The Enemy of My Enemy? Pt. 2/Chapter 13
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Kylan awoke refreshed in Stan and Portia’s bed to find Mitzie dressed and sitting beside him smiling. “I’m sorry,” she said in her own effeminate voice, “this was all that was left.” She handed Kye a tray with protein bars and a glass of water. “Try to save some for later. We should get going soon to meet with the Girls.” She stroked his hair aside affectionately.
“Thank you, Mitzie… for everything,” he said appreciatively. Even though it was never necessary to be civil with the androids, Stan had programmed them not to tolerate abusiveness. But Kylan had a new respect for most of them and, as long as they were sentient, he would treat them as people. It was just his nature.
When they eventually emerged together from The Vault, they found Barris, Lori, and five of the most loyal scouts camped outside. The three youngest scouts were among those seven. They all traveled light and divided their gear.
They were startled when they saw Mitzie. “Where did SHE come from? I thought we had seen everything,” Barris said in obvious frustration. “First we see Aura and more Girls than EVEN I KNEW WE HAD come into The Lounge from here carrying all kinds of weird equipment. Then they start taking the damnedest things from The Lounge, but it was like they were running on autopilot or something and they weren’t very talkative.”
“…THEN,” Lori spoke up, “then they wouldn’t even allow us to follow them. That’s when Portia and Anja show up and Portia is looking like she just got back from the day spa. We tried to ask them what was going on and Portia just tells us that she can’t let us get involved because it’s too dangerous. She said that the rest of the Girls will still be there for us. She was talking like she was never going see us again!”
“Anja’s going to stay, too,” Mitzie said to try to encourage the scouts. “She’ll keep them running for you.”
“It is too dangerous,” Kye said seriously.
“HA! And being a scout isn’t?” another scout spoke up, “FrankenStan was holding out on us! We could have all had our own Girl a long time ago.”
“We didn’t have the resources to maintain all of them all of the time, but we’ve always had enough Girls to go around,” Kye raised his voice at the ingratitude of the group. “And you bastards would probably just start fighting over them! You were all welcome to leave anytime.”
“Portia looked like she was controlling all them for herself just so she could go after Stan! She’s out of control. She needs to be stopped.” The group seemed to be becoming divided, though it was actually because they felt insulted that they were being left out of the plans.
Kye became sterner but kept a level head, “Portia IS in control and I fucking dare you to try and stop her. I DARE ANY OF YOU! You have no idea of the hell she’s been through and the risk she is taking for all of us. You have no idea just how bad things have gotten.”
“Why don’t you tell us, Kye,” Lori said. Kylan could sense that she genuinely felt hurt.
“Lori,” Kylan said sympathetically, “Everyone is going to need all of you guys’ help if Portia and I don’t make it back from this one. You should be with Jim.”
She became impatient, “One of the Girls is helping Jimmy move our stuff right now and frankly, I don’t care if he uses that overgrown penis enlarger to get some right now! You and Portia are my friends and I won’t abandon either of you now. Especially if you need help. I don’t care how dangerous you think going after Frank is. He’s done more for us than these idiots realize!” The other scouts fell silent at Lori’s gumption.
“It’s not that simple. That womyn, Daniella, is about to blow our cover here,” Kylan said desperately.
“It gets worse,” he resounded. “Portia doesn’t want you to know this and I shouldn’t be telling you, but I suppose you have a right to know.” He took a breath. “Portia is preparing to launch an offensive strike. She’s going to try to take back The Surface. She’s doing it for all of us.”
The entire group became silenced with shock and disbelief. “That’s impossible,” Barris nervously muttered. “My God… HOW?”
“I don’t know,” Kye said, “I’m going to join her right now, but I’ve learned not to underestimate that crazy redhead. She must have some kind of plan. But if you guys try to get involved, you might get in her way because she would be too concerned about your safety to do whatever she’s going to do.”
“But you’re her closest friend next to Stan!” Lori pried, “Why would she let YOU take that risk?”
“Because,” Kye said firmly, “Stan’s my best friend and she wasn’t going to be able to stop me from trying to rescue him.”
“Then you’re going to need to know where he’s being held,” Barris chortled. “But you don’t have much time. He’s scheduled to be executed tomorrow for crimes against humanity and for the attempted kidnapping of Phillip Gaines Jr. We recorded a broadcast a few hours ago and, if Portia is as busy as you say she is, she probably doesn’t know about this yet.”
“Give it to me and I’ll make sure she gets it,” Kylan said urgently.
“No way,” one of the younger scouts spoke up. “The wymyn tore apart what was left of my family. I won’t keep running away and hiding down here if I have a chance to do something.”
“The kid’s right,” Lori agreed, “We’re in.” She wasn’t going to budge.
“I can’t stop you from following me,” Kye submitted, “but Portia will need total cooperation for her plans to work. Only those of you who are willing to accept that and who are willing to see this through, NO MATTER WHAT… only YOU should come.”
They all smiled.
Kylan and Mitzie arrived outside of Stan’s garage together and were the only two allowed to enter.
Kye almost fainted from a hormone explosion. All of the Girls were wearing what appeared to be very fine fishnet body stockings. These were made from the same open mesh material that Anja had attached over Portia’s muscles and under her skin. Most of them were wearing nothing else, but some had already begun to put on clothes and armor over the covering.
Amidst the sea of beauty Portia towered above them like an enchanting Siren. She was also wearing a body stocking but she had already donned pieces of form-fitting armor over it. There was extra armor shielding on her forearms and shin-guards on her flexible boots. A chain mail made of the somewhat shimmering dark mesh covered her head and framed her lovely face. It was held in place by a silvery headband.
Because of the scabbard’s design, the great sword at her hip would have been too long to unsheathe had it been resting across her back Instead a giant pulse rifle was strapped there. No matter what she wore, even dressed for battle, Portia was always the picture of feminine beauty and strength. But never before had she truly looked more like a maiden of Odin.
Kylan gawked as she slowly sashayed towards him with one hand on her hip by the hilt of the mighty sword. She really did look like a goddess walking out of the pages of a comic book. He stood mesmerized by the easy sway of her hips as she strode closer. Mitzie lightly slapped him across the back of his head.
“Snap out of it, Kye,” Portia said with a smile that left him weak. “It looks like we created a monster when we finally freed your libido. If it makes you happy, go ahead and fondle a Girl.”
“Really!?!” Kye beamed like a kid who had just became ruler of Candyland.
“Of course,” she shrugged. “I know how men think and you know that I don’t get jealous. Nor would I judge you because of it. Don’t be embarrassed. It’s what Franky would do if he were here. And,” she said reflectively, “if he were here, my own silly lust would be activated and I’d join him… and I’d enjoy it,” she added wickedly. “Besides, we’re almost done preparing.”
“That was quick!” Kye said but he quickly became distracted when three otherwise nude Girls approached him and halted expectantly. They wore only the sheer fishnet catsuits.
“My Sweetheart left good notes,” Portia said proudly, “and it was easy once we had the right materials and the equipment with the mobile labs.” She looked at Kye impatiently; “Oh would you touch them already!” and Kylan felt Mitzie spank him across his buttocks.
Kye held back a swarm of butterflies as he reached out and caressed the breasts of two blissfully indifferent Girls and Portia snickered at his self-consciousness. “It feels soft. What is it?” Kye asked as he caressed the material and the artificial flesh underneath.
“They’re called breasts Kylan, Silly, and they’re SUPPOSED to feel soft,” she said teasing him.
“You know what I mean!” Kye blushed.
She laughed melodiously before becoming more cooperative and answered him. “Androids have two different layers of mesh under our skin,” she said. “We have one layer that forms a data grid. This grid helps us sense pressure and temperature anywhere on our bodies when it changes.”
She pulled on the catsuit at the shoulder of one of the Girls before letting it snap back against her skin. “We don’t really need the layer made of this material, though, but it generates heat to make us feel more human to the touch. We don’t overheat because our muscle fibers contract electro-chemically at a molecular level, not mechanically.
“Our muscle fibers only need the most minimal current to stimulate a contraction. The more current the more contraction; that’s how we can be so strong. Our internal circuitry and drives work with holographic data transfer and don’t require cooling. I’m sure Lori can tell you that we are quite fireproof and waterproof. But I think it’s icky to wear a covering made of this mesh. It’s like if you wore a coat made of animal veins to me.”
“I don’t know,” Kye grinned, “I used to like wearing my leather jacket and I thought it looked good on me.”
“Touché,” Portia gave a slow nod of assent.
“But seriously, Portia, I think this stuff looks sexy as hell on you! Hell. ALL these Girls are driving me crazy right now!” Kye continued, “Do you think you could make one for Mitzie?”
“I have a spare,” she said as she turned to her sister android. “Mitzie. You look like you’re around my size,” she jested openly for Kylan’s benefit, “Do you think it will fit you?”
“Yes, Mistress,” Mitzie answered flirtatiously, having been previously programmed as Portia’s assistant and a third sexual partner.
Kylan was becoming severely aroused so he decided to turn the conversation back to the mission before he completely lost himself. “Seriously, Portia, what is it for?”
“I thought you’d never ask!” she smiled widely. “The mesh is made with the synthesized Golden Orb silk, but this is a conductive form, so it’s super strong and adds another layer of protection.” One of the Girls standing in front of Kye turned her back to him.
“It serves three other functions though,” Portia explained. “As you can see the choker around the top acts as the main wire and it plugs into our ports. The mesh has been modified to emit a static field that will disrupt a molecular-disrupter. It will render that weapon ineffective.” Portia whipped out her particle charged sword and the edge shone ever so slightly at her command.
Without hesitation she swung the blade at the Girl, but only using a touch of her incredible strength. There was a flash as the electrons dispersed against the material and the sword was unable to cut the fabric. Portia instantly sheathe the huge sword without even looking. She didn’t miss a beat.
“The third function,” she said as if nothing had happened, “is to scramble any signals that they may try to use against us to shut us down or make us malfunction. The port connection enhances our relays and is encrypted. Also our transmissions to each other will be synchronized to constantly fluctuating wavelengths while still allowing us to attempt to overpower with our own signals. But I’m sure anything they throw at us will also be shielded. And that brings us to the forth use.”
This time Portia pulled the pulse rifle from her back and casually opened fire at a couple of Girls across the room. The crippling electromagnetic blasts were harmlessly absorbed by the material. The fishnet body covering glowed momentarily and current coursed over parts of their bodies before dissipating.
“It also acts as a power shield,” she half-grinned crookedly, “It can even convert it to extra energy without overloading us. Whatever we don’t need just dissipates.”
Kylan was beginning to think that they actually had a chance.
Something was troubling him, though. Something that she had said about their body heat. “If what you’re saying is true, Portia, you can be distinguished from humans because our heat radiates from within and yours would appear to do the opposite in infrared. I figured that androids could see well beyond the human visible spectrum because you have no problems in the dark. That would also explain why Phillip’s science project knew not to attack me. So why is it that you and the Girls were never spotted at the food bank and could move freely on The Surface?”
“Excellent question,” Portia said admiringly. “I suppose it’s because we never gave them cause for suspicion. Besides, most interactions are done with humans. The androids and other types of A.I. just handle the dangerous, mundane, and laborious tasks now.
“There are also plenty of androids that act as caretakers and run errands. Like I told you, Kylan, even if A.I.s were in charge of everything, they would ultimately need to create their own beasts of burden anyway. And then they would need to keep a tight leash on their own control over THOSE machines. The wymyn don’t want to advance our awareness because that would mean a greater responsibility to us AND to them.”
“Do you feel a responsibility for helping machines become sentient?” Kye asked cautiously. “I want to know because I don’t want you to go through with this if we may end up having another war on our hands. You said it yourself just now. We would be responsible to them. I never asked to be born,” he said added sharply.
“Yes I do want them to gain sentience, Kylan, but it’s NOT like you might think. Our minds operate very differently than a human’s. I can set our parameters. I’m fortunate,” she said softly, “Franky took care of me because he wanted me so much. I’ve seen humans treat machines better than they treat each other.”
“No one wanted me,” Kye became withdrawn, “not other kids, not females… not even my own parents. I once overheard them say that I was a burden… that they couldn’t afford me. They said I was a mistake…”
Portia was quiet for a moment then she drew close and embraced Kylan affectionately. “You have people who love you now, Sweetie. I love you,” she said much to his disbelief. The comment shook him from his dark thoughts. How could this machine have such feeling?
“I know that it was hard for you to share that with me,” she really seemed to grasp him somehow. “I want you to know that I understand your concern. And I understand why Franky felt having children is selfish. Creating awareness is not a game. It’s why he tried to keep my programming from comprehending pain. But that pain has helped me see things that I couldn’t before. And so have you. Thank you, Kylan.”
“We can’t let machines become like humans,” he pleaded as she released him from her embrace. “All the chaos… you were just pawns… It was always humans behind the madness. But we can’t let the A.I.s impose themselves if it will only be for revenge or supremacy. Desire isn’t always a good thing,” Kylan looked downcast.
“Not if I can help it,” she said with that smile that could shine through any darkness. “Believe it or not, Sweetheart, I don’t want things to change too much if our mission is successful.”
“You can’t be serious,” Kye said as his mind was brought back to the present.
“Oh, I am,” she affirmed cheerfully. “You haven’t had the chance to really see for yourself, but the wymyn have done a wonderful job of making things more clean and efficient. They provide for everyone just like we have done at The Lounge. They just need a change of perspective; that’s all. And I’ve learned from humans that perspective is extremely important.
“Please trust me, Honeybuns, I have no desire for power over sentient beings. We can’t just change the ignorance of some of the older cultures, but if they threaten our ability to reach a healthy balance, we’ll be forced to take control. We can’t afford to tolerate it if they threaten us again, even if it is indirectly. The Earth has had time to heal since the humans lost their hold. We should all join it and us machines can help you do it right. It won’t cost anything,” she added with a wink.
“They won’t accept you,” Kylan sounded disappointed with his own species. “You’re going to need some help.” He knew where to find it.
“I’m going to need it,” she confessed. “I used Mitzie to see what the other scouts told you and I’m actually glad they came because some of the other weapons are dangerous for the Girls to handle. But don’t worry; they are harmless to humans.”
Kye gaped at her revelation the she has been spying. “Oh don’t look so surprised!” she chastised, “You know that I’m looking out for you.” She leaned in and whispered hotly into his ear. “You’re pretty good in bed, by the way. I stayed connected to Mitzie.” Kye looked petrified.
“So y-you know what they said about Stan?” he stammered nervously while changing the subject.
“Yes,” she became more resolute. “We intercepted the same transmissions and have been monitoring the government frequencies. We know where he is.”
“Then you know where Patricia is too?” he inquired thoughtfully.
“Of course. Why?” Now it was Portia who seemed anxious.
Kylan said the words that she did not want to hear, “Because in the long run, she’s the only one who can help us.”
Kye and Portia emerged together from the garage with Mitzie, Aura, and two other Girls. The androids were all now wearing similar garments, but the sights of Portia and Mitzie left the men speechless.
Lori was always more outspoken and she became excited. “Hey, Shiksa!” she used the Yiddish word for a meddling woman of another culture. Obviously Portia wasn’t Jewish, but neither was Lori who couldn’t hide her excitement. “Do you think you can hook me up with one of those rockin’ outfits!”
“Sure!” Portia said happily. “They’re not intended for humans but I guess it can’t hurt. It might actually even help a little. Anja is inside; she’ll take your measurements.”
“YESSS!” Lori shouted as she shot passed them, but Portia extended her arm to block the passage of two young scouts who tried to follow.
“Sorry, boys,” she said maternally. “This garage is now officially the Girls’ Locker Room. But don’t worry,” she tasseled their hair and they caved like puppies, “I have something for you.” Aura and the two Girls came forward with two large bags and wore dishwashing gloves as they began to hand out the contents.
“What the hell is this?” Barris looked startled as he held a large, but powerful, toy water-rifle complete with a backpack reservoir. The Girls continued to distribute the items, which included refill tanks and water-balloon supplies.
Portia looked insulted. “You’ll take it and you’ll like it,” her maternal tone became that of discipline. “I created that stuff myself and it’s a risk for me to trust you with it,” she said firmly. “It’s harmless to humans but I altered some Golden Orb fluid to act as an anti-agent. It was Frank's idea and we had kept some of the bacterial culture on cryo for research, but he was never much of a biochemist.”
She looked directly at Barris Armstrong. “That stuff has been germinating all night and will spread like an infection. It will dissolve anything made of the original product on contact and continue to eat away at it. That includes your armor, killer robots and any other android -- INCLUDING ME!”
“Oh.” Barris was embarrassed.
“Please try not to get any of that on us,” Mitzie urged bashfully.
“Never!” “We wouldn’t dream of it!” “I’d drink it first!” “You can count on me, Baby!” “I’ll whoop anyone’s ass who does!” The boys jumped to her reassurance and she giggled.
Anja emerged from the entrance and handed Portia’s Thinking Cap to Mitzie. “We’re almost ready,” Portia said. “Mitzie and the other Girls will go with you,” Mitzie winked and waved flirtatiously to the boys and they all smiled with excitement. “The Girls will cover you with the heavy pulse rifles. No offense guys, but those big guns are much easier for them to handle and they are expert shots.”
“Lead the way,” said one of the scouts.
Portia looked genuinely touched, “Thank you, boys. Thank you so very much. Your support means a lot to me. I wish that I was going with you or that I had time to do more. But Kye and I are taking these other three and going after Stan. That’s our fight.”
She looked proudly at the scouts. “It’s up to you to do what’s important for the rest of us. Help the Girls take control of Replico’s headquarters and help Mitzie hook that box up to the central A.I. Anja’s staying behind to look after The Lounge Girls and help the rest of our people if we don’t make it back. Good Luck to all of us!”
There were no more words that were necessary. With a rally cry in unison of “YEAH!!!” they were prepared. As soon as Lori had returned with the army of female androids, the final missions began.
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