Robots of Avery Five.

Chapter 13

...It’s very suspicious that, out of twenty planets you could have chosen, you sent me to Avery Five. The new product could’ve been profitable anywhere else, but it’s clear now that you knew. You had to know that they sent your mother’s clone to Avery. It angers me you didn’t trust me enough to tell me the real reason you made me leave Earth. If you wanted to see your mother so much, then why didn’t you make the trip, huh? Too dangerous? Better put your son at risk because Hammond of Singapore can’t get his hands dirty.

What I’m going through... Moonlanding, you don’t know what you’ve done to me. I talked to her; I lived in her home; still you didn’t tell me the one thing she didn’t know.

I want to get as close to the sun as I can, and let it burn my body only enough, so I can experience a slow death. It’s the least I deserve after what I did.

I took her; I made her mine; I gave her a child.

I’m sorry,

Alexander.

Alex pressed ‘send’ on a board in the library, then went to the main hall where the farmers’ leaders and citizens gathered. Sadie sat on a bench and Cam stood behind her, watching Yagoda speak. Kimiora waved at him from behind a computer mirror. Red Beard pushed Yagoda’s wheelchair by the model of the Koi system, so everyone could see him.

“Before my death,” said Yagoda, “I want to see the beginning of the end. That’s why the last hours were so important. We have never seen the hunters defeated the way they did today. For that, we have the Earthian to thank.”

The old leader raised his hand toward Alexander. “Come, come, I’d like everyone to meet our savior.”

Alex watched all eyes on him, smiling and encouraging him to step to the front.

“Alexander of Singapore, in the name of all farmers of Isaac, thank you.” Yagoda spoke as Alex approached the center of the hall.

Alex waved at the crowd and gave Sadie a suppressed smile. Sadie took a deep breath and brushed her waves in front of her chest.

“Kimiora said you found the weapon of the ancients in the ruins of Avery. Is that correct?” said Yagoda.

“Yes, but I know little about it.” Alex unholstered the gun and laid it on the outer area of the Koi system table.

The crowd began to whisper and move closer to see it better.

“Please, nobody touches it.” The Earthian raised his palms, and the farmers stopped moving. “This is not like the electric blasters of the Federation. Anyone can shoot it.”

“You mean, it doesn’t need a DNA code? Anyone can wield its power?” A woman pointed at it.

“Yes, unlike the electric blasters, all I have to do is press on this latch right here and,” Alex pointed at the trigger. “Well, I’m not quite sure how the rest happens.”

“How long did it take you to learn how to use it?” asked Red Beard.

“Believe it or not,” Alex pointed at Cam. “The Ai-consort taught me how to use it.”

The attention shifted to Cam and incredulous murmurs filled the hall. There was laughing behind them.

“Funny,” said Yagoda.

“It’s not a joke,” replied Alex.

“The Ai-consort has great knowledge of ancient weapons and much more.” Sadie stood up. “He also told me of a different side of human history that school didn’t teach us.”

The leader turned his wheelchair toward her. “Please, illustrate.”

“The books state that the Human Federation formed when all countries of Earth created one government. That gave way to major advancements in space travel and trade with other species. Becoming one planet nation abolished poverty and made Earth a safer place to live, or so they claim. But before the hunters attacked, my Ai-consort told me about the man who invented him, Carter Monk. He had a different story to tell. Average citizens from different countries of Earth created the Human Federation, not governments. In fact, all governments opposed its creation.”

“Then how could it thrive without support?” asked Kimiora.

“Oh, but it did have the support of many in a cybernetic place called the Internet. It was like the Federation Network humans use today. The belief was that if you got millions of people to vote for something on the internet, it had to be what most humans wanted. Sometimes this made the ancients disregard laws and develop a skewed reality. These are the words of Carter Monk, not mine.”

“So a skewed reality caused the Human Federation?” asked Yagoda.

“No, most Earthians were sane enough to ignore the propaganda, but the powerless Federation pleaded to the Xans, and the Xans took the internet vote as evidence of the collective thought of all human beings. The Xans talked about war, so the Human Federation convinced many more people to vote for them and remove the governments of Earth out of fear. All this happened within the course of one-hundred and thirty Earth years. After that, it was easy to rid humans of their own history since we lived such short lives.”

“You’re saying, the Ai-consort told you that.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Yagoda turned to his people and took a few deep breaths from his oxygen mask.

“If the robot is right, then now more than ever we need to demand the eradication of the Human Federation.”

The citizens raised their fists and shouted in agreement. One of them lifted Alexander’s wrist up to the ceiling and the rest began to clap.

“We need more of these.” Yagoda glanced at the gun then looked at Kimiora. “The robot could tell us how to make more. Make sure you get it all.”

The girl nodded and continued celebrating with the others.

Alex couldn’t get himself to smile at anyone. His eyes looked for Sadie, but she kept staring at the floor. The more quiet she was, the more he noticed her presence. Then a tear twinkled by the corner of her eye and he couldn’t take it anymore.

The Earthian dodged the men and women who tried to meet their savior and rushed toward the clone girl. But before he touched her arm, Kimiora threw herself at him, leaving time for Sadie to disappear.

“I never thanked you for all your help.” Kimiora nibbled his ear, and he was once again hypnotized by her scent.

Their lips searched for one another, then Alex let go of her.

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“This won’t hurt one bit.” Kimiora made a small cut on the side of Cam’s neck with a surgical knife. She moved a synthetic brown muscle-like material, exposing hundreds of thin cables.

“I know.” The robot was sitting on a wooden chair with his hands on his thighs. “I’m not human. I can’t feel pain.”

“What I mean is, I won’t fry your circuits.”

“I am not concerned.”

The woman connected a cable to the back of a panel, then peeled the other end with the same knife. She poured a jelly substance over it and introduced the cable into the opened wound.

“Is this your home?” Cam observed the colorless living room around him.

“No. Good thing I have enough Sagittarian bitcoins saved to rent a place.” She stood in front of the panel and tapped her fingers on it.

When the room went silent, rapid knocking sounds startled Kimiora.

“What—? Who—?” She walked toward the door.

As soon as she unlocked it, Sadie pushed herself through and ran toward Cam.

“You will not take my property without asking me again, you hear me?”

“Relax, it won’t damage his basic functions,” Kimiora rolled her eyes.

“What about all other functions? You unhook him right now!” yelled Sadie.

Alex walked inside the new cabin.

“Hey, Sadie, can I talk to you?”

“Tell her to let Cam go,” she gave him a firm reply as she looked for the end plug.

“What are you doing to him?” Alex frowned at Kimiora.

“I was trying to remove all the sexy trivia information, but don’t worry,” Kimiora addressed Sadie and began to unhook Cam. “I’m done. Doing that is pretty much impossible unless you play the actual game.”

“Why? Is it encrypted?”

“The questions and answers are in the second temporal threader in the stomach. That means it does not store the information. It takes a set of actions, words, and circumstances to trigger it. Even if I opened his stomach, I won’t find anything.”

She shined an ultraviolet light on Cam’s neck and his skin merged back together. 

Cam smiled at the three humans in front of him. “So, who’s ready to play sexy trivia?”

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Sadie, Kimiora, and Alex sat in the middle of the cabin’s living room. They glanced at the robot, then at themselves, but never looked straight into each other’s eyes. The foliage outside gave shade to the tinted windows for a cooler and darker environment.

“We can take turns,” Kimiora rubbed her thighs.

“We,” Alex repeated. “I am not into s*x with male robots, thank you. You two, find other people to play.”

“But how will they know to ask the right questions?” asked Sadie.

"Just tell them what to ask. It’ll be like a script.”

“That will take a thousand astronomical years. You know that, right?” Kimiora addressed Alex.

“The thing is,” said Sadie, “when you ask Cam a question, his answers only lead to more improvised questions. It will take long if I do it. It will take longer if other people do it.”

Alex stared at Cam with narrowed eyes. The robot’s smile made him look stupid and unappealing. Sadie had terrible taste in...well, men. She could have chosen a more muscular, Earthian supermodel design. Instead, she went for the lean douchebag with the perfect ear to head size ratio and odd shiny hair, which, by the way, was always brushed to the same side.

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Kimiora crossed her legs and lowered one eyebrow at the carpeted floor as she thought of a better way to get Cam to spill the beans faster. The more she thought about having s*x, the more her mind opened to possibilities. Whatever idea went through her head was an excuse to save humanity.

She lengthened her neck. “We should all do it at the same time.”

“You mean together?” asked Alex.

“May I remind you that the two of us share the same DNA code?” added Sadie.

Kimiora’s brain rejected her own idea. However, her body took that as one more reason to do it. Her cheeks flushed, and she held her elbows to her rib cage.

“It’s not like you two haven’t done it before.” She raised her hands, and dropped them to her sides.

The words reminded Alex of the best night of his life. He wanted to scream at the moving pictures in his mind. At the same time he wanted to relive them.

“I’m in, but I’m not touching him.” He pointed at Cam.

“Excellent, you’ll change your mind about sexy trivia in no time,” replied the robot.

“How do you not care—” Sadie addressed Alexander.

“I don’t know you, okay?” Alex sat beside Kimiora. “I didn’t know my grandfather had married. I never thought to ask about it because no one ever mentioned you.”

“Wow, your grandfather must have really hated Sadie. I mean, Helen,” Kimiora thought out loud.

“Hated? Why?” asked Alex.

“According to the files, he reported me because I cheated on him.” Sadie lowered her eyes and played with her fingers.

“Adultery?”

“Can we play already?” Kimiora put her hair up in a ponytail.

Cam extended his arm in front of him and he projected a circle with an arrow in the center onto the floor.

“The horniest gets to start first,” he said.

The arrow began to spin, stopped and pointed at Kimiora. The circle glided toward her and the area underneath her glowed in red, but not as red as her face. The other two, sitting beside her, found some humor in her reaction, but avoided smiling.

“You have a question,” Cam addressed Kimiora.

“Can you tell me everything Carter Monk hid in your brain?” she asked.

“That’s not how sexy trivia works, beautiful,” laughed Cam. “You get one more try or you pay.”

Kimiora sighed, knowing that the game host would not give up the answers so easily.

“Okay, if the governments of Earth didn’t like the Federation, why didn’t they shut down the virtual sites that promoted it?”

The circle rotated toward Alex, and the area underneath him glowed green.

“Am I supposed to answer that?” Alex looked at the surrounding lights.

“Solar-flair, we should have told him to recite the game instructions,” said Sadie. “I didn’t know it was different with four people.”

“And Alexander of Singapore is the first one to lose five points,” said Cam.

“I didn’t know I had any points in the first place,” Alex grunted.

A score board with their names swooshed in from the center. Under Sadie’s and Kimiora’s names there were two number one-hundred and under Alexander’s there was a ninety-five.

“Moonlanding!”

The circle surrounded Sadie, making her roll her eyes at the purple glow. She dropped her elbow on her knee, and her jaw on the back of her hand. Her score board dropped to ninety-five.

Then the circle moved toward Cam, and the area underneath him lit up in orange.

“The Internet wasn’t controlled by one entity, but by multiple companies. Many of the people working at these companies were part of the Human Federation. Also, some government workers may have been members themselves. No one could stop the Internet.”

There was a beep and three wheels popped up in front of Kimiora. Each wheel had names of settings and s****l positions.

“To continue playing, the losers must be punished,” Cam winked.

Everyone’s eyeballs were soon to drop out of their sockets. Kimiora lowered her lips, then cringed at the wheels. She rotated each, and the players found themselves in a theater.

“Wow,” Alex whispered as the three of them stood up.

In front of them, a crowd began to clap. The words on the wheels created a sentence in front of Alexander and Sadie. The Earthian stared at the clone’s confused face then at Kimiora.

“Sorry, it didn’t have a peck-on-the-forehead option,” said Kimiora.

“Group s*x in a theater,” read Alex.

They turned to Kimiora with narrowed eyes. The girl gave them a smirk and crawled between them. She unbuttoned her blouse and kissed Alex’s upper lip. Her hypnotizing taste made him trace circles around her breasts.

“You don’t want to lose, don’t you?” Kimiora caressed under Sadie’s navel.

The clone girl frowned and crossed her arms.

“Don’t be shy. They’re not real.” Cam stood behind Sadie and folded her t-shirt over her breasts.

At the sight of Sadie’s bosom, Alex pushed Kimiora and jumped off the floor.

“Are there any more guns left in the ruins of Avery Five?”

Cam’s arms tightened around Sadie’s waist, and he sucked on her neck, making the girl gasp.

“Alexander, you don’t understand how the game works, do you?” Cam smirked. “Play and you can ask questions.”

Ashamed that there were four too many, Sadie forced her shirt over her breasts. Kimiora held Alex’s pants, and slipped her fingers up his thigh.

“Stop,” Sadie’s head filled with pressure as Kimiora traveled further up.

“I don’t care about your stupid game and you’re not touching the mother of my child again,” Alex addressed Cam.

He clenched his fists and yanked Kimiora's hand away.

“Are you kidding me?” Kimiora smacked the carpet.

Alex grunted and showed his lower teeth at the robot. His eyelids merged with his eyebrows. He opened his palms as wide as he could, then grasped Cam by his t-shirt. They found themselves back in the cabin's living room.

“You’re gonna tell me everything you know!”

“You must play—” Cam couldn’t finish the sentence as Alex buried his fist in his face. He propelled back and shattered a wooden table. The human broke a leg off the furniture and swung it against him. Cam rolled out of the perimeter, dodging the weapon, then grabbed the end, and hauled Alex down with him.

Alex was faster than him, so he locked him down and punched him again. Both girls ran toward them.

“Stop it, he’s an Ai,” said Kimiora. “He can’t help it.”

“He’s scrap metal. Scrap.” Alex brought his fist down but Cam stopped him and gave him a low blow onto his stomach.

Unable to breathe, Alex fell to the side and held his rib cage. But as soon as Cam stood up, he kicked him on the leg.

“Cam, go shut off!” Sadie pointed her finger at the sofa with a firm voice.

“Sadie, Alexander is out of control,” said Cam.

“I don’t care,” she barked as the robot sat on the sofa.

“He’s playing us, Sadie. The game is rigged. He never meant for us to win.” Alex rubbed his stomach.

“My father, Carter Monk, made it clear. I cannot break the rules of sexy trivia unless you pay me,” said Cam.

“The rules are a moonlanding joke.” Alex slowed his breathing and frowned at Cam’s statement. “What? Wha...you mean money?” He approached the sofa.

Sadie put her hand on his chest, trying to prevent another fight.

“Yes,” replied Cam.

“He did say something about getting paid earlier,” said Kimiora.

“What do you mean?” said Alex.

“So if we give you money, you will tell us everything we want to know,” Sadie addressed Cam.

“I will tell you everything Carter Monk wants you to know,” replied Cam.

“Okay, how many bitcoins? A million?” asked Alex.

“What will he do with money? He’s a robot,” said Kimiora.

Cam turned his head at her and smiled.

“I want one.”

“One? One Saggitarian bitcoin,” said Alex.

"One," said Cam.

“One...one...one American dollar." Alex gasped and ran around the messy room as he searched for his shirt. He pulled the cloth from under the sofa, and dug his fingers into its side pocket. The red paper rectangle was now more important than ever.

“It makes sense.” Sadie dropped beside Cam. “No one would have an American dollar. Carter Monk knew that whoever kept something like that had to know about the old world.”

Alex opened the red packet, pulled out one dollar, and handed it to Cam. The robot positioned the green paper under the light, then smiled.

“In God We Trust.” He folded the bill three times, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it.

He stood up and stepped in front of Alexander. He opened his mouth and began speaking with a different voice.

“The renegades thank you. You must end the Human Federation, but you are not alone. We have hidden an armament within Avery Five. The coordinates are 40.6892° North, 74.0445° West.”