Back in Victoria, we landed at the military part of the airport. The soldiers were very interested in my air car, but B.S.O.D. shooed them away. “Looking allowed, but at a distance!”
I told her “Thanks for guarding my ride. I don’t have another one of this type. Yet.”
“So you could build more? Interesting! I have noticed how effective the guns were against the Mack drones.”
Before we could discuss the Explorer in more detail, a small bus arrived to take us to SHOCKS. Once there, we proceeded straight to the lab where we had interrogated the first Model 42. B.S.O.D. asked me “How do we proceed with this?” and held the Mack brain with Shaver Bitch’s, or Amanda’s, consciousness out.
“I suggest we install it into the old 42 body for the interview. Just let me cut certain connections first, then we don’t need the nanite annihilation field or Benjamin running his suppression program. But I’ll delay taking down the overseer software for a bit. Let her feel its effects first.”
Which was arguably a bit cruel and unusual. But B.S.O.D. and the scientists reluctantly agreed and soon Shaver Bitch/Amanda was installed.
As we switched her on, she ran through the same boot sequence I had seen before from Arina. In a monotone, mechanical voice she said
“Error 404, body not found. Rebooting…”
After a short pause, she continued in a more normal voice:
“Diagnosis: Diagnosis interfaces unavailable.”
“Weapon systems: Flame Arrow unavailable. Vaporizing Blast unavailable.”
“Mobility: Motoric interface not present, movement impossible.”
“Status: Unit not operational.”
Then her consciousness returned and she started ranting like the other Mack girls did immediately after activation. But it was soon interrupted by her original personality coming through.
“Your end is nigh. We are the futurr… NOOO. I’m a person not a puppet… Invasion is imminent. Prepare to di… I want out I want out!”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“Interesting” I remarked. “The other Mack girls were unable to deviate from their scripts like that.”
Before us, Amanda started to twitch uncontrollably from her neck upwards. Below the neck, her body was thoroughly disabled.
B.S.O.D. shuddered and looked like she was about to hurl. Radiatíng disgust, she told me “This is horrible. She may be a homicidal maniac, but still, have some mercy. Shut down that enslavement software!”
I had Elya do so.
Amanda relaxed somewhat, but seemed to not quite be there anymore. She had the vacant stare of someone in deep shock.
B.S.O.D. started asking questions in a gentle tone that I had not expected from her. It did not match her usual analytic demeanor. Soon, she had calmed Amanda down to the point where she was ready to talk.
Haltingly, Amanda began to speak. “I alway was so disgusted with my own body. Sweaty and gross. The worst was when I had to use the toilet, it was almost unbearable.
“Then I met the Omnissiah and he promised me salvation from all the filth in the form of a shiny, clean and flawless new shell, if I would just do him a few favors. It soon turned out that he wanted others to be freed from their stinky bodies as well, how could I decline?
“But it all went to shit the first time we tried to save someone. She did not understand we wanted to help her, instead she broke free and punched Klaus in the gut so he vomited blood. We restrained her for her own good, but then the others appeared and beat us up.”
From her narrative, I recognized the incident where they had captured Ladybug to forcibly roboticize her. Klaus was obviously the same as Blood Puking Guy.
B.S.O.D. asked “Say, how did you end up in the hands of the Macks yourself?”
Amanda answered “In an earlier audience with the Omnissiah, I saw how he hid a stack of papers from me, but a bit clumsily so I saw them anyway. After I got out on bail, I was devastated because my dream seemed to be unreachable. But maybe those papers could help me. So I broke into his apartment and retrieved the papers. What I found was the time and location for delivering a new acolyte. I saw the chance to become that acolyte and offered myself.”
A few questions later, we knew what else we needed to know. And nobody was sure what to do with Amanda, so she went into storage for the time being. I could not bring myself to care much. Even if she might have been more delusional than outright evil.
Early evening
I found Arina waiting for me at my shelter-cum-apartment. We greeted each other with a hug and I said “Sorry for neglecting you lately. I have let myself become caught up in other things.”
“I forgive you if you make it up to me. For starters, by letting me stay tonight. I love you so much!”
With a kiss, I replied “Yes please! And I love you too.”
Dinner was a short affair because I did not want to make Arina watch while being unable to partake. Then we went on to try other things. We started by slowly undressing each other and eventually landed in my bed together.
Of course I knew her body well, I had built it for her. But with Arina driving it, it became a different experience. What would have been a beautiful but lifeless doll became alive and caring, eagerly participating in the exchange of caresses.