hair was a complete fuzzy mess and he had to stop himself from laughing. Before he knew it she had pinned him to the floor and straddled him. She looked like a wild animal as she spoke to him through clenched teeth “So why was I in your bed half naked? “ Adam was terrified by the look on her face and her incredible strength as he answered “You were drunk at some pub. A barmaid sent you home in a taxi after you tried picking up all the men in the bar. Your blouse was covered in spew and your hair was full of chunks so I showered you while you were still clothed and put you in my bed. I swear I never saw or touched anything. I slept on the lounge and had a few from the carton you said was a present.” Alicia looked at him trying to decide if he was telling the truth. Eventually she decided he probably was. Besides her head was killing her.
“So you didn’t take advantage, force me or a cop a feel? No perving while I was passed out and helpless? “ Alicia demanded. Adam replied feeling offended “No, I wouldn’t do that I didn’t even see anything.” He looked at her half naked body straddling him and added, “Well nothing more than I see now.” Alicia suddenly realised she was still half naked and screamed as she jumped to her feet and ran back to the bedroom. Adam began picking up the cans and junk food wrappers that littered the floor. He was still feeling a little seedy himself. Alicia returned wearing one of his T-shirts. It was too big for her, so it covered everything well enough. She grabbed her clothes bag and was heading back to the bedroom when she seemingly changed her mind and stopped to sit at his desk instead. Adam came to see what she was doing as images flashed on the screen. It was blurry glimpses of her night out from her point of view.
It started with her looking at her own crying reflection in the local river. It then flashed images of men at the bar sitting beside her and crowding around her. Next was an image of a middle aged man reaching toward her chest. Alicia started to cringe as she saw the image, fearful of what would show next. Unexpectedly it showed a group of men backing away from her in fear as a pair of legs disappeared behind the bar. “You threw him for trying to feel you up.” Adam explained. “The barmaid checked on you after her shift and told me the story. Later in the shower you were going on about still being a virgin, so you were very lucky.” Alicia put her head down in shame. When she looked back to the screen Adam could see her face was red with embarrassment. She continued viewing her glimpses of memories. The next image showed her being led outside by the barmaid. Next she was sitting in the taxi nursing her carton. Next was a pool of vomit on the floor of the taxi with golden strands of hair dangling in it. Adam was feeling queezy now. He didn’t need to see that on top of already feeling seedy. The images continued. The taxi driver yelling at her, a close up of the carpet in the main room of the flat, an image of her looking down in the shower. She was still wearing her blouse and noticed the soap bubbles everywhere. She paused for a moment deep in thought about that one before asking Adam “You swear I’m not going t
o have to kill you if I keep going?” “I swear. I wouldn’t take advantage of you.” he replied.
Next came a video clip rather than an image. She was looking at her chest poking it and Adam’s voice could be heard saying “Honestly. They are wonderful. Perfect”
Alicia growled and said aloud “Next.” The next clip showed Alicia looking at him saying “Wanna see?” Adam was looking away while his hands were trying to stop hers. “Next.” Alicia barked, not that she needed to say the words aloud. Quickly the image flashed and dissappeared. Adam wasn’t sure but it looked like Alicia was looking inside her blouse. Adam wasn’t sure, but that was what he thought he had just glimpsed. Adam offered “Ummm... I left to answer the door about then. The barmaid.” The next image was Adam’s back in the doorway as he handed cash to the barmaid. Another video clip appeared showing their reflection in the TV as Adam brushed her hair. She was smiling happily with a towel wrapped around her. That was all there was in that time frame. Alicia sat silently looking at the blank monitor and finally said softly “Thank you.” Then she added as an after thought “But your still a jerk.” Adam was offended and could see the bitchy side coming back as he queried “Why am I a jerk now?” “It doesn’t matter.” she replied sadly.
Adam decided now wasn’t the time to talk. Perhaps after lunch. He made them both sandwiches and took one to the foot of the bed where he found her sitting deep in thought. She took the plate he offered without a word and sat it on the bedside table. As he turned and started to leave he found that she was holding his shirt tail. “Sit.” she demanded. Adam sat beside her as told. “Why didn’t you touch me or even look at me? ” She asked, “I might never have known. Is it because I’m ugly now you know what I am? Is it because I’m a zombie as you put it? Not a real girl. Do I repulse you? I’m not a REAL girl am I?” Adam could see the pain in her face as the questions emerged. It must be a terrible issue to deal with he thought. He put a reassuring hand on her closest shoulder hoping she wouldn’t rip it off. He wasn’t sure exactly how to explain it, but tried to be as honest as he could. He said compassionately “No. You’re a real girl to me. A normal girl. I don’t think of you as just a machine or a program. I really do find you physically attractive, very beautiful, but I haven’t given your personality a fair chance yet. For that I am very sorry. I’m only just now starting to consider what you have to cope with. I just assumed you were a bitch without trying to understand you.” Alicia raised her hand and placed it gently on top of his. He decided that was a good sign so he kept going and said “Besides it would be wrong. I couldn’t do that to you as a girl who deserves respect and dignity. Whether you know about it or not, it’s still wrong. I would know. If I had a daughter I wouldn’t want some guy treating her that way. ” Alicia was smiling now. He decided to finish with the biggest truth and admitted “The biggest reason of all is that I’m kind of a coward. Girls scare me. I have no confidence with them at all.”
Alicia nodded and said “Thank you.” She started weeping again, only this time she was smiling. She kissed him on the cheek and asked “So I’m not repulsive, or just a machine?“ “No.” Adam replied honestly, “You’re just a normal beautiful girl with an implant. Still a very appealing young woman that any guy would want to know better.” Alicia grabbed him by his shoulder and dragged him to the centre of the bed where she straddled him saying “Ok mister coward, prove it.”
