Robots of Avery Five.

Chapter 8

Sitting on a large ottoman in the Clemens & Sal office building, Alex couldn’t remember how he got there. He was wearing a navy-colored shirt with zippers on its shoulders. Its length went over his knees, covering his black tight pants. The bottom of the pants had interlaced ribbons, characteristic of the Greek renaissance. It was one of his best business outfits; still he could not recall when he put it on.

Is there any blood on me?

The coldness of the black metal impregnated his palms. He closed his fists, hiding the invisible gun. Ears raised as he wondered what had happened to it. His brain screamed at him: he had taken the life of another man. Only four people had walked in front of him and they didn’t need to see the gun to know that he was a murderer. He gazed through the window, having almost made eye contact with a woman who talked into her arm comm.

Can they tell what I’ve become? Do they know what I am capable of doing?

Traces of dirt in one of his fingernails caused him mild panic. He stabbed under it, trying to get rid of it.

“Mr. Singapore.” Sal stood beside him.

“Yes.” Alexander jumped up and crossed his hands behind his back.

“This is Dr. Gan Emal Mectra. You will be working together.” The woman turned to a very tall Xan creature behind her.

Dr. Mectra was bipedal, a result of his integration within human society. His darker peach complexity was the only way to know he was a male.

Xan, in his language, meant ‘shell people.’ A name given after their bald shell-like heads of varied carved designs. Although the species had thicker bone frames, their strength never surpassed that of an average human. The Xans that migrated to human planets ended up taking jobs in the mathematics and science fields only.

“Dr. Mectra.” Alexander put his palm on his forehead then extended the same hand toward the Xan.

Dr. Mectra mimicked the action.

“I see you know our customs, Mr. Singapore.” His S’s sounded more like Z’s.

“I left a couple of Xan friends in Florida, Earth.” The human smiled. “But I’m not sure I understand. I don’t need help with the development of zRNA. Its creation should be straightforward.”

“Yes, I believed the same thing,” replied Sal, “but it’s come to my attention that you do not have any credentials.”

Alexander swallowed with no significant facial reactions.

“Did you think we would not look into your background, Mr. Singapore?” the old woman added.

The Earthian tilted his head.

“Your father might own the largest pharmaceutical corporation in the Milky Way galaxy, but you have no qualifications. I don’t know what Dr. Hammond of Singapore was thinking when he sent us his little boy. It makes me question his reliability.”

“It’s true.” Alexander partly cursed his father in his head. What made him think this was going to work? “I didn’t study much science in school. Hell, I was done after graduating high school, but I was my grandfather’s pupil since I was eight. And my father himself taught me the art of business. If you want to make money, you’ll have to trust this twenty year-old Earthian boy.”

Sal sighed and pressed her lips together. “That speech was unnecessary, Mr. Singapore. I’ve already spoken to your father and he has agreed to Dr. Mectra’s collaboration. Excuse me.” She nodded and left.

“It’s all right,” said Dr. Mectra. “I completely understand. I turned fifty Earth years last week and I’m still having to prove to my parents that I’m mature enough to live on my own.”

“Right, ’cause we’re so close in age.” Alexander looked down at his shoes and cleared his throat. “Listen, Dr. Mectra, I was thinking about doing some animal testing before we get zRNA to market. We’ve already done that on Earth but a certified test in Avery Five would convince Avers to buy it.”

“But I’m not sure if you know that at Clemens & Sal we have found methods that are more efficient and less cruel than animal testing,” said the Xan. 

“Such as?” Alexander frowned. 

Dr. Mectra jerked his head and Alex followed him down the long hallway.

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Inside Ms. Stone’s office there was no desk. Her favorite place to sit on was her Cleopatra seat near the full size glass window. She loved staring at the busy city while working on helping lovers find each other. Yet, today she was pacing after her worries.

Sadie wiped her tongue with a handkerchief before entering her boss’s office. She was trying to get rid of the taste of white sand and hoping it didn’t make her breath smell. She shoved the thin cloth in her pant’s pocket and took another step inside.

A stress relief gas ball had splattered its walls in light pink.

“Where have you been and where’s Alexander?” Ms. Stone’s eyeballs were popping out of their sockets.

Sadie frowned at the red roses and butterflies appearing on the wall. “He wasn’t there when I woke up. And I left you a message I wasn’t feeling well, remember?”

“Awful time to disappear, Raleigh. The Census and Population Department is issuing a terrorist warning to the planets in the Federation. They’ve told a driftline of Earthians—my main source of income—to return home. The moons of Avery could fall on me right now and I wouldn’t feel a thing.”

Ms. Stone rested her forehead on her palms and closed her eyes. Then the carpeted floor began growing the greenest of grass. A slow tune played, and a white sphere of light warmed up the room. The walls turned into waterfalls.

“I’m so sorry. We will figure it out. I’m sure this will not be permanent.” The image of the dead hunter creeped into Sadie’s mind, giving her goosebumps. “They will find these terrorists and make them pay. In the meantime, if there’s anything I can do—”

Ms. Stone raised her head, then pulled Sadie’s arm closer, removing all space between them.

“Yes, there might be something you can do.” She brushed Sadie’s silver strands to reveal her neck.

Sadie held her breath, regretting her statement. She moved her locks over her shoulders and took a step back. “We could organize another event, like a strongman contest. This time it will be open to anyone who wants to show their support.”

“That’s fine.” The older woman traced her finger down Sadie’s cleavage.

The girl slapped Ms. Stone’s hand away. “I thought we were done. Your husband would not allow this.”

“Mr. Stone is tending to his whores in Cancri. Don’t let that be a concern. Remember, you work for me. If you lose this job, what else will you do?”

“Please, I—” The girl hugged herself.

“You owe me, Ms. Raleigh.” Ms. Stone squeezed Sadie’s jaw. “If it wasn’t for me, you would be a dirty nasty clone from Eerie. Is that who you want to be? ’Cause I can let you go right now.”

Sadie shook her head, making Ms. Stone smile. The boss guided her jaw toward the Cleopatra chair and lifted her skirt. She kissed the pale girl’s neck while spreading her knees apart. She pulled the girl’s head toward her groin, letting her well-hidden thickness out. The woman’s shaft engorged, aiming at the girl’s lips.

“Do what you do best, darling.” The middle-aged woman pointed at her erection. 

The young girl swallowed and looked away, feeling the woman’s fingers on her abdomen.

“Did you miss us?” asked her boss.

“No.” The assistant gagged until she couldn’t hold her stomach any longer. She shoved her boss’s hips away and let her gastric remains spread out in front of her.

Having never seen a person throw up, Ms. Stone frowned at the specs of white sand and stomach acid on her shoes. Nothing should have come out of Sadie if the only thing she had consumed was the metabolic pill.

Sadie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and covered her nose from the putrid smell. She looked at the waterfalls, and ran toward them out of the office.

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The five moons of Avery were habitable little planets of similar characteristics. Interestingly, the Aver government didn’t use them for the same purpose. Their surface comprised piles of trash.

From the space shuttle’s window, Eerie looked like a regular celestial body. Green, blue, brown and white glowed under the remnants of a week long hurricane. Alexander left his seat and stood beside Dr. Mectra, who opened a bottle of the metabolic pills and took one.

“This can’t be legal,” said Alexander after Dr. Mectra explained their plans. “How did Clemens & Sal get the Human Federation to let them do human trials in Eerie?”

“It wasn’t just C&S. Don’t forget, Mr. Singapore, clones aren’t legal humans. The Aver government allows for scientific experiments on them because they benefit both parties. Many humans come to Eerie and offer hefty sums of bitcoins to find maids and caregivers. We will pay clones for their contribution to science. It’s not illegal if they consent to it.”

The craft trembled around them and metal creaked.

“We have arrived.” A door slid open behind Dr. Mectra.

The two scientists exited the spacecraft and walked on a pathway toward a building. The wind moved the rain in all directions as other vehicles landed. They stomped their feet in front of a back door and another Xan guided them inside.

“Welcome, Dr. Mectra and who is your human associate?” The Xan placed her hand on her forehead and extended her arm in front of her.

“Alexander of Singapore,” Alexander reciprocated the greeting.

They entered an open hall that had men and women in helmets, holding long modern black weapons. At the center, robots scanned ten clones and scuffled them through different entrances. Through a large glass window, the Aver bourgeoise pointed and whispered amongst themselves.

“Convict D8055,” a voice thundered from the ceiling, “you have been selected. Please, present yourself in front of an Ai-scanner.”

A teenage girl jumped and hugged the boy beside her, then skipped toward a robot.

“We have a surplus of children,” said the female Xan. “But the storm has worsened orphanage conditions, so the clones reduced their prices.”

“As long as they are healthy, we would like to—” replied Dr. Mectra.

“Dr. Mectra, we’re not taking children.” Alexander raised his eyebrows at a shivering young boy.

The doctor nodded, showing Alexander into a waiting room with many rows of chairs. There was a woman sitting on the floor, picking on a large scab under her knee. Two young girls cuddled each other on the metallic seats. A legless man wrapped an infected cut on his arm with a bloody cloth. Everyone seemed to have never met a comb in their lives.

“Mr. Singapore, are you familiar with the life of a clone?” Dr. Mectra took him away from the waiting room crowd.

“Yes, clones are ex convicts of the Human Federation,” said Alex. 

“Such a simple explanation, yet I’m not sure you know what it means.”

Offended, Alexander lowered his gaze and lifted his ears. He brought his chin up and huffed.

“When a citizen of the Human Federation commits a crime, they are fined or sent to prison. Unforgivable crimes such as murder, terrorism, adultery, religion, and speaking against the law grant a cloning sentence.” The Xan ignored Alexander’s reaction. “Those children out there are clones of adults who committed horrendous atrocities.”

“Yeah, but they don’t remember what they did,” responded the human. He began whispering. “Clones are repugnant, but we don’t have the right to put children through something they don’t understand.”

“These children will grow up in Eerie in the most inhuman conditions. Seventy percent of them will lose a limb by the age of sixty Aver years.” Dr. Mectra clenched his teeth. “Do you know what they feel when we put drugs in their systems? They feel lucky.” 

Alexander was drawn to the sound of footsteps of a woman entering the waiting room. She could have been about Sadie’s age. Her ash-blonde hair was almost as silver as hers; her lips were black; her bare legs were full of burn scars. His eyes followed her until she sat down on the chair and turned a bottle of Met pills upside down over her palm. Only one dropped.

“Hey, kid, can I have one?” The woman picking her scab stood up.

“Sorry, this is my last one.” The girl quivered and brought her fists to her chest.

“But I haven’t had any in three days.”

“Sorry, I can’t.”

The hungry clone slapped the girl’s hand before it reached her mouth, making the burned victim furious. The legless man crawled away from the scene while chairs flung over his head. Two officers yelled and began beating both women down to the ground. Another one grabbed a startled Alexander, and pulled him away from the danger zone.