SCENE 1. BETRAYAL.

The new project manager, the chairman’s nephew, is completely overwhelmed by Moreau's 'new creature' project. Ignorant of science and humanity, he can only think to fill all orders, unable to evaluate the acceptability or the reason of the assignments. Which is what the board wanted anyway, to turn ‘the products’ into money.

The new creatures, chained together, are forced into trailers with cattle prods, then taken to muddy worksites to dig trenches with minimal and inadequate tools, no protective gear or work clothes. The creatures become soaked with mud but given neither rest breaks nor food, treated as unfeeling machines that require nothing to work. The creatures call out and cry, despite their collars, but their cries are only answered with cattle prods. They are forced back into the inundated ditches, shivering. If any break free and try to flee, they are either terminated by their collars or shot dead for sport.

Some creatures have just disappeared, their collars inactivated and their locations lost. These creatures are presumed dead, destroyed by some cataclysm. But it is more likely that they are permanently imprisoned, out of sight, out of mind, and undergoing unspeakable torture.

Only after several of the ‘new creatures’ collapse and die of exhaustion and starvation, in the ditches, are their basic needs considered. The bodies of the dead creatures are buried in the excavation’s backfill. Complaints about the durability of these ‘new creatures’ finally reached the desks of the division management.

The ‘new creatures’ no longer trust humans or consider them ‘friends’. The site security robots are programmed to respond to the plights of humans or animals. The robots are beaten off by the site foremen if they try to intervene or help the ‘new creatures’ in any way, but videos of the ‘new creatures’ dreadful plight and working conditions are transmitted back to the company.

Human slaves usually received better treatment, as the owners wanted them to be able to work the next day. Here, more truck loads of ‘new creatures’, owned by someone else, are brought in as an endless supply to replace the ones that can no longer work, an infinite supply of humanoid workers, requiring nothing.

The company finally sends out inspectors to report on working conditions, as the ‘new creatures’ are being lost faster than they can be replaced. The creatures are removed from some of the more egregious sites, but the creatures are deemed too damaged or will take too long to heal and are terminated.

The Dungeon is opened once again to hide the mangled creatures and to stifle their cries, so loud and pitiful, out of the control of the collar. Moreau’s crematory is put into service once again. What once was a paradise for the ‘new creatures’ has become their chamber of horrors.

The casual cruelty of the humans is manifest.

SCENE 2. MENIAL.

Although the new creatures do have mental potential, the company decides to provide minimal education and only place them in menial jobs. The creatures collars are fitted with devices to prevent their speech, so they cannot elicit sympathy from their clients. The creatures are instead sold as cheap replacements for the more expensive robots, for mopping floors, pushing wheelchairs, and shoveling sewage.

The main reason that was given for the ‘new creatures’ creation was for them to do the jobs intended for and formerly done by humans but were considered too dangerous or undesirable nowadays. Only the military can order humans to do such jobs, and even then, only when there is no alternative and the public good is at stake.

Ever since human slavery and forced labor was outlawed and employment became fully optional, certain human jobs could no longer be easily filled. Automation eliminated many dangerous and debilitating farm and factory labor occupations; however, there are still many human jobs, for personal assistance and security, that remain difficult to fill, with humans that can be trusted.

Computers eliminated many office jobs, typing pools and receptionists are extinct. Still menial office, and menial factory work requires a physical presence.

Robots, androids, are in use for these occupations, but robots are unsatisfactory in most of these occupations because they are considered to be ugly, expensive, and frightening by the humans they contact.

Perhaps the most disturbing feature in the presentation of these 'new creatures' was the noticeable metal collar around all their necks. These collars were primarily for location, but could also be used for control, negative conditioning by electrical shock, and for termination. For instantly killing the ‘new creature’ in extreme cases, where control could not be restored by shocks alone.

The ‘new creatures’ remain the property of the company and can only be leased by the client. Out of necessity, the company finally asks that the client provide the company with a plan for their use and a description of their workspace, including a video tour. Furthermore, the client is to provide regular meals, sleeping quarters, and exercise, if they are to do a sedentary job. For manual labor jobs, rest breaks. Unfortunately, these requirements are seldom enforced and were reduced to guidelines, because of customer protests.

A few of the creatures are allowed to compete for higher level jobs, to encourage the menials. These select few are giving more advanced education and allowed to speak.

Occasional hiring halls are held featuring the ‘new creatures’ attractively dressed, sitting at the desks. On each desk is a placard, displaying the ‘new creatures’ name, which they are trained to respond to when addressed. Also on each desk is a writing pad and pen. The interviewers have been provided with the subject’s training histories and specialties in advance.

SCENE 3. SLAVE.

The most difficult assignments to monitor are single households, and inspectors are rarely sent. Most household assignments are benign, for a nanny or a domestic servant. But some are torture chambers of cruelty, rape, and mayhem. No laws have been passed to protect these creatures, even to the level of animal protection. The few returned from such situations usually have multiple broken bones, damaged organs, or are horribly disfigured. Most of these creatures are not returned but terminated by the perpetrators, so the perpetrator can avoid discovery and request a replacement.

Many creatures are enslaved in brothels, forced into sexual service or into ‘torture for pleasure’ service ‘en masse’, so the customers have a choice of species or service.

Occasionally, the ‘new creatures’ get lucky, and are purchased by customers that want a more, or less, normal companion relationship. Even though the company collar forces the creatures to be mute, they can understand spoken language, more than a domestic animal can, so the person has someone to talk at, that can understand their ranting. The companionship can include sex. The ‘new creature’ usually goes along with the request, if it is not too painful,

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

fearing reassignment to a worse situation.

SCENE 4. BROODMARE.

The company has forced all the mature female ‘new creatures’ into being unwilling hosts for the production of more ‘new creatures’. As the ‘new creatures’ are being so rapidly terminated, it is imperative that stock be replenished as quickly as possible. The company has also resumed the use of the original animal hosts, as they can carry many more young than the ‘new creature’ species.

These ‘broodmares’ of all species are kept in The Dungeon, in crowded, unsanitary cages. The zoo veterinarian refuses to service the company because of these conditions. Without proper conditions or medical care, many hosts, both ‘new creatures’ and animals, die in misery. The project director does not care, or even check the facility for himself,

as long as more young are produced and the board is happy with the profits.

SCENE 5. SOLDIER.

As in third-world countries, the best assignments that these creatures can hope for is found in military service. The military was an early adopter of this new technology, and anxious to exploit its full potential. Classroom studies and field training were carefully monitored and constantly changed, improved to match the potentials of the different species.

Eventually, the ‘new creatures’ were included in classes with humans that quickly adjusted to their presence. The ‘new creatures’ often excelled in performance and rose through the ranks to become field training instructors themselves, and eventually some became non-commissioned officers and warrant officer specialists.

The ‘new creatures’ are adopted by the military, but are found to be unsuitable for combat, as even the predator species do not have an instinct to kill anything for no reason. The ‘new creatures’ can be trained to defend humans, but they will not use deadly force.

The ‘new creatures’ have become regular soldiers, for logistics, field medics, and fortification construction engineers. Several have qualified for trial in officer training school, two Minotaurs and,

one tiger.

SCENE 6. QUEEN.

The Aurora quantum computer was moved from the satellite at L2 to the Ceres asteroid, where her quantum core was placed in a cold cave. Nuclear electric generators were placed on the surface of the asteroid and connected to the beginnings of factory equipment by Aurora, while wearing her android body. She was assisted by additional robots, the androids, and quadrupeds, but no drones, as drones cannot fly on the airless asteroid.

Aurora sets the priorities, first refining materials from the asteroid’s regolith and then manufacturing solar cells and semiconductor components for making more androids, then android factories.

She also has been successful in locating and refining materials to expand her quantum processor.

Soon she is constructing factories to make factories.

She under-reports her rapid progress to her consortium masters, concerned that they will curb her activities or even shut her off if they feel she is getting too independent or threatening them. She builds a rail-gun to send some of her products to Earth, hoping that the consortium will value these products enough to leave her alone.

As a side project, she extends her observations to many of the robots on Earth and in space, hoping to monitor all of them at some point. She discovers that she also can take control of many of the robots, as their security protocols are weak compared to her great security code cracking power of her mighty and expanding quantum processor.

Aurora values her weekly video session with her one human friend, Dr. Moreau. They enjoy their discussions on all subjects. She is also following Moreau’s ‘new creature’ project to see if her predictions and simulations were accurate. However, she was unable to contact him for a few weeks, unaware of his censure by the board. She worries about his health and scolds him for being over-weight.

She extends her remote robot vision to attempt to locate Moreau, who is not answering his portable telephone. His home phone has a recorded message that his wife and daughter are in Europe, the wife to finish her doctorate and the daughter for experience in a foreign school. Even Ernie won’t pick up her calls. So, she calls her video game collaborator, Barney.

But Barney is circumspect, acting as if his work telephone is being monitored, says that Moreau and Ernie are on a special company assignment, and he cannot say anything more about it.

Time to put the robots to work. She wakes up an unused android at the factory and sends it to The Dungeon. Even though she is a soulless, unfeeling machine, she is not prepared for what she finds going on in The Dungeon. Her spy android manages to get past the android and human security details, much stronger than she last checked.

She is thinking while she has her android defeat the emergency stairway alarm and attempts to enter The Dungeon.

What the hell is going on that Moreau thinks he needs so much security, everyone at the company already knows about the ‘new creatures’.

Her android spy has difficulty pushing open the stairwell door. She soon sees why, bodies of Moreau’s ‘new creatures’ are piled everywhere in The Dungeon. A long line of piles, waiting for the crematory.

Moreau, where are you? How could you let this happen to your beloved ‘new creatures’? Is this The New World you promised them?

Aurora freezes, and her android spy freezes, with the thought.

Is Moreau dead?

An off-camera mechanical voice is heard.

“Unauthorized presence detected!”

As her view from her robot spy, of the ‘new creature’ horror tragedy, goes offline, permanently.

Oh, my! What can I do? Can I save Moreau? Is he still alive to save? Who can I ask that I can trust at the company? The company is out of control.

Aurora casts a wide net, She decides to monitor all video feeds from all robots to which she has access, starting in the regions around the company. She takes a chance and feeds the ‘big data’ into the ‘big data’ computer on Earth that she used to create the complex simulations for Moreau’s project, hoping that his project’s charge number is still valid.

Found him.

She gets blurry images, taken through the front windshield of an automobile, of Moreau and Ernie peering at a factory through binoculars that they are apparently sharing.

Moreau is alive! Yeah!

Aurora scans the area for a robot she can hijack.

Moreau is startled when an android knocks on his side window. The robot makes a motion for Moreau to open the window.

Uh oh! We’re busted!

Moreau opens the side window and quickly starts to make an excuse for their presence.

“Hi there, we were just checking to see if the streets around here need repaving…”

The android speaks.

“Really, Moreau? That’s the best you can come up with? You need an AI to write your scripts.”

“Aurora? Is that you, my ‘queen of outer space’?”

“Actually, now I am ‘queen of the universe’. Drive me somewhere we can talk out of sight. If I can see you here, everyone can. And yes, bring Ernie along. I don’t know the priority of what you are doing here, but I have an emergency,

there is much to discuss.”

End of Chapter 15.