Exo Saves the Day, Chapter 8

[gynoneko]

If you missed the first chapter... click here.
The second chapter is here.
Chapter three is here.
Don't forget Chapter 4 here.
Chapter 5 is over here.
And of course, the infamous Chapter 6 is here.
Chapter 7 can be found here.
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Exo Saves the Day
Chapter Eight: Mommy Dearest
By Gynoneko


Quickly, I slammed the door in the giant’s face. With lightning speed, I flicked the locks and attached the chain. Pushing my back to against the wall next to the door, I readied myself, just in case he started shooting through the door.

“Quickly, hide!” I said in a raised whisper to the girl, who only looked back at me in confusion. Gesturing for her to hide inside my office, she finally took the hint, and disappeared inside the door, closing it behind her. I knew this was a feeble attempt at hiding her, but my exo-suit was still charging in the office, and I was out of options. I guess my apartment was not as safe as I thought.

Hurriedly, I rummaged through my small coat closet until I found the last thing I had that might help, a Taser. Stepping back from the door, I prepared for a bullet, or perhaps an arm, to rip through it. Instead, there was nothing. Silence. I could hear some muffled words from the other side of the door after about a minute. To my surprise, there was a polite knock. I was tempted to yell at them to screw themselves, but I thought better of it. I wearily approached the peephole in my door to see what was going on.

On the other side of my door stood a woman. She was dressed in a dark business suit with a pencil skirt, and wore thin, rectangular sexy-librarian glasses with her hair tied up in a bun. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, but she stood there just the same, holding a purse and a yellow envelope.

“What do you want?” I yelled through the door.

“I am here to help. I know about the girl.” replied the woman through the door.

Warily, I opened the door, leaving the chain attached, so it would only open a crack, and peaked through. She peered at me through the crack, her face stern and serious. She was very lovely; wearing expertly applied makeup, and appeared to be in her early-to-mid-30s. I was surprised to see her stand there alone. There was no sign of the man from before, but I had a very limited range of view. He could have been hiding nearby, ready to strike.

“Who are you?” I asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

“I should ask you the same question Mr.… Exo” she retorted. Exo was the alias I was using for various internet accounts, but also the name I was signed my text to the police under, that night when I saved the girl. I didn’t expect anyone to make a connection this fast.

“How did you… what do you want with me?” I responded, trying to hide the look of shock as she said my alias.

“I only want what is best for the girl you saved the other night. I’m sure you remember who I’m talking about.” She held up a picture from the envelope. It appeared to be a photo of me, wearing my hat, and carrying a girl in my coat, the coat I was just holding, running through the alleyways. Security camera footage! I was a fool. They caught pictures of me making my daring escape, and I had to wonder what else they knew about me. “She’s no ordinary girl, as I’m sure you must know by now.”

“How do you know about her?” I barked back, getting a little nervous.

The woman replied with a low voice, to avoid anyone else from hearing. “I built her.”

I looked this woman up and down. While she wasn’t old, she was old enough to have been one of the engineers who designed her. But she looked too young, and had a great body too; there was no way she was a nerdy roboticist. Then again, my upstairs neighbor was the best hacker I ever met, and he was a playboy. Perhaps she was telling the truth, I had no reason to believe otherwise. She was probably there to take her back. However, with no proof that she was who she said she was, I had to push her for more. Maybe she knew the thugs, or maybe she was part of a rival company. I thought for a minute.

“Do you have any proof?” I kept my questions short and precise.

“Alas, I have little I can offer you for proof.” She reached into her purse, and pulled out a badge, the kind of ID badge you see at a secure company or government facility. “But I hope this will do.” She showed me the badge, holding it for me to look at. I read it to myself. Cynthia Pygmalion, Lead Robotics Engineer, Men and Machines Robotics, Inc. The picture on the left side looked just like her, with practically the same expression. You never know when something might be faked, but I’m not one to be that paranoid; perhaps I am just too trusting. Her ID looked authentic enough, and that at least proved she was a robotics engineer, and a good one at that.

Man and Machine Robotics, Inc. was one of the largest manufacturers and designers of industrial and commercial androids. They had recently started to emerge into the home market with a series of maid and butler robots. They were perhaps the best manufacturers of robotics and androids around. Their first gynoid, a cute model designed for cleaning and cooking, was used in retirement homes and hotels, and quickly became the face of modern gynoids. While they have not had that many models since, they have always put quality ahead of everything else, and it showed. With a company like that backing this woman, I had to give her some credit.

I was just starting to realize that they were going to take the best thing that happened to me away. But what right did I have to keep her? And could I even do anything to stop them? I blinked at her a minute more, as she put her ID back in her bag.

“So who was the big guy then? And why did he try to shoot me?!” I asked.

“Who, Tom? That big guy is my husband. Don’t worry about him, his bark is worse than his bite” she replied, looking toward the parking lot in front of the apartments. I tried to glance over, and I just caught a glimpse of his form standing next to my car. Dear lord, I hope he doesn’t break it, or eat it. “He wasn’t going to shoot you, but he does get a little passionate sometimes. I doubt he was reaching for a gun, if that’s what you were thinking. He keeps his ID badge in his vest pocket.” She paused for a moment, looking at me. “So, Exo, are you going to let me in so we can talk?”

I thought for a moment longer. What’s the worse than could happen that couldn’t already happen if they wanted to? “Um… sure. Sorry, Mrs. Pagmalion.”

I closed the door briefly to undo the chain, and opened it again to let her in. The Taser was still in my hand, and I decided it would be best to leave it in plain sight, just in case she got any weird ideas. She walked in, and noticed the device just as I was closing the door.

“This is just in case. Sorry, but things have been a little weird lately, and I rather be safe than sorry” I told her. I kept the Taser pointed down, but it wouldn’t take much to activate it, just in case. “Please have a seat on the couch.”

I motioned for her to sit on the couch close to the door with my free hand. I rather not get caught between her and the door, just in case the big guy decided to break in. I kept her in full view, sitting in my computer chair across from her. I got started with questioning her before she could say anything.

“So where did you get the picture?”

“The same place everyone else did. Although ours are clearer than what the police were issued” she replied.

“POLICE!?” I retorted. “What do the police want with me?”

“Simple” she responded. “They want answers. The thugs you beat up that night didn’t just go quietly. When they learned that you ran off, carrying our girl, they claimed you attacked them that night, and kidnapped one of their ‘friends’. Of course they can’t back up this claim, and the police are not ready to blindly believe repeat offenders. But without answers, they have nothing else to go on.”

“M.. Maybe I should just turn myself in?” I wondered aloud. “I mean, you said it yourself, they only want me to answer some questions. If I just tell them the truth…”

“Then we’d all end up in jail” she responded, sharply. “The fact is, you beat up a bunch of thugs over a ‘stolen’ piece of property. If you manage to convince them you were trying to save her life, you still have to argue against the fact you were out that night to fight crime; to be a vigilante. Maybe you read too many comic books, but vigilantism is a crime. You’d spend years sorting it out.”

“What about you then? ” I retorted.

“That’s… complicated.” A look of pain struck her face, as she replied. She didn’t need to say anything more at the time, but I was pretty sure it had something to do with why the girl was in that alleyway in the first place. I thought for a moment longer about the picture she showed me.

“Who else has seen these pictures?”

“Hmm. Just about everyone by now. You made the news yesterday, or don’t you watch your huge TV?” she replied, eyeing the large screen mounted to my wall.

‘Holy crap! I’m on the news?!’ I thought to myself. However, all I said aloud was “I don’t watch television. I just use it for movies and gaming, stuff like that. I was too busy to think about checking the news online.” That was true. I never watched television; there are just too many other things to do. I was also busy keeping the gynoid ‘alive’ all day yesterday.

“Well you should. Your blurry face is all over it, or at least your blurry hat. Luckily, no one got a good shot of your face with your hat on” she replied.

“Then how did you two find me?” I asked.

“Your car is very distinct” she said, plainly. “Not many people drive around a puke-green gas-guzzler these days. We simply asked around town, until we saw it parked here. Yours was the first door we tried.”

“My car?” I was shocked. If they could find my car that easily, surely the police would have no trouble at all. Nor would the gang those thugs probably belonged to. “How do you beat the police here?”

“The police never got the footage from the convenience store near the parking lot. We made sure no one else got their hands on it either. We are the only ones with a reliable account of the car you were driving; at least, we think so.” She slowly pulled out of the yellow envelope a series of pictures from various angles, all in black and white, and all from security cameras. She placed them on the small coffee table between us, and I reached over to grab them. “These are the pictures the police have on you” she said.

None of the pictures were particularly sharp. Only once was my face in view, but it was too obscured to use for identification. I didn’t feel any more relaxed knowing that the cops had bad images to go on; I mean they were still looking for me after all. But at least they thought I looked like a mosaic pervert. I had never really seen my entire outfit from afar before. I looked like the classic spy ideal you see on neighborhood watch signs. It was kind of eerie.

Cynthia pulled out a few more pictures and put them on the table as well. “These are the images they never got ahold of.” These pictures were much clearer. Some of them were the same images, but in focus, and others were completely new. There were a few images of me sneaking up on the gang, and a few more of the fight. They even had a series of shots that followed me carrying the girl all the way back to my car, without my coat on. One image in particular, had a very good shot of my face. Just after I took my hat off, a hidden security camera from the hardware store caught my visage. She continued as I looked at these images, grateful they weren’t the ones the police were looking at. “After the accident, an acquaintance of mine made sure these images were kept away from the police, and the press.”

“Accident?” I asked.

She looked around the room a bit, getting an idea of the place. She didn’t look too impressed. “It’s a long story.”

“Well then you better explain it fast” I said, impatiently.

She sighed, looking back to me. “The short of it is that a colleague, my husband, and I ‘rescued’ the girl you found. The situation was bad. She was to be taken away from us, and given to a sleazebag of a man, to turn her into his personal slave. I mean the guy is a real maniac. He owns some expensive ‘dance’ club downtown, but I think he’s part of some mob! All he wanted to do is turn her into his own personal sex doll! I mean, sure she is capable of having sex. Heck, she is probably great at it! We designed her to be able to give pleasure, but also to be pleased herself. But she is so much more than just a sex doll! We didn’t design her to be a slave, but to be a companion! I mean, she is like a daughter to me, but I know she will be given a master someday. I just want to make sure she goes to the right person. But there was no way I am going to just give her up like that, not to a man like him, not after all we put in-.”

She paused for a moment, realizing she had started ranting a-mile-a-minute. “Sorry. I just get so worked up sometimes. You see… two nights ago, we had planned to hide her. We had her in the van, and were driving to a discreet location. We thought it was going well until his goons showed up in cars with guns. It was terrifying. I was constantly afraid of someone getting shot. They chased us through the streets, shooting at us. Luckily, we lost them, but Rob got shot and lost control of the van and…” She looked down, her voice starting to crack. She reached into her purse, pulled out a tissue, and took off her glasses to wipe her eyes.

“When I came to, Rob was already gone, and our girl had vanished. Tom and I had no idea where she went, but she must have come out of the accident only to end up being attacked by those ruffians!” She sniffed as she cleared her throat, putting her glasses back on, her eyes still red. I might have believed that she was faking this, just to get on my emotional side, to catch me off guard. However, I was pretty sure that either she was a darn good actress, or there was more drama going on here than I realized. She took a deep breath and continued. “My husband and I have been looking for any sign of her. We contacted an associate who got access to various security cameras, and saw her being attacked. We also saw you, and your car. We were lucky to find you so fast.”

“And this is the same guy that stopped the images from leaking to the police and the press?” I asked. She nodded, looking down at her lap. I owed them big time if this was true. I looked down too, noticing the Taser still in my hand. I hoped I wouldn’t regret doing this, but I stood up, and put the Taser in a drawer near the kitchen. I wasn’t going to use it, and I had no reason to keep threatening her with it. “I’m sorry about the whole Taser thing, Mrs Pagma-“

“Please, call me Cynthia” she interrupted.

“Right. Cynthia. Sorry I pulled that Taser on you, I’m just a bit scared. I was just trying to do what I thought was right.”

She looked up, as I put away the black Taser, and closed her purse with a snap. “Is… Is she here? Where is she?” she asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

“What, so you can just take her away?” I mumbled quietly. Apparently, she didn’t hear it. “Tell me this first, Cynthia, does she have a name?”

“Officially? No. She is given a name by whoever becomes her master. But she is part of a line of androids with a special moniker. You see, the AI we used is unlike any other A.I. we have ever developed; it is beyond anything you’ve ever seen. That A.I. is called ‘EVE’.” She looked straight at me through all of this, her eyes growing more intense on me, watching my every gesture. It was nerve-racking, but I stared back at her with the same intensity. “We had to build a special brain, and a special body, to work with EVE. That line is known as the ‘Evelyn’ series gynoids. The unit you saved is our latest, and our last. We refer to her as Unit 263.”

“Evelyn series, huh? Unit 263… What’s so special about her A.I.?” I asked.

She hesitated. She didn’t want to answer that question, and I got a sinking suspicion that I was not going to like what she said. “Well…”

Just then, the door to the office slowly opened up. Evelyn, or rather, Unit 263’s face appeared through the crack, wide-eyed, and curious. She looked straight at Cynthia, as if she recognized her. The creak of the door must have startled Cynthia; she almost jumped when she looked over at the door. As soon as she saw who was looking out at her, she dropped her purse and stood up, her hands to her mouth in surprise. The Evelyn series gynoid stepped out of the room, her feet bare, her hair down, and wearing the blue dancing robot monkey shirt and shorts. Cynthia’s eyes teared up as she gazed at her. Surprise and joy spread across the young gynoid’s face as she started to cry as well. I had never seen such an emotional gynoid before; there really was something special about her.

The two women embraced, hugging each other like 2 long lost friends, or perhaps a mother and daughter. I felt like a voyeur watching them as they wept, and walked into my kitchen to grab a soda. I could have used a beer, but I think I needed a clear head right now; I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. I died a little inside, realizing that they were probably going to take her away now, and I would never see her again. I didn’t cry, but I came close.

“Oh Honey, what happened to you? You look terrible! I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.” Cynthia must have been referring to the repair work I did on her. Was it really that terrible? I thought I did a pretty good job of fixing her up. “Did he hurt you anywhere? What happened after the crash? What are you wearing? Are you cold?” Cynthia bombarded her with questions, too fast for anyone to answer.

Unit 263 turned toward the coffee table, and spying a pad of post-it notes and a pen, started to write down her replies. Apparently, she was too embarrassed about her voice to talk to Cynthia. It took her a while to write each response. “Honey, what’s wrong? Did something happen to your voice? Why won’t you talk to me?” Cynthia continued.

Unit 263 handed her first note to Cynthia. As she read it, unit 263 turned back to write another. “I’m fine. Exo fixed me” read Cynthia aloud. By this time, I had come back into the room, and sat down on the couch, soda in hand. Cynthia looked up from her note, and glared at me. I was pretty shocked to see her expression, it was fierce. Before the gynoid could even finish writing her next note, Cynthia grabbed one of the gynoid’s shoulders, standing her up, and making her face her.

“Right. Open up your throat 263” Cynthia referred to her by her unit number, and the Evelyn series gynoid obeyed. I watched as her throat opened, revealing to Cynthia her damaged voice box, and my best attempts at a repair. Cynthia was about to reach inside when 263 recoiled, backing away from her slightly. In response, Cynthia held the back of 263’s neck, and reached inside her throat, disconnecting the faulty component, and pulling it out. She closely examined the damage and the repair, shifting her eyes from the box, to me, and then to the girl. 263’s face was shocked, and embarrassed, almost like she was caught doing something she shouldn’t have been doing. With a few clicks, Cynthia placed the part back inside the young gynoid’s neck, and closed her up. “Unit 263, say something to me.”

The Evelyn series robot hesitated, her face flushed red. Cynthia just stared her down, until she finally gave in. “bzzzt Hello, mm hrrrmmmm mother…” Cynthia didn’t flinch. I expected her to either break down in tears or to slap the girl (or me), but instead, she just stood there, taking it in, evaluating the situation.

“Right. Exo, turn around” she barked. “Please” she added, putting emphasis on the word.

“Y...Yes ma’am” I replied, almost instinctively. She might not have been that old, but she was a sort of mother, and had an air of authority about her; I did not want to upset her any more than she already was. Besides, if they wanted to take her, they had plenty of opportunity. 263 turned to look at me, blushing, while Cynthia waited for me to respond. I stood up and turned away, listening to the next orders she gave out.

“Unit 263, take off your clothes.” Somehow I knew she was going to say that, and yet it was unnerving to hear it out loud. I listened as the gynoid started to undress. I heard the rustle of fabric as her shirt was pulled off her body, sliding off her skin and landing on the small table beside them. Cynthia gasped as she looked at all the damage and repairs. Surely they weren’t that bad, but for someone who spent years working on her, it would have been shocking. Next would be her shorts, which she had to first untie, assuming she did that right in the first place. “Here, let me help you with that” Cynthia said after about a minute. Apparently, 263 never learned how to tie knots either, and probably tied a mess of a knot in those shorts. Before long, I heard the cotton cloth slide off her legs, and land on the table as well. Cynthia was silent for a minute or two, while she assessed the external damage and repairs. I could feel the heat of her gaze on my back as I was sure she was glaring at me for my shoddy repair job.

“Open up, Honey” Cynthia said, in a calm voice. With that, I heard 263 open her main chest cavity, something I couldn’t get enough of, and wanted to see. I turned my head to the side to catch a glimpse of the action. “Don’t even think about it mister” Cynthia barked at me. I straightened by head again, having only caught a flash of her open body from the side.

For the next few minutes, I heard a lot of hmms and uh-huhs as Cynthia looked over the girl. Every now and then, she’d open up a panel on her arm or something. While Cynthia was engaged in her work, I looked behind me, at the pair of them. 263 stood there, her face flushed, and her fists clenched, while Cynthia looked through her chest cavity. It was really something to see this dainty girl opened up like that, even though I had seen it before. It looked like something out of a sci-fi, but then again, I am living in an age of androids and planetary travel. This pretty much is sci-fi already.

After Cynthia got a good look inside Unit 263, she turned the girl around, and leaned her over, looking at the tag, which was still attached and intact, located on her crotch. Cynthia looked up at me briefly, with a scowl on her face. I quickly turned around again, expecting her to scold me, but she didn’t say a word. Instead, she continued to hmm to herself, and I waited for her to finish.

About 2 seconds later, Cynthia was finished with her evaluation. “How could she possibly have made these repairs herself, without any food?” she asked, as she started to close up the access panels on the gynoid. “You didn’t force her to eat anything did you?”

“N- No” I replied, turning around to face her again. “I could tell she wasn’t able to eat anything solid as long as she-“

“Solid? So you fed her a high-protein liquid?”

I thought for a moment. I guess she did eat something with high protein content, but it wasn’t exactly food. “Um… sort of” I said shyly, blushing as I did.

Cynthia eyed me suspiciously, thinking about what I said, and then her eyes went wide with enlightenment. She understood what I was implying, and probably didn’t approve. She looked over at 263, whose face was even redder than mine, and then back at me. The young gynoid bent to pick up her shirt and held it in front of her. “You mean you made her swallow your-“

“Hey! It wasn’t my idea. She came onto me” I interjected. I actually came on her, but that was just semantics.

Cynthia turned to look at her cherished creation, her expression unreadable. “Is this true, 263?” The gynoid just stood there, staring down at the floor, like she had been caught doing something bad. Cynthia looked back and forth between us, and focused her gaze on the girl. “I’m talking to you. Evelyn XKQT-114 263, answer my question!”

She sounded like a mother spouting off her child’s full name before issuing punishment. The girl didn’t say anything. “263!” she barked, frustrated. I had never seen something like this before. I stood there a little puzzled. All robots, gynoids included, have to obey any command given to them by a human, well… not any command, but answering a question like this was one she would have to obey. And yet, here stood this scientist and her creation, resembling a mother scolding her teenage daughter and getting about the same response. It was a direct violation of the laws of robotics, unless I missed some fine text in there.

“Just answer her” I said softly. 263 looked up at me, a little surprised, but Cynthia stared me down, giving me the distinct impression that I was butting-in and should not put my nose where it doesn’t belong. Her stare lasted long enough, that 263 tried to tip-toe behind Cynthia toward the bedroom, like she thought she could get away. She wasn’t fast enough, and Cynthia turned around to catch her sneaking off.

“Where do you think you’re going 263? Don’t make me override your A.I. young lady!” I almost laughed at this, but 263 paused in her tracks, turned toward Cynthia, her head hanging low, and nodded to the affirmative, still clutching the shirt to her front.

I didn’t know what to expect from Cynthia after this, but what she did was the last thing I would have expected. She stood there with her eyes closed, adjusted her glasses, and sighed to herself. “I didn’t expect this day to come so fast!” she said softly to herself. “I was sure I’d have at least another year with her” she mumbled. “Go get dressed Honey” she said to 263, without looking at her.

She walked up to me, mumbling the whole way. “I suppose it was a good thing she did do that, I mean she would have subconsciously known she needed the protein to make her repairs, and where to get it. She needed to have something to help her with the repairs. There is no way she could have done that on her own without it. And I suppose it could have been with someone worse…” Behind her, Unit 263 kneeled down next to the short coffee table, and started to write a new note.

“I’m really sorry about everything…” I started, trying to apologize before she either got violent or lost her mind, I wasn’t sure which.

“There is nothing to apologize for, Exo. She is capable of making these choices for herself, although she is a little under-developed… mentally. No, you did everything you could to help her. I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at me. I’m the one that got her lost in the first place. I put her in danger, and could do nothing to help her. It’s my fault Rob is dead. It was my plan, and we screwed it up. If you weren’t there just at the right time, and in the right place, I would have lost her forever also.” She looked up at me, and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Without you, she’d still be lying there in that alley, or worse.” She paused for a moment, looking intensely at me, tears in her eyes. “Thank you for saving her.”

I was taken back. I didn’t know what to say, but somehow my mouth mumbled “Uh… sure. No problem.” How heroic.

She thought to herself for a bit. “Could I trouble you for a glass of water, while she and I talk?”

“Uh… sure. No problem.” A poet am I. I walked into the kitchen and got out some glasses to pour some filtered water for the three of us. I needed something besides soda in my system. I grabbed a slice or two of cold cut meat, and rolled it up, eating it raw. I didn’t want to bother making a sandwich right now, but the meat was tasty.

Cynthia walked over to the gynoid and talked in a quiet tone. The slow scribbling stopped, and a moment later, Cynthia answered. “I’m sorry, Honey. I wasn’t mad at you, or at Exo. I’m only mad at myself. I promise I won’t yell at you anymore.” A short while later, there was more slow scribbling on paper.

As I walked back in the room, I noticed 263 had put her shirt back on, although her shorts were still sitting on the table in front of her, while she finished scribbling away and handed the note to Cynthia. “No, I can’t just take you back. I have nowhere to take you to. The hideaway was torn apart by Marconi’s men. And we are living on the low ourselves” She answered. So she isn’t going to take her back?! Did that mean she is going to stay here? 263 stood up while Cynthia answered, and slid the shorts back on, not bothering to tie them. Before Cynthia even finished answering, the now dressed gynoid sat back down on the floor and started writing another note. “I just want what’s best for you, Honey. We need to find you a good master” Cynthia continued, while 263 wrote slowly. It seemed like it was going to take her a while to get used to writing; perhaps she would be better if she tried typing it in instead.

I placed the drinks on the small table in front of them, and took a seat on the couch. Cynthia took a sip, but 263 just ignored it and finished writing. She tore off the note, and handed it to Cynthia. “I don’t know, Honey. I have to think about it. I’m not convinced he can protect you like Tom and I can.” Before I could even react to that statement, the Evelyn model gynoid stood up, rushed into my office, and emerged again carrying my barely charged exo-suit. “What is that?” Cynthia asked.

263 tried to gesture, but looked to me for help. “It’s, uh… an experiment.”

“An experiment?” Cynthia replied, looking back toward me. 263 sat back down, and started writing another note.

“Well, it is my prototype for a new exo-skeleton suit. Err… a movement enhancing power suit. Kind of like what you see in the military, except smaller.”

“And what do you do with it?” Cynthia asked.

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out already.” I picked up the picture she put on the crowded table of me carrying 263 with my coat off. You could clearly see the suit, even though at that time it was not working. “It’s enhances my strength and speed. I was wearing it when I saved… uh… 263. Without it, I would not have been able to stop 4 armed thugs, who were probably on drugs.”

She gazed at the picture, finally understanding the odd device I was wearing, and looked back at the suite in comparison. “So you really are a vigilante. And here I thought I was just making it up.” Cynthia regarded the suit with interest. “So what else do you do, you know, besides fighting crime?”

I chuckled at the idea; me as a crime-fighter. “I am a robot repair technician. I specialize in android and gynoid repair and modification.” I stood up and walked to my office behind them. Cynthia stood up as well, and followed me.

I opened my office door to the warm glow of computer monitors, and flipped on the lights. Cynthia stepped inside, and looked around with interest at my cluttered collection of mechanical parts. A series of limbs hung from one wall, with wires and circuit boards cluttering the worktable beneath. Several broken androids and gynoids sat in one corner, while recently repaired and neatly bound models sat in the other, with one laying on a table on the opposite wall, in the middle of a repair. One damaged gynoid torso and head sat in the middle of the room on a stool, and computers lined the rest of the available table space. A variety of tools and gizmos were cluttered about the place, and an assortment of all kinds of robotic parts, from joints to eyes, filled the cabinets and tables. It was a tight fit for that much clutter, and usually it was less crowded, but it was comfortable. I knew where everything was, mostly, and didn’t need some complicated filing system to keep track of them.

Cynthia looked around, admiring the collection. I’m sure she worked with better tools than I could afford, and clearly she worked on better models, but it was my passion, and probably hers as well. She looked impressed, as she went from robot to robot, looking at all the repairs I made, and the tools I used. “Not bad. A little messy, but you seem to do good work here. What’s with the old gynoid on the chair there?”

“Oh that? It’s just a hobby. I found her while I was looking for old spare parts at the recycling center. You won’t believe some of the stuff people throw away. I had never seen a face on a gynoid quite like that before, and I have been working on fixing her up, but I’ve been so busy with my exo-suit, I haven’t really gotten that far yet.” I had planned to make that unit my personal assistant gynoid, but she was in such disrepair, I wasn’t sure she’d ever work again. She had no limbs, and part of her chassis was rusted, but it was repairable. I was determined to make it work, even if it took me a few years to finish.

“So that’s what I do. I customize robots, repair them, and even build them practically from scratch. I’m a freelance roboticist technician.”

“When you aren’t out fighting crime” she joked.

“Heh, Yeah, that and crime-fighting.”

We walked back out of the office, but Cynthia was greeted by another note from 263. I didn’t have a chance to read the note, as Cynthia quickly held it up to her chest after reading it. Her eyebrows arched as she replied. “Are you sure?”

“bbzzzt Yes!” 263 answered with a nod.

“What does it say?” I asked. 263 just blushed as she looked at me, but Cynthia discreetly pocketed the note in her jacket pocket and held my arm, leading me to a more open space. Cynthia turned to look at me, her eyes penetrating my skin. She looked me all over, and hummed to herself. I couldn’t help but feel like she was eye-raping me. I could practically see the gears turning in her head as she came to a decision about me. I looked over at 263, who had taken a seat on the couch, watching us, and drinking her water with both hands.

“Do you like her?” she asked bluntly.

“Do I… uh…?” I responded, as poetically as possible.

“DO you LIKE her?” she asked again. I thought for a moment, and figured I had no clue what was going on anymore, and just answered.

“Yes. I do like her.”

“Do you want her to stay with you a while longer?” she asked, almost before I finished my answer.

“Um… I would like that, but…”

“But?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“But I’m not sure I am good enough to take care of her. I mean, what if something happened that I couldn’t fix?” I replied.

“tsk tsk tsk. I merely asked do you WANT her to stay with you a while longer?”

I thought about this. I did want her to stay. I wasn’t sure if I could fix her, or even afford to, if something else happened. I wasn’t sure I could dedicate the time she’d need. But I did want her to stay with me.

“Yes. I would like that” I replied, straight-faced. She thought for a moment more, and then gave me an approving nod.

“You seem to be a good man, with the drive to want to make a difference. You also have talent and did an excellent job fixing her injuries. I couldn’t have done much better myself. Plus, you can hold your own in a fight. You’ve already saved her life twice.

“If my daughter says she likes you, then I will trust her judgment and let her stay with you a little longer.” I got a little nervous when she said daughter. Even though Cynthia was only about 10 years older in appearance to 263, she was still, in all practical sense, her mother. Granted, they looked almost like sisters, but that was no problem for me.

“BUT” she interjected, staring into my eyes, “only on the condition that you swear to treat her with the respect and care of a regular human and that you do not treat her like a slave.” I nodded and muttered “I swear” as her gaze penetrated my eyes. With that, she smiled, and gave me a small hug. What a weird lady I thought to myself, but just smiled back. “We will be close by, and will check up on you every now and then.” Something was a little peculiar.

“But what about the…uh… on her… doesn’t she need to eat?” he asked.

“Yes… I suppose we’ll have to do something about that soon. And her voice box will need to be replaced too. We’ll be back later tonight to go over the details, but I don’t think there will be any problems.”

“What about the police?” I asked, still worried.

“I wouldn’t worry about it” she said. “They think you look like a character from Spy vs. Spy, and no one has seen the footage of your car. Besides, our associate has been pumping the police and media with false information. We weren’t sure if you were a threat, but finding her and keeping her away from the government and the mob were our highest priorities.”

“But… are you going already?” I said nervously. I felt like she just ran me through a rollercoaster of nerves, and was then going to dump her daughter on me in the end. While nothing had actually changed since this morning, my mind was working overtime trying to put this all together. I felt on the verge of shock. I glanced over at 263, who was still sitting, but she had a huge smile on her face, and looked like she was turning into a ball of energy, ready to explode with excitement.

“Relax. You can do this” she said, one hand on my shoulder. “I am going to trust you to take care of her. She is more special than you realize.” Her face became dead-serious, and her eyes penetrated me, again. In a hushed tone, she whispered, “Our goal, when we were designing her, was to build a gynoid that was as human as possible. Her A.I., EVE, doesn’t use the 3 laws. Well, it does, but they are more like guidelines. She can choose to ignore or violate any of them. This was essential to make her seem human, but it also means she is illegal. You are not in any danger with her, she wouldn’t hurt a fly, but it is against the law all the same. Whatever you do, you must protect her, and her secret.”

That put me over the edge. They had built a robot that could kill? The 3 law system prevented robots from allowing “humans to come to any harm through action or inaction”. Even though it is a guideline itself for the actual programming used to direct their moral choices as our robotic tools, this was the basis for how robots fit into our society. It was a federal offense to alter, remove, or tamper with the 3 laws code. But to blatantly exclude it? Then again, she said it was only a guideline now. However, this did explain how she was able to disobey commands given to her. I knew she was a sweet and gentle girl, but now I became even more nervous than before.

As soon as she had finished her serious nerve-breaking talk with me, she went over to 263, who stood up, and gave her a hug. “Now don’t you worry about your voice, Honey. We are going get that fixed up as soon as we can. I long to hear you sing again with your beautiful voice, and I’m sure Exo would like it too. It will take a few weeks to get it in, but be patient, Honey.”

“I’m sorry for everything that happened” Cynthia said a moment later. “I promise to make it up to you, but you have to be a strong girl now. Besides, now that you have a man in your life, I can give you some pointers.” She winked to her and started to whisper in the gynoid’s ear. I couldn’t make out much of what she was saying, but the expression on 263’s face was priceless. She went from all smiles and laughs to flushed red and quiet, and then to a phase of giggles. At one point, I heard the word “balls”, and Cynthia cupped her hand with a squeezing motion, and my face went bright red as well. This is the weirdest lady I have ever met.

After a few minutes of giggling, and the like, the two hugged closely. “I suggest you stay in for the rest of the day, until things blow over a bit more” she suggested. Noticing the dirty coat on the couch, which I never got to the wash, she picked it up and looked at the coolant-blood stains. “You really were a in a mess weren’t you?” she said quietly. “Don’t worry, I’ll have this cleaned and drop it off later tonight. Until then, think of a name for her, Exo. You can’t call her Unit 263 forever. And make it a good one.”

And with that, she left. 263 gave me a big smile, but my brain was operating on a different level at that moment, a stressful one. It took me a moment to realize something. My wallet was still in that jacket! I rushed to the door to call out to them, but before I could get their attention, I saw a silver car driving away with a big guy behind the wheel.

I glanced over at my car. “Geez… it really is puke-green”.

-----
/Chapter 8
Chapter 9

[Baron]

Excellent, so far; should be quite the epic when it's done. I'll be interested to see how the foreshadowing plays out - this chapter drops several possible hints with intriguing ramifications.

Keep up the fine work!!

[crimsondragon1982]

sure hope so really liking this so far

[NukuNookee]

I'm wondering if she knew the wallet was in the jacket... all the better to do some more background investigation. And to keep him at home....

More excellent work, this story is developing nicely. There is quite a bit of "be careful what you wish for / create" at work here as well....

[shutdown]

I just realised a couple of things. How did he's wallet get into the jacket? and if it's always been in there. How did he pay for the things he needed to repair her?
Apart from that little fumble excellent series. I'm loving it.

[MisterXYZ (RoboTomo)]

Nice one there.

[gynoneko]

Hey, I think you caught something there... I'm going to have to come up with an answer for that one.

Thanks for all the feedback so far. Glad you all are enjoying this!
I'm struggling a bit with the next chapter. I have an idea of where I am trying to take this, but if you all want to see anything happen, let me know. It might help me brings things together.

Thanks again!!

[gynoneko]

I think I have a solution for the wallet thing, and I have reworked the next chapter some more for a better result.
I hope you all like it, I am working on it now and it should be up soon!