

Alicia Artificial

Book two of the Biod series

Copyright 2016 A. Sumner

Published by A. Sumner at Smashwords

Revision 1.2

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Chapter 1

Doctor Kingsworth sat at his desk removing his glasses with a sigh. He didn't want to choose a new guardian for his precious daughter but he knew he must. He felt they were both in danger. He had been up all night thinking on his decision. The doctor picked up a manilla folder from his desk and went over the profile one last time. The young man pictured on the first page was an average looking twenty year old. He obviously didn't do a great deal of exercise and he was hardly handsome, but he wasn't unattractive for any particular reason either. His school reports indicated he was bright and full of potential, but lazy. One teacher even noted he was too much of a daydreamer. His computer teacher had written that Adam had the potential for genius if he could just maintain focus and follow through on his creative theories. Every teacher seemed to call him an unfocussed dreamer lacking motivation but capable of great things. The doctor picked up a photo of his younger self with his wife nursing their baby daughter. He spoke to the attractive golden haired woman in the picture saying "An unemployed looser, a dreamer, has potential, lacks motivation. Reminds me of myself at that age."

He had studied the profile over and over. It hadn't been hard to find a capable hacker willing to research Adam for a few hundred dollars. Among other things he had found old school reports, his resume, credit report and conducted a police check which came up clean. He even had a printout of sites Adam had visited on the internet. One or two of these sites caused the doctor a little concern as the father of an attractive eighteen year old girl like Alicia, especially if he was going to be watching over his treasured daughter. The doctor had to admit though that Alicia was a young adult now and Adam was only following the natural curiosity of any young single man. The doctor recalled having many of the same interests at that age. It wasn't the concern at the top of his priorities list though. He was just being the over protective father again who couldn't let go. Alicia was a big girl now and very smart. She could always protect herself in the event of anything improper. The role of guardian wasn't so much about protecting her chastity as it was about protecting her security and keeping her operational until all her idiosyncrasies were explained. There were still too many unexplained mysteries that even her father as the creator didn't fully understand. She could not be released freely into the word yet. Besides his little girl was all he had left. His beloved wife would be in prison for a few more years yet, and she could never be allowed near Alicia again. She was still fixated on seeing their daughter buried in the ground where she belonged to achieve peace. It was what nature intended.

The doctor placed the photo down and turned to his laptop. He clicked on an icon labelled 'DeBot 3' and loaded the file containing the morales and values matrix for the artificial intelligence (AI) used by the chat bot. He approved of what he read. The young man who wrote it was a little judgemental and opinionated, but the doctor liked that. There was some strength of character there. That would be needed to handle his princess. He agreed with the matrix that Adam had created in general. It showed not only genius, but depth and decency in his character as he instructed his chat bot how to respond with his own personal beliefs. It was a glimpse into his soul. The whole program was an inspiration. It was only an incomplete demonstration program in this early version, but the engine behind it was very impressive. The tailored language and database structure was nothing short of revolutionary. Even in this early version the foundation had been laid out for the program to rewrite it's own segments and evolve. It could learn and update it's own procedures and routines. It was even able to create new ones. Unfortunately the comments on the site where the doctor had downloaded the program were negative. None of them had seemed to grasp the seed the writer had shared with them. It wasn't a fully bug free commercial program yet, so the lazy and ignorant had not given it a fair chance. Doctor Kingsworth had given it plenty of chances. He had chatted with the writer and expanded on it. He had done repeated major rewrites many times and was now up to a version twelve. It still kept the original engine and structure though. He would have liked to send the original programmer a copy, but he was afraid the young Adam Winters might figure out too much as to the purpose of it.

Originally from the far north coast of Queensland, the doctor had discovered another contact of value in this area, so had sold up and quit his job to focus on his own research. They moved to the north coast of New South Wales. It was a large property just outside of a large town. They found it was quite peaceful on this rural property studded with trees. He erected a large shed and set up a laboratory inside. Alicia's illness was getting worse at that stage but she was still able to attend the local high school. He had hired a young nursing student to assist as her carer when her condition degraded.

After lunch today Kingsworth would meet Adam for the first time in person. He had invited the young man over under the pretence of a job interview, but in reality the choice was already made. A large yellow envelope containing the security device and fifteen thousand dollars cash was ready with his name already written on it. He was the only one the doctor would trust after his experience with an assistant that had disappointed him greatly due to his greed and degenerate ideals. There were plenty within his scientific circles that would be better qualified, but they were scientists, and as such were too curious. He couldn't trust them not to turn his daughter into a guinea pig to satisfy their insatiable curiosity. He needed someone with moral fibre who had enough knowledge to learn about and care for his creation, but not treat her like a scientist might.

When Adam proved trustworthy, he would be entrusted with another responsibility as well. The doctor opened a desk draw and was about to retrieve another folder when a bell chimed and a face appeared on his laptop. It was his mysterious advisor who called herself Ellan Elore from the Lorene Cybernetics Institute. She was a beautiful woman with long white hair and delicate features. Her voice was always soft and sweet. Ellan looked to be in her early to mid thirties but had assured the doctor once that she was much older. The doctor often wondered why she always wore a scarf tied around her head and wore sunglasses, but thought it best not to pry into her little eccentricities. She was an odd woman, but very knowledgeable. Her advice was often cryptic. She had however guided his work and helped him overcome many hurdles. The Kingsworth interface would never have worked without her input.

The woman's image asked "Have you chosen a guardian yet for just in case the worst should happen?" Kingsworth nodded and replied "Yes. He is no scientist and isn't driven by greed or power. He seems like a decent young man. Later today I will give him all the information." Ellan seemed satisfied as she continued saying "I am sorry I can not offer you more help. We are bound by policies and restrictions. We must limit our involvement in your affairs. Rest assured though that if the worst ever should happen, I will at least ensure this guardian takes custody of her." The woman paused for a moment looking troubled before asking "By the way doctor, have you heard anything about someone with a similar interface in your area recently. One of my people has gone missing near your area. I have sent two of my daughters to investigate."

Doctor Kingsworth was stunned and asked "I wasn't aware there were others. Is that how you are so knowledgeable about the interface?" Ellan nodded on the screen saying "Yes, I have been doing the same work as you, but for much longer. Very much longer. My interfaces are many times more advanced than yours, but they and their technology are not yet ready for public knowledge. I am hoping yours inherits the same gift as mine, but I don't want to offer false hope as yet. This is why I helped you develop your own primitive version. I have resources unavailable to you doctor. I can not share much of it sorry. Remember doctor that according to our deal, this technology was all your discovery. It needs your understanding and must use your resources. It is your responsibility. Consider it the price of my guidance. We do not desire the credit or the attention from the discovery. Such attention would only hamper our work."

Kingsworth replied "I understand and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you have done for my daughter and I. I am just sorry that my poor choice in an assistant has caused security concerns for us both." Ellan replied politely "It was not your fault. He poses little threat to my institute. One day I hope to visit with you and you will understand why. Just concern for own well being. Doctor Khall is a horrible and greedy man. He has become increasingly demented. We do not know what lengths he might go to." Looking ashamed Kingsworth replied "I agree. He didn't seem like that at first. Alicia's body could never have been repaired without him. It is good I kept much of the previous research from him though. Khall was a great help initially, but when he saw the potential for power and money, he changed. That's when I found out he was stealing all my research. I can not apologise enough for my lapse in judgement. I will deal with him somehow." Ellan smiled and remarked "I just hope he has not stolen enough to build an interface for himself. Combined with the muscle and nerve drugs he was developing, it could be disastrous if sold to the wrong people. His newer versions of the drug is a real threat to humanity." The sound of two girls arguing childishly could be heard in the background as Ellan sighed with resignation and said "Sorry about my daughters. I had better go. Take care doctor." Before Kingsworth could even respond Ellan was gone.

Kingsworth was startled at the sound of a chair creaking in front of his desk. He glanced around to find his daughter had snuck in and helped herself to a seat. Holding his hand to his chest he said "Stop doing that Alicia. You'll give your old dad a heart attack." He always found it annoying when she did that. Alicia was not only physically strong, but she could move very quickly and quietly with graceful agility. He looked at her noticing how much she looked like a younger version of her mother. She was eighteen years old now and it was hard to accept that this attractive young woman in front of him was no longer the little child they had raised. Neither was she the seriously ill girl slowly wasting away until she could no longer walk. Her brain had eventually started showing early stages of infection as well in the end. "How long have you been sitting there?" he asked. Alicia played with her long golden hair absently as she replied. "Just came in. Was that the mysterious Ellan woman you were talking to again? She's very cute." "Yes it was." the doctor replied before adding with a smile "Not that it's any of your business young lady."

He adopted a more serious tone before he continued saying "Alicia, I wanted to talk to you about a serious matter. If something ever happens to me, you will need a guardian, a carer. When your mother gets out of prison, she will probably still want to see you dead and buried. Doctor Khall was a major let down. His work on the synthetic steroid for your muscle and nerve repair was great, but he had twisted ambitions." Alicia interjected "Yeah he gave me the creeps. I bet he was a sicko perve or something. He always made me uncomfortable. It doesn't matter now daddy. That freak is gone. Nothing's going to happen to you. It'll be just us happily forever." The doctor shook his head. He didn't want to worry her with his true concerns for their safety. He continued saying "No Alicia, accidents happen. You never know. This is just in case. If something ever happens to me, I am going to employee this young man as my assistant and should the need arise to be your guardian." He slid the folder containing the profile across the desk.

Alicia browsed through the file quickly with a disinterested look and replied "It says this drop kick went to my high school. What a looser. No dad he looks like a total dork." Then she noticed something and her expression changed. She appeared to be a little excited for just a moment as she said "Wait....this is the guy. The DeBot guy. I didn't know that was him. We never talked at school. Different circles. This is the dude that wrote the engine and stuff that you based all your AI work on. I always wondered about him." She carelessly tossed the folder back onto the desk and looked disinterested again as she stated "It's your choice dad. I don't care. Nothing will happen so I might never need him anyway." The doctor knew that despite her words and expression she was really curious to know more about Adam. She always kept this cold and disinterested demeanour up. Kingsworth added "There's something else. Later today he is coming here. He thinks it's a job interview. I am going to tell him everything and give him the security device. I know he won't refuse my offer. He will be eager to accept. Before I do that though I need to talk to you." He paused regretting they hadn't had talked about this before. It was going to be harder now after almost two years of being activated. The doctor gulped nervously fearing how Alicia might react to the next bit of news. He struggled for the right words as he continued saying "I know I haven't explained a great deal about the intricacies of the interface. I just took care of things myself. I wanted you to live like a normal girl without all the details to bother you. You see it hasn't functioned quite as we expected. Well not like I had expected anyway. I suspect Ellan may have intended it this way. It's going to be difficult to explain and very difficult for you to understand and accept. Without your memories of being alive you haven't realised something yet, and I didn't believe either at first. You see..." They were suddenly interrupted by the doorbell.

The doctor rose to his feet and went to answer the door. Whoever it was their timing could not be worse. It was too early for his meeting with Adam, so he checked to make sure he still had his small calibre pistol in his pocket. He didn't even get the chance to pull it out as he was suddenly tackled from behind. Two large men held him down and began to tie his hands with a roll of tape. He yelled for Alicia to run. Ignoring the warning Alicia emerged from the office looking puzzled as to what was going on. Seeing the men she pounced on them and started punching and kicking at them. They were very strong. Stronger than Alicia with her enhanced abilities from Khall's drug. Soon she was on the floor being pinned down beside her father. She could see her father indicating something with his eyes. Looking down she saw the small pistol's butt sticking out from his pocket. He had only ever let her try it out once on a tree behind the shed, but she thought she remembered how to fire it. She twisted her wrist so her arm was free and rolled over grabbing the gun with all her speed and agility. She aimed at the closest man's head and closed her eyes as she squeezed the trigger. The weapon fired with a load bang and the man fell motionless. She aimed at the second man who was now wielding a large knife. He slashed wildly at the arm holding the gun as Alicia fired again. He was hit in the stomach. He slowly struggled to stand and started staggering to the front door. Alicia fired again hitting him in the back. He fell to his knees for a moment before falling on his face.

Alicia was proud of herself as she cheered excitedly "I killed them daddy. I got them both." "Good girl." her father replied in a strained voice. "Go find Winters. Get him to help you. Find happiness Alicia." Alicia looked at him and noticed a dark pool of blood steadily growing on his back. She peeled back the clothing to find a very large and very deep stab wound. Alicia put her hands firmly on the wound to maintain pressure and slow the bleeding, but it was too late. The doctor no longer had a pulse. Alicia held her father in her arms and cried uncontrollably. He was gone. Eventually she carried him to his bed and lay him there with a sheet over his body. Alicia placed the gun on the bedside table and sat on the side of the bed holding her father's hand. She didn't know what to do. She was truly alone. She screamed out in desperation "What do I do now interface?" She considered calling the police but was worried someone might discover her secret. She realised it wasn't safe here. These men were stronger than her and almost as fast. It seemed logical to assume that they must have had similar injections to what Doctor Khall had given her to counteract a degenerative illness in her own muscle and nervous systems. It had worked better than expected. She concluded that Khall must have sent them.

Alicia returned to the bodies and checked the first man's pockets but found nothing of interest. She went to check the second man, but he was gone. She followed the blood trail to the front door. As she stuck her head out the door Alicia heard an engine rev and tyres spin on the gravel driveway. She saw the white van speeding towards the front gate. Alicia knew she had to get out of there. She knew they would be back for her father's research. That would include her. Khall had always expressed the desire to run unnecessary and intrusive tests on her that her father would not allow. Doctor Kingsworth had kept a very wary eye on his assistant whenever he was near his daughter. Alicia returned to kneel beside her father's body and said "I will do as you instructed father. I will try to find happiness with the limited time I have left. I will try to achieve the goals set in my program like a real girl." It was times like this that she wished her father had weakened to her pleading and bought her a car. He had never even allowed her to learn how to drive believing she was a danger to other road users. Her father's car was being serviced in town and a taxi had dropped them back to the house just outside of town. She decided a taxi back to town would be her wisest choice. Alicia ran to her father's office and grabbed the envelope containing her security device and cash. She noticed the folder with Adam's profile was still sitting there so she took another look.

This Adam guy wasn't her idea of handsome, but he wasn't that bad either. She had admired the beliefs he had encoded in the AI program that controlled her. She had been curious to meet him one day to see what he was really like. Better yet he would no doubt have a car and was expected to arrive for an interview soon. Adam was someone her father was willing to share the truth with, so perhaps she would enlist his aid. There was a snag though. Alicia knew that some people couldn't quite appreciate her unique personality. In the short time that she had attended high school after her 'miracle recovery' she had never been able to keep friends for long. All the boys had been keen to be her friend, but they only wanted to use her so she had shot them all down earning herself the nickname of Ice Queen. She assumed the other girls were just jealous of her attractive looks and the attention thrust upon her. They weren't pleasant to her for long and always made it sound like it was Alicia's fault. She didn't need them. She didn't need friends. Alicia knew she was better than all of them anyway. She was superior in every way to a living human.

She wondered if Adam would be different. Would he see through the mask she wore to protect her secret? Was it really a mask anyway. It had to be. She wondered if she could risk opening up to someone and letting them into her life? It was going to be difficult for her, but she hoped that for once her AI wouldn't make her act like such a bitch to people. Even artificial girls registered negative feelings like pain and loneliness. She decided she would try to let Adam be her guardian. It had been her father's wish and he was her creator. She had no choice but to follow the commands he issued.

A knock on the door drew her attention. She hurriedly dragged the other body out of view from the doorway. Alicia opened the door to find a nervous looking Adam was standing there. He was a year or two older than his picture. He didn't look quite so nerdy now. The photo she had seen didn't do his deep brown eyes justice she thought. She realised her thoughts were straying off path as she asked "Are you that Adam Winters looser? The creator of DeBot?" Alicia bit her lip at calling him a looser. She hated the way things like that always came out of her mouth. Alicia was sure it had to be defence mechanism. Some routine inside her programming that kept other people getting too close. At least she had already claimed what she considered to be the dominant role. He was just a male and they were easy to control. She noticed Adam checking her out like a regular pervy schoolboy. It registered as disgusted to her. She didn't feel so bad calling him a looser now. Normally she liked the feeling of being desired. It gave her the upper hand, but not today. Her father had just died. She had just killed one man and a second was probably bleeding to death as they spoke, and here he was ogling her. It was something that happened to her frequently, but she wasn't in the mood now. Alicia thought maybe this jerk wasn't who she had hoped. No matter what, he was her ticket out of here and she had her father's commands to follow. Alicia noticed blood splattered near his feet from the man than that got away. "You got the job." she said handing over the envelope her father had prepared. She figured she should introduce herself quickly and get out of here before he noticed the large drips of blood on the ground. Questions and lengthy discussions were more than she felt like right now.

Alicia said quickly "I'm Alicia and my father left this for you. Two months cash in advance." Adam's eyes opened in awe as he peeked inside the envelope. Alicia figured by his no name brand jeans and crappy car that he was desperate for some cash. She had another tool to control him with now. Adam spluttered "What but........what am I supposed to do?" Alicia looked at him with an annoyed expression saying "Ummm....personal assistant. Now let's go. I'll fill you in with the details at the lab." She didn't have time to explain things to this idiot. She shoved past him rudely and proceeded to sit in the passenger seat of his car. It was disgusting and the floor was covered in rubbish. The dash was faded and cracked. Wires poked out from the centre console. It should have been at the wreckers, but at least it was transport.

Adam appeared confused looking at all the cash in the envelope. It was just money to Alicia so she didn't understand the hesitation. His motionless bewilderment was really bugging her now so she punched the horn. Adam jogged over and got in the driver's seat. "Where are we going?" he asked Alicia as they pulled away. She wondered if this guy was for real. Perhaps her father really hadn't told him anything at all about her. That meant she was going to have to explain everything. If only she came with a manual or operators guide. She replied in a short tone "Your lab of course." Adam stopped the car and explained "I don't have a lab sorry. I do my work from home." Alicia shot him an icy glare before responding "Then take me there stupid." Alicia crossed her arms looking sternly at the road ahead. The look on his face indicated he was debating something. He wasn't checking her out now. He looked more like he was deciding whether or not her ditch her right here.

As they drove towards the main road her urgency to leave her home faded. She thought about her father and how she was going to have to survive without him now. To make it worse he had dumped her with this looser. He didn't even have a lab and if this was how he kept his car she shuddered to think what his home must look like. Adam didn't even know what she was. Like most people he probably saw her as a real living girl. Despite checking her out like most men did, and obviously being broke, there was something comforting about him in his manner. Perhaps it was that he did as she said. Perhaps it was just someone being near. He was the one her father had chosen to trust, and he wasn't really unattractive. He seemed compliant and weak willed so far. Maybe she could trust him. He did have nice eyes.

Alicia shook her head to clear it. She didn't want to soften now and didn't know where these thoughts were coming from. She felt overloaded. It was all too much. She didn't want to think that way. Logic said he was a tool to be used. She should maintain the upper hand in this situation. If he tried anything she didn't approve of, she would crush every bone in his body easily. She had to focus on exerting her dominance. She would not allow herself to weaken and risk being mistreated or turned into a lab rat.

Alicia turned her head a little for a better look at him but he caught her glance. She hoped he didn't get the wrong idea and felt her cheeks flush suddenly. This wasn't good. She quickly spat out "This car sux. Don't you ever clean it?" Adam replied "I never have passengers so......." Alicia smirked confidently to herself. There was no way he had a girlfriend. No respectable woman would be caught dead being driven around in this filth. That just meant he would be even easier to manipulate with a flash of her smile, tilt of the head or twirl of her hair. If she had to there were always the pleading eyes, the tears, the innocent look that worked well on her father. It never took much. Adam wasn't much, but as far as she believed he was practically her slave now.

Chapter 2

As he drove the girl back his flat Adam was already wondering if he should have just stayed in bed today. He reflected on the events of the previous night wishing he had of rested his brain more. The night before meeting the beautiful Alicia with the horrible attitude Adam had gone to bed exhausted. It had been another night of programming and tinkering with with his electronics but achieving little. He decided it must be time for bed when his eyes stung too much to stay open. The sun would be up soon and he was getting clumsy from fatigue. "Goodnight DeBot." he said to the open laptop near where he had been working. "I'll try to do some more on your body tomorrow." he added. The face of an attractive blonde elf woman appeared on the screen and replied in a sultry female voice "Good night master. Sweet dreams." Adam smiled as he collapsed on the bed in his little flat.

If only DeBot Seven was real he thought, not just an artificial intelligence program. She was his pride and joy. After years of dabbling in failed robotics and unfinished programs, he had finally created an AI that could learn and re-write parts of itself to evolve. He had been working on this program since his early high school days. Eventually Adam had decided the only way to succeed was to break the program into many parts and emulate the first basic learning steps of any young creature. This meant creating his own programming language and it took a great deal of time. It was far from finished and full of bugs, but he was still happy with it so far. After posting version three online as a chat bot and personal assistant he had realised that many people couldn't appreciate the engine behind it. One man however was eager to learn more about the learning concept he had devised. He was a doctor moving to the local area and had eventually suggested they meet to discuss the offer of some work for a short period. Doctor Kingsworth was working on a modified version of Adam's AI engine and needed some help with the project. They had emailed back and forth for months now until he had requested Adam attend an interview to replace his assistant. He wanted Adam to interpret unexpected responses from his own version of the program.

The chance to earn some money would mean he could work more on DeBot, and perhaps Doctor Kingsworth had made improvements that he could use himself. Adam fantasised that one day he would finish his AI and be able to create a body for it, however deep down he knew it was just a dream. He wasn't that good at the electronics, or coming up with money for components. Adam never finished anything anyway. He was just a dreamer. His flat was littered in unfinished projects that were going to change the world, yet never got passed the first hurdle.

As Adam lay on the bed he wondered why he could never finish a project. Maybe it was because he couldn't remain focussed. He always had a new better idea to try out. He knew lack of funds was another major reason. He glanced around his little flat. It was an old one bedroom flat that was too small for all the junk he had. "This isn't the place to impress a girl." he muttered to himself. Adam had never bought a girl here and never thought he would get the chance, so why not live comfortably. Cleaning was pointless and girls terrified him. They liked men who were mature, confident and financially secure. He wasn't any of those things. He didn't think he looked worse than any other average twenty year old bloke, but his confidence was pathetic. Financially he was a disaster. He was unemployed and lived on social benefits. It was a desperate struggle just to pay the rent. Occasionally he was able to get simple labouring work, so he could buy more of his animes, toys and gadgets but it never lasted. He was a socially awkward dreamer who didn't like being around people. He couldn't seem to fit in anywhere.

Adam scanned his room as the first rays of the sun came through the window. Apart from the electrical junk, it was covered in anime posters and paraphernalia. The place was littered with manga and online game figurines. There were toys and even an imitation magical elvish sword hung near the door. One day he thought, one day he would make DeBot real. She would keep him company and accept him when a normal girl who saw all this childish junk would run. He had no doubt that he was just a looser with a capital 'L'.

It was almost lunch when Adam finally awoke. He checked the notepad he kept beside the bed. He often had ideas just before sleep and liked to write them down before forgetting them. There were no new scribbles today. He yawned saying "Good morning DeBot." There was no reply so he tried again without the yawn to confuse her voice recognition. Finally DeBot replied "Good morning master. You have no new email. You have a job interview at one p.m. Good luck." Adam looked at the clock. Two hours was plenty of time to get dressed and drive to the interview, not that he felt he had much chance of success. The doctor would most likely realise he has misconceived in his view of Adam. He sat at his desk looking at the interface he was working on. Immediately he realised it wasn't going to work. He'd forgotten to allow enough servo controllers, so this was another attempt that was destined to be scraped for parts to reuse. Deciding it was time to relax instead he grabbed some cold pizza and lay on the small lounge to watch some anime.

It was half past twelve when Adam realised the time. He hurriedly grabbed a clean shirt, favourite jeans and some socks that passed the smell test. As he rushed out the door he prayed his crappy little car had enough fuel to get to the interview and back. It was only a few miles out of town. Thankfully the gauge was just above empty, which was more than enough to his relief. It wasn't much of a car, and it was too under powered in his opinion, but it was cheap to buy and ran on fumes most of the time.

He pulled over as he left the main road for the gravel road leading to the address he was headed to. Adam knew it wasn't far, but wasn't sure about the country roads out of town. A huge gust of wind shook his car as a white van raced past leaving a huge cloud of dust in it's wake. "What a dickhead." Adam muttered at the ridiculous speed of the van heading back to town. When the dust cleared and he stopped choking he continued down the road. After a few bends he found the gate he was looking for with the correct number on it. The gate was open, so he drove up to the house. It was a neat brick home with a huge new shed behind it. Adam guessed this doctor was yet another of the rich people who liked to play weekend farmer. He wondered why there was no animals though. Most of these places at least had a few goats or some alpacas. Adam straightened his clothes and knocked on the door.

There was no answer at first but eventually a girl of around his own age opened the door. "Are you that Adam Winters looser? The creator of DeBot?" she asked. Adam gritted his teeth at the girl's attitude and insult. It was nothing he hadn't heard before. Still it was a sucky way to greet someone. He nodded and couldn't help noticing how gorgeous this girl was. She had sparkling blue eyes, long golden hair and a perfect body. Her skirt showed off an amazing pair of legs. He could see now why she she felt she could afford to get away with the revolting attitude. Her face looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. He scolding himself for checking her out so obviously. This was a time to act professional and business like, not perve on the doctor's daughter or whoever she was.

The girl looked him up and down appraisingly. She didn't seem overly impressed with what she saw. "You got the job." she said handing him a large yellow envelope. "I'm Alicia and my father left this for you. Two months cash in advance." she stated. Adam's eyes opened in awe as he peeked inside the envelope. It was full of hundred dollar and fifty dollar notes. It was thousands. He looked at the girl who was putting a handbag over her shoulder and asked "What but........what am I supposed to do?" Alicia looked at him seeming annoyed and replied "Ummm....personal assistant. Now lets go. I'll fill you in with the details at the lab." With that the girl shoved past him rudely and proceeded to sit in the passenger seat of his car. Adam was baffled. He looked again at the envelope. That was a lot of money for someone like him. As the horn from his car beeped he decided he better just play along for now and take her to this lab she mentioned. He didn't like this girl's attitude, but it was so much money. "Where are we going?" Adam asked as they drove back through the gate. Alicia replied in a short tone "Your lab of course." Adam stopped the car and admitted "I don't have a lab sorry. I do my work from home." Alicia shot him an icy glare before responding with "Then take me there stupid." Alicia crossed her arms looking sternly at the road ahead. Adam decided that even though she was hot, this girl was a total bitch. He hoped this job wouldn't involve being around her much. He could really use that money though.

As they turned back onto the main road Adam glanced at the girl's face. She was still looking sternly at the road ahead, but he was sure he saw a tear roll down her cheek.

Noticing him watching her she quickly wiped her cheek and spat "This car sux. Don't you ever clean it?" Adam replied "I never have passengers so......." he trailed off unsure how to finish. He couldn't just admit he was a slob. Alicia just grunted in disgust. Adam thought to himself that if she thought the car was bad, she really wouldn't think much of his flat.

Adam pulled up on the street in front of his little flat. He climbed out and started up the path to his front door. Half way along he stopped and looked back to see where Alicia was. She was glaring at him in disgust and pointing at the car door. Adam muttered to himself "Surely the bitch doesn't expect me to open her door. She helped herself getting in so she can help herself getting out." He called back to the car "You coming?" and continued into his flat leaving the front door open for her. He quickly scurried around shoving the worst of the mess under the lounge or in the cupboard below the kitchen sink. His efforts didn't really make much difference to the overall mess.

When Alicia finally entered the flat she looked around with disdain before offering her judgement "You have to be kidding. What a rat hole." Adam replied in an offended tone "Well it's not like I was expecting company." He really didn't like this girl. He sat at his desk and decided to find out more about this job. He was beginning to have serious second thoughts already. "Take a seat." he offered pointing at the small lounge. As Alicia brushed some old manga off the lounge and sat, Adam thought she was a very attractive girl or at least would be if she lost that nasty air about her. It seemed odd that he didn't recognise her. She looked so familiar. Suddenly it came to him. Alicia had been a year below him in his final year at high school. If he remembered correctly she had some illness and ended up in a wheelchair. Soon after she was absent for a long time and missed half the year. When she returned after treatment she was miraculously recovered. He couldn't remember the full story but recalled that when she had returned all the boys were after her attention. She ignored them all, earning herself the nickname Ice Queen among other less polite things. That he could understand well.

Alicia cleared her throat and stated "My father has gone on an urgent business trip leaving me in charge of operations. He is more than just a doctor. He is a well renowned scientist specialising in neurological interfaces and more recently artificial intelligence. He left the company he worked for to further his research alone with his previous assistant. He wanted your help with the expansion and upkeep of an existing confidential project. He needed someone outside of the known scientific circles."

Adam was impressed. He loved reading the scientific updates on progress in the field of neural interfacing. Besides he was a big fan of anime and manga involving mecha, the giant fighting robots piloted by human brain signals. It was still very early days in these technologies, and the science behind it all was still in it's infancy. It was science fiction becoming reality as it had with many other now common inventions. Research was showing promising results. This encouraged and drove dreamers like Adam.

"Pay attention rat man." Alicia barked as Adam's mind was lost in fantasy. She continued explaining "My father developed your DeBot engine from version three to version twelve. He kept the project name the same in honour of your early work in the creation of the engine framework, language and database structure." Adam was blown away. He felt honoured as he asked "You mean he improved my program to a version twelve? I only just wrote a version seven for myself. He must have devoted a lot of time to it. It must be heaps different now. I'd love to see his ideas. Maybe combine them with mine. Can I see it?" Alicia looked him square in the eye with a serious look. "You're talking to it now."

Adam looked at her puzzled and gasped "What? No.... bull crap. What kind of a joke is this? I may not be a scientist, but I'm not that stupid." Alicia rose and knelt in front of his chair facing away from him. She parted her long golden hair at the base of her skull. Carefully she removed a flesh coloured rubber looking seal exposing a black implant. It was about an inch round and had two common types of networking socket in the centre. Adam began to think that this looked too real to be a joke. That implant was really buried in her skin. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her head just above the implant. "Can you feel the screws in my skull?" She asked. Adam grimaced as he replied "Yes I can." Alicia replaced the flesh coloured water seal and let her hair fall back into place. She went back to the lounge to continue her story while Adam sat lost and speechless.

Alicia continued explaining "I am artificial. I was killed by my mother two years ago. She couldn't watch me suffer any more as a degenerative illness ate away at my muscles and nerves. When my mind started to degenerate too, she smothered me with a pillow. She didn't want me to suffer any more and she didn't want my father to try his experiments on me to save me. The thought upset her. Dad wanted to re-animate my body while she considered that an offensive and a disgusting unnatural desecration. After my death father took my body to his lab, and long story short here I am. An AI installed in Alicia's dead body. This body serves as an organic peripheral."

Adam laughed in disbelief "So you're trying to tell me your a zombie?" He was suddenly knocked backwards as a pillow from the lounge smashed his face. Alicia was glaring at him in anger as she growled "Don't ever use that word around me. I am an AI interface controlling an organic body. Not a zombie, not a robot and not a cyborg. I am just me. My father's old assistant often called me a biod from some sci-fi book he had read, but I don't know what that is." Adam recalled the term and said "I remember that book. It was about a group of aliens or something with replicated organic bodies that were controlled in the same way you described."

Adam didn't believe a single word of any of this. He sat deep in thought for a moment trying to decide which of the many questions he wanted to ask first. Alicia was now giving herself a tour of the little flat inspecting everything. She looked very unamused by it all. He decided to first ask a simple question asking "Are you real? Like are you alive?" Alicia replied over her shoulder while she looked at an anime poster of a cat girl with impossibly large breasts. "Of course I'm real mister perve. You just touched me didn't you? As for alive.... I am no more alive than the version seven program on your laptop which I am connected to now by the way with wireless networking. You should use a password you know. Anyway my body emulates life, but under the interface's control. I am just an animated sack of meat." Adam shook his head. "No. That's just ridiculous." he argued and added "Look at you. You are a living, young, kind of attractive woman. I think that maybe you've been brainwashed or something. You seem to believe all this sci-fi bull. If even half of what you say is true, wouldn't you be better with doctors or scientists?"

Alicia looked at him like he was stupid and said "I have no desire to be poked, probed or experimented on. Besides that my program forbids it. My mother is in prison and wants me buried in the ground. My father recently fired his assistant because he felt that he had a share of ownership over me. He wanted to do terrible things, and will try to claim me now my father is gone away. If my existence was to come to light, my fate would be sealed by whoever wins the claim of ownership. You programmed the desire for self preservation so you should already know. I was made to ease my father's pain over the loss of his daughter, not to be someone's property." Adam suggested "But your father can protect you can't he?" Alicia sat back on the lounge looking about to cry as she replied "No, not any more. In truth he has abandoned me in a way. He has gone on his trip leaving me with you as my guardi...I mean personal assisted."

Adam felt he better not pursue that issue further from the look on her face. Instead he asked "So who owns you?" Alicia replied "Who owns you stupid? I have no owner. I answer to my program and that is all. I was made to be a daughter, not a slave. I only have a carer to be responsible for me, eliminate bugs if they should occur, protect me and so forth."

It all dawned on Adam now as he asked "So you think that's me right? I'm not a personal assistant. You expect me to be your servant and minder?" Alicia consider his words and suggested "More like a carer. Whoever my father entrusted with the key is my carer, personal assistant and I suppose my guardian." "What key?" Adam asked. Alicia nodded to the envelope of money on the desk saying "It's in there. He wanted you to have it before he left." Searching through the bundles of cash Adam fished out a black wristband from the bottom. It looked like nothing but a cheap plastic band with a watch battery cover on the bottom of it. "What is it?" he asked. Alicia explained in a bored tone "It's a security device. You can't access my program without it. It decodes and relays the networking signal."

Adam placed the device on his wrist to see if anything happened. Nothing changed. This was getting ridiculous. It was all too unbelievable, so he decided to have some fun with it. He asked Alicia with a sly smirk "This gives my control over you right?" Alicia replied, "In a way, yes. Developer access." Adam smirked slyly as he chuckled "Lets test it then. Take your blouse off." Alicia froze and slowly undid the top button on her blouse as she stepped closer to him. His jaw dropped as she undid a second button, still inching closer. "Stop." he yelled, but it was too late. Alicia's hand already had too much momentum to halt the slap. Adam was flung backwards from his chair to land on the floor facing the ceiling. He had never been hit that hard in his life. Alicia stood over him saying "Serves you right perve. I wasn't going to do it. My body is my business. Software is yours. Next time I wont hold back." Adam slowly stood rubbing his cheek. She was extremely strong but claimed to be holding back? "Sorry" he said "I did say stop. I wouldn't really take advantage like that." Alicia responded "I know. You wrote my core moral conduct. My father left that alone apart from some new additions. I know you aren't that cheap and disgusting deep down. What you wrote was your true beliefs. Your version of right and wrong. It reflects who you truly are inside." She smiled and added "Your just creepy on the surface."

After straightening the fallen desk chair he sat and decided to clarify the situation saying "So if I understand right, you believe that you are an AI who's father abandoned her, whose mother wants her dead, and is paranoid about doctors, scientists and your father's old assistant? Oh and you believe I am now your....guardian?" Alicia nodded and replied "Not as stupid as you look. Maybe my father's choice wasn't that terrible." This was all too much for Adam. He shook his head unable to accept it all. "So what's your next step? " he asked. That was all that concerned him now. Alicia looked at him and replied "Well first we need to do some shopping. We need decent food and I need more clothes. I didn't have time to pack. Next you should clean this rat hole from top to bottom. You can sleep on the lounge. After cleaning you can ....." Adam cut her off yelling "Stop. What are you on about. You aren't planning on staying here are you, in this rat hole as you call it?" Alicia looked at him curiously and replied "Yes, you accepted the money. You have a lounge to sleep on." "No." Adam said angrily adding "I mean you aren't staying with me. It's too small and you hate it. Jokes over. You're going home right?" He placed the wristband back in the envelope and held it out to her saying "Enough."

Alicia had hoped it wouldn't come to this but she buried her face in her hands as she burst into tears. Adam felt instantly guilty. He couldn't bear seeing a girl cry. It made him cringe. Alicia looked up at him with a pathetic expression on her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pleaded "So you wont help me? I have nobody out there. My friends didn't really like me. My mother wants me buried. My father is gone. I can't make new friends because my AI still needs some training." She looked pleadingly into Adam's eyes and begged "Please, my father chose you. He left me in your care as the creator of my original software design. I know my program makes me a tiny bit difficult, maybe even a little unpleasant. I think it's a self defence routine to stop anyone getting too close and finding out what I am or taking advantage. I can learn. I can read all your program's reactions and stuff maybe. Will you really throw me away like trash?"

He couldn't refuse the pleading of those beautiful blue eyes glistening with tears. He caved in saying "I don't know what's going on or believe any of it. It seems you do though. You can have the lounge for a while ok, but only until you figure something out. Deal?" Alicia nodded and smiled thanking him. She felt she had lost a little ground turning to the tears ploy, but it worked. Adam went back to his desk and put his head in his hands. He felt he was going to regret this and wondered if she had just played him. There were still so many gaps in her story and so many questions to ask.

When he heard the shower running Adam breathed a sigh of relief that he had some alone time. He grabbed the wristband, and slapped it on. He decided to investigate with his laptop. Sure enough the band came up as a new network connection named 'ALICIA'. He opened the connection and saw dozens of other folders inside. A few he recognised as his work, but most he didn't. One executable seemed to be a diagnostics tool, so he decided to start with that. He had no idea what he was looking at when the program loaded. A column on one side had a list of various body parts, so he clicked on the audio test button. Instantly he could hear the shower running from the speakers on his desk. He could here Alicia muttering something unintelligible to herself in the shower. Adam was amused at the thought of the bitchy girl muttering to herself. He closed the window thinking that was a neat trick. He noticed the words 'Optical link test' on the list and wondered if he should try that out of curiosity. Why not he decided. He was shocked as he saw the Alicia's feet appear as she rubbed them with soap. He grinned and muttered to himself "This might become worth watching."

He couldn't do it though. It was wrong to invade her privacy, so he quit the program before anything good appeared. No matter what she claimed to be she was still a girl to him and deserved her modesty and respect as such.

Eventually Alicia emerged from the shower and grabbed her handbag. It seemed she had no idea that he had tapped her signal much to his relief. She left the flat saying "Let's go shopping." Grabbed some of the cash he chased after her curious to learn more about this girl. She had some strange tech hidden on her somewhere. He didn't really feel like driving and asked her if she wanted to, seeing as he had no idea where she planned to go. She refused saying she wasn't allowed to drive in case something malfunctioned. It seemed Adam had just become her reluctant chauffeur as well. He did enjoy the stop at the garage though. He had always wondered what the fuel gauge looked like on the full mark. It wasn't something he had ever seen since he owned the car.

Shopping with Alicia was a very unpleasant experience. She was bossy, bitchy and demanding as she reeked havoc on her credit card. The groceries she wanted were soon done and she bought Adam a large selection of cleaning chemicals. Next she hit the clothing stores. Adam was starting to get hungry and exhausted after lugging all her goods back to the car and returning to find her in some other store. He wanted to go home many times, but she wouldn't let him. She did however buy them a large family bucket of fried chicken on the way home, which pleased Adam very much. He savoured the smell all the way back to the flat.

The chicken feast on the lounge in front of the TV was the best meal Adam had eaten in ages. After dinner he played one his favourite anime shows. Having never seen one before, Alicia seemed curious about it and regularly interrupted him asking many lame questions and offering her opinions. His view of her was starting to soften a little as he started to yawn. He decided it must be just his satiated stomach and exhaustion. He drifted off to sleep on the lounge leaving Alicia to watch TV on her own. A few hours later he awoke. Alicia was asleep now laying on the lounge with her head on his shoulder. Adam was surprised. She looked like a different person in her sleep. A much nicer person. She seemed so peaceful. It was hard to believe it was the same girl. Adam carefully stood up and gently lay her head on a pillow. He climbed into his own bed and returned to sleep. Around midnight he stirred as something bumped the bed. He rolled over to find Alicia snuggled in on the far edge. She looked like a child seeking shelter from a storm. Her eyes opened halfway and she muttered "Program says this is safe. Better for my back and warmer. Just keep your hands to yourself perve or I'll rip them off." She closed her eyes again and fell back to sleep. Adam was to nervous and self concious to get back to sleep for hours. Now he really couldn't make any sense of this girl. Was she the horrible girl or the insecure frightened child? Whatever she was she definitely was not some AI program.

His question was answered at five in the morning when Alicia poured a glass of water on his face. "Jogging." She demanded shaking his body with her foot. "No way." Adam moaned rolling over. Alicia lifted the bed with one arm until he rolled off. Her face was contorted with disgust as she noticed some old porno mags that were hidden under the bed. "You disgusting perverted pig." she said in with disdain. "I think I would rather go alone. I don't need you watching me and getting all creepy." "Whatever, just go." Adam muttered climbing back into the dry side of the bed. Just as he thought that he may have judged her too harshly, he was now certain. He hated her so much.

Chapter 3

Alicia had only jogged a block when she realised the less pleasant side of her nature had been surfacing again unnecessarily. She sat at a bus stop to think for a while. Why did she always act this way to everyone except her father. She was always nice to him, so she must of had the capacity at least. She knew it had to be some programming glitch. That was when she realised it must be a bug created by the idiot who was supposed to be watching over her. He wrote the basis for her program. Logically, it was all his fault. She continued jogging now that she didn't register any more of that horrible guilt. It was all the pervy looser's fault. Still she had enjoyed eating the food with him watching his silly cartoons. She felt safe laying beside him. Her guard had slipped a little. She would have to watch that.

A few blocks later she realised that even though nothing was her fault, it might be useful to stay in Adam's good books. Something about having him hate her didn't gel with her logic. It wasn't on her list of desirable relationship states. Other people meant nothing to her, but for some reason he did. Perhaps it was the potential of what she could use him for. Perhaps it was because her father had chosen him. Neither seemed like the fully correct answer. They were true, but their was something else that made no sense. Whatever it was he would be easier to control if she could make him like her.

As Alicia passed a house being rebuilt she spotted a group of workmen checking her out from across the street. She held her stomach in and stuck her chest out. With head held up proudly she checked to see if they were still gawking at her. They were practically drooling. She grinned as she decided she had just the tool to make him like her and do whatever she said. At the next turn she stopped and asked an old lady walking a dog how far it was to the shops. She hadn't really paid any attention when Adam had driven the day before. Alicia quickened her pace. A plan was forming. Adam was practically her puppet already. She would wrap him around her little finger. She would crush that unexpected defiant streak.

Adam had decided he couldn't sleep on the other side of the bed. Cursing the bossy bitch Alicia he flipped the mattress up to dry against the window and went to his laptop. He asked DeBot without really expecting an answer "Why is that girl such a bitch?" The elf lady on the screen replied "Perhaps because she can get away with it. Is she attractive?" Adam had forgotten that long ago he had programmed responses to such questions. He replied "Yes, she is very beautiful." The elf replied "Women who are attractive are often spoilt with attention. They can sometimes get away with having an arrogant or nasty personality. They believe their appearance makes them superior to others. They are used to getting what they desire based on looks alone." Adam muttered "I must have been on a real downer the night I taught you that."

He went to the kitchen to prepare some cinnamon toast and grab a bottle of cola. DeBot was right. Alicia was arrogant and spoilt. She was probably a daddy's little princess. She was a bitch at school as well, but still had the boys after her. Well he wasn't prepared to sell out. She was nice to look at, but that wasn't enough. She would never date a looser like him anyway. Really she had nothing to offer him except some paid work. He wasn't going to put up with her horrible personality. In fact as her guardian or whatever, it should probably be his duty to try and combat her crappy attitude. He smiled to himself. He wasn't going to be influenced by her beautiful blue eyes, long golden hair or perfect curves. He just hoped he had the will power. When he had found girl's appealing in the past he would do anything for them like a mindless idiot, not that he ever got anywhere with them after. Adam was not about to used. Not this time.

When Alicia finally returned carrying a small bag she demanded he get ready to take her to the beach. "No." he replied flatly. "I thought I was paid to be a guardian or carer. Not a chauffeur." he argued. Alicia growled at him and yelled "I told you. You're my personal assist. You accepted the cash. We're going in five minutes." Adam hated yelling. There was something in her eyes he couldn't resist though. He couldn't decide if it was his fear of her temper or the fact he couldn't think straight when he looked in her eyes. Either way she aroused him and distracted his thoughts. His fortitude weakened as he cowered and said "Ok, I suppose I do love the beach." Alicia added with a sneer "Of course. You can perve on real girls instead of your stupid posters and magazines." Alicia instantly regretted saying that. It was a bad start to her plan. Adam looked a little hurt. She quickly added, "Lunch is on me ok?" "Whatever." Adam muttered finding some beach towels in the linen cupboard. He was upset, but it wasn't her words that had done it. He was disappointed in himself for how quickly he had crumbled after being so adamant that he was going to be strong.

Alicia quickly raced into bathroom and changed into her new swimsuit. She checked herself in the mirror and made sure her subtle make-up was just right. She had purposely picked a one piece swimsuit with a low cut front and high leg cut. It exposed most of her back which suited her plan. A bikini would have been too much for her comfort. She felt self concious and nervous as it was. Alicia wasn't used to being so revealing but it was a guaranteed winner in her opinion. It didn't seem to matter as much if it was only for him to see. She quickly put her skirt and blouse back on over the top. The perve would be eating out of her hand the minute he sees it. It was more than that though. It would satisfy something else inside her as well. It wasn't just the desire for attention and power of him. It was a desire for his attention specifically. That baffled her. He didn't quite fit any of the groups she normally categorised people into. Her father was her father, strangers were zero ranked nobodies, friends were low ranked acquaintances of potential minor use, but when she thought about him she was just confused. He scored high on importance, but she disliked some things about him. She was controlling him, but not completely.

He made no attempts to impress her at all, but she liked other qualities about him from his programming work. It made her head hurt thinking about it. She hated him, but she liked him too. She concluded that it must be something he encoded in her original program that it couldn't fully hate him. An unfair little modification. A programmer's over-ride. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the car horn. She slowly walked out and got in the car ignoring Adam's dark looks and muttering under his breath. The drive across town was quite as they were both deep in thought. Adam was wishing he could afford to tell Alicia to take a hike and Alicia was scheming all the ways she could use her assets as tools to make him like her.

It was still bugging her that she couldn't clearly put into words why she wanted him to like her. She wanted to control him. She wanted less hostility from him. But what the hell else was it? There was something else she wanted from him but couldn't put a finger on. There was another reason. Something that ranked as a much higher level of desirability. She didn't understand. It was aggravating. When they finally parked across from the beach Adam grabbed a towel and got out leaving her behind. There weren't many people here which Alicia was thankful for. She knew she was going to be embarrassed when she stripped down to her swimsuit. She grabbed the towel and followed. She found where Adam had spread his towel on the sand and dumped his shirt with his keys, phone and wallet inside, but he had already gone for a swim. She spread her towel beside his and removed her skirt. She left the blouse on so she wouldn't burn and read the tube of sunscreen wishing she could use it now without ruining her scheme.

It wasn't long before Adam emerged from the surf. Something about his wet shirtless body stirred something inside her. It made her nervous and confused. His dirty blonde hair was slicked back exposing the rest of his face. He had a slight natural tan that she had never noticed. He wasn't muscular, but he wasn't skinny or fat either. "Just right." she murmured without thinking. She felt disarmed now like she had been derailed. She wasn't planned for this. He was more handsome than he had first appeared. "What is?" Adam asked, "What's just right?" Alicia turned red. She was sure he hadn't heard her. "Umm... the weather." she replied. 'That's our Aussie beaches for you." he replied as he stretched out on his towel.

Alicia had been caught off guard, but she was back on track now. She put her schemes into action. She stood in front of him and slowly removed her blouse. She tried to stand and pose as seductively as she could while she did it. "What do you think? " She asked turning slowly. "About what?" Adam replied. She looked down to see he was laying on his front now. He hadn't even been watching. "Nothing." she growled as she decided to move onto the next step. "Let's go for a swim?" she suggested trying to sound cheerful. "I just did. I'm fine for now thanks." Adam replied without even turning to face her. Alicia was getting irritated and snarled "I want you to come with me." "No." he refused, "You can swim can't you?" She was getting very peeved now as she spat "Of course I can swim idiot. I can swim better than you. I'm not useless." She realised it might have been wiser to say she couldn't and needed him with her, but it was too late now. "Strike two." she whispered to herself. She lay on her towel and tossed the sunscreen over to Adam. This would be third time lucky. The play he couldn't resist. She took a deep nervous breath and asked as politely as she could. "Would you mind rubbing some lotion on my back please." Adam glanced at her saying "I thought you said you weren't useless?" She suddenly noticed how deep brown his eyes were again. They were gorgeous, but he was focused on something behind her. She turned her head and saw a pair of beautiful young women in bikinis passing by. "You really are a pervert aren't you? " she said angrily. He chuckled as he replied "Hey I'm a normal healthy male following my natural instincts. Can't help nature." He chuckled as he added "Besides there's not much else to look at around here." Alicia was fuming now. Nobody had ever treated her like this. Men loved her. They begged for her attention constantly. She was so pissed off now. She slapped her own sunscreen on roughly and stormed off cursing under her breath. She was going to find a way to beat this unexpected challenge laid out in front of her.

Adam rolled over now that Alicia was stomping away and sat up. He grinned with self pride. It had been tough but he had held firm. It was difficult. He almost cracked at each of her textbook plays. He had seen each cliche ploy a number of times in his animes and such. He was wise to her attempts to use seduction as a tool to control him. He had resisted though and triumphed. The moment she had starting removing the blouse in a slow and seductive manner he had rolled over and pretended not see. He really would have rather watched. She was perhaps the most breathtaking girl he had ever met, but then she would have controlled him easily. She had already figured out his biggest weakness and was willing to do anything to play on it. He wondered then how much she must respect herself if she could use her sexuality to manipulate men. It was just another reason to dislike her.

The problem was he didn't fully dislike her. She was bossy, bitchy, controlling, rude, insulting, and probably someone he couldn't respect. She had something though other than her great looks. She had a look of innocence and naivety in her eyes sometimes. There were parts to her he didn't understand, but also parts he did understand which made him feel more confident dealing with her. She was somewhat readable except for her belief she was an AI. He started to wonder if this personality she displayed was the real her or just a mask. He glanced up to see her talking at a distance with a young man in a wetsuit planting his surfboard on the water's edge. He shook his head in disappointment and murmured, "No, she's just trouble. Don't soften and think anything positive of her." He lay back and closed his eyes.

It was only a minute when Adam heard Alicia screaming "No, keep away." He looked up and saw Alicia backing out into deeper water as the surfer slowly moved closer yelling insults and splashing water at her. Adam instinctively ran as fast as he could. As he spotted the board he quickly grabbed it and yelled out to the man approaching Alicia. "Hey you, leave her alone or I'll smash your board in half." The man swore and ran back to where Adam held his board ready to slam the tip into the firm wet sand. As he got close Adam carefully put the board down and backed away. The man snatched up his board and snarled "You touch my board again I'll snap you in half like a twig right." He pointed out to the water and snarled "Is that foul mouthed little tease out there with you?" Adam nodded and replied calmly "Yeah, I'm sorry, she has mental problems. Her pills are probably worn off." The man grunted and approached closer. He poked Adam in the chest and said "Just put a leash and a muzzle on that freaking bitch. If I ever see you near my board again, you're dead. Got it?" Adam nodded and apologised again as the man walked off. He let out a huge sigh of relief. Adam was sure he was about to have been beaten up.

Adam looked out over the waves to find where Alicia had disappeared to. He'd had enough. She could take the money back. He just wanted her out of his life now. He searched but couldn't see her? He started walking out into the waves and eventually saw her arm waving much further out. Her head was bobbing above the water occasionally as she struggled to gasp for air. He dove under the next wave and swam out to her. He tried to remember what he had learned about rescues in junior high wishing he hadn't treated it as a game. She was panicking so following what he remembered he approached her from behind. He managed to place his an arm under hers and across her chest. He slowly managed to get her back to the shallows where he could pick her up. Once clear of the water he placed her on her side positioned her arms and legs the way he remembered. Adam was busy cursing repeatedly and fussing over the position of her legs when Alicia opened an eye and grinned. She whispered to herself "Gotcha now." She started to cough and splutter. "Need air.....can't breath." she moaned. Adam placed a hand on either side of her face and said clearly so she could understand "I think I have to stick my fingers down your throat to clear the airways ok. You have to spew out the water or something. Don't panic." "No!" Alicia screamed. She started spluttering "I umm... I think I'm ok now." She wondered if this fool had ever even heard of mouth to mouth.

"Alright." Adam said "Can you sit up now?" She struggled to sit up with his arm supporting her. It felt comfortable. It felt natural unlike the touch of most people. She liked it. "Oh no." she muttered as she realised something. "What's wrong?" Adam asked sounding concerned. "Nothing." she replied, "I just.... don't worry. I think my interface is under stress. It should settle down soon."

Adam stood up saying "I thought you could swim." "I can." Alicia replied "I was just trying to keep away from that pervert. I wasn't watching and got hit by a big wave. I swallowed heaps of water. I remember it rolled me heaps of times. I think I must have hit my head. I still feel disorientated. Can you help me up?" Adam didn't move. He sounded serious as he asked "You're faking aren't you?" It was more of an accusation than question. Alicia was shocked. Couldn't she get anything past him. This had been her ultimate play. The surfer wasn't part of her original plan though. Initially she was going to fake a leg cramp, and when he went to give her mouth to mouth and felt sorry for her she was going to turn the tables making feel like a guilty perve. He would feel like he had to make it up to her. It went wrong when the passing surfer had commented on her chest and started trying to approach and engage her in conversation. She knew he just wanted a closer look at her and backed away. Adam had defended her from the creep though. He did rescue her in that regard, just not from drowning. She should have cancelled operations at that point, but he would be the hero then with no guilt to play on. She would be indebted to him. She couldn't have that.

She looked at Adam and held out her hand saying "No. You honestly and truly saved me. I swear. Thank you." Adam considered for a moment. Her eyes looked to be telling the truth. He decided to help her back to their towels just in case she was being honest. Alicia liked having his arm around her. She couldn't get enough of it. He truly did have a decent man and hero deep down inside him. The pervy looser really wasn't all there was to him. She didn't like what she was feeling. It scared her. She didn't get it at all, but for as long his arm was supporting her, she felt somehow safe and secure.

Alicia sat silently on the towels while Adam went to the car and got his bottle of cola. She was still sitting there deep in thought when he returned. Something was wrong with her. She looked vulnerable. "I think you're in shock." he said passing her the drink. She shrugged saying"The AI says I just need to sit for a while and let the adrenaline fade." Adam lay down on his towel and asked "Are you still going to insist on not being a real girl?" Alicia replied "I'm not a real girl. The real Alicia died two years ago. I just control her reanimated body. You've seen all the evidence." "Have it your way." Adam replied in exasperation. He was too exhausted to have this argument right now.

Ten minutes later Alicia leaned over and said "You might burn. Can I rub some sunscreen on you?" Adam never got burnt and recognised the new play she was try. She was relentless. "Whatever." he replied deciding this would be the test to be certain. In the ecchi animes he had watched the girls always ended up rubbing their boobs on the man's back. Once he felt that he would know for certain she was nothing but a cheap manipulating fraud. It never happened though. Instead she only used her hands in deep slow motions. It was just soothing and innocent. There was nothing fishy about it. In fact it was so nice and soothing he fell asleep.

Adam had been asleep for some time now. Alicia still kept rubbing and massaging him. There was something satisfying about it. Alicia wondered where the day had gone so wrong. He was meant to fall for her charms and worship her like young men always had. She would hold all the power and give them nothing in return as usual.

Her best plans had failed. Instead he had done to her what she had intended to do to him. He had resisted her attempts to make him desire her. He didn't even seem interested. He looked at the other girls though, and evidence at his flat proved he was straight. Then he had defended her from the surfer at risk of getting beat up and saved her when he believed she was drowning.

Strong feelings were building up inside her. She just wanted to be close to him. To share everything with him. It was so scary. It wasn't logical. She wanted to ignore it.

Alicia stood and poked him in the ribs with her foot. When he rolled over looking very annoyed she grunted "Lunch." and started back to the car. Adam was confused. He decided to research mental illness when he got home. This girl obviously had more wrong with her than just thinking she was a machine. He still couldn't work out why he found her so appealing. She was nothing but trouble that he didn't need.

They stopped for lunch at a small cafe that Alicia had chosen. As Alicia ate her salad and Adam ate his burger neither one spoke. Eventually the silence got to him and Adam asked "Why so quiet?" She replied in an annoyed voice "Just processing data. Leave me alone." Adam was sick of this crap. He put the last bit of the burger down and said "Look Alicia. You have to realise that you're a real girl. You just have enhancements. It's like some people have implants to help their heart, some people have implants so they can hear. You had an implant attached to your brain. That's all." Alicia gave him a piercing stare and spat back "They didn't die did they? Their mother didn't smother them with a pillow so they didn't have to suffer any more." Adam retorted "No, but people have died in surgery and been bought back." Alicia was shaking trying to hold back her temper as she snarled "They weren't dead for days were they and full of rigamortise. Don't you understand that people are just what's in their brain. Their memories, their feelings, it's all in there. The rest is an organic machine. I am an artificial intelligence based on what you created. It resides in my interface that my father built and installed in his dead daughter's brain. Can't you see any of it? Dead is dead. If you had a big enough computer you could copy me into a mechanical body. I still wouldn't be alive would I? You just see what looks like a real girl's body. It's just an animated sack of meat. A zombie as you called it. That's probably why you only looked at those other girls on the beach. Deep down you must know. That's it isn't it? You do know the truth and that's why I disgust you. You never looked at me once."

Adam shook his head saying "No that's not it. You're something new. Living proof that..." Alicia wasn't listening. She stormed out of the cafe in tears yelling "God I hate you so much you stupid moron." Onlookers were staring at him with disapproval. The man behind the counter called over to him "You can't upset a lady like that in my cafe. Hit the road mate before I call the cops." Adam left some money on the counter and left. Alicia was already in the car with her arms crossed, determined not to look at him.

When they got home Adam finally spoke to Alicia who pretended not to listen. He said "I'm going for a walk. I need some time to think. You're too unstable to just abandon, but I'm going to call Doctor Kingsworth no matter where he is. He can come get you or make other arrangements. Either way I want you gone by morning. Sorry but I have to insist. You're nothing but trouble." Before she could argue or turn on the tears again he stormed off holding his phone.

Alicia said nothing and went inside. She saw the laptop and decided to access it. She sat and connected via her own networking ability. Thankfully Adam felt little need for his own data security. That was good because Alicia new little about bypassing passwords and such. She had little interest in computers other then online shopping and what she learnt in her short time at school. Alicia sat on the lounge and closed her eyes to concentrate. She found the DeBot7 folder and looked at the recent chat history. There was a short chat dated with today's date so she opened it. She was surprised when she read that he had described her as 'very beautiful.' It made no sense. She had concluded that he thought her disgusting. It dawned on her then that if he did find her attractive, he was only acting to be disinterested. Was he onto her the whole time? So if it wasn't her looks then he must just hate her personality. She could understand why. She had never kept friends for long. The rest of the chat confirmed her suspicions. What DeBot had said were his thoughts originally. He must truly hate her, and that cut her deeply. The description from DeBot described her well.

Alicia decided then to ask Adam to change her personality. She wanted to be someone he liked. She felt he was the one to help fulfil the three main goals she wanted to achieve before she terminated. She needed him to protect her existence. Without someone keeping an eye on her, she may not last long enough to achieve any of her goals copying what she believed to be a normal girl's life. There was more though. She needed him for something besides keeping her functional should the need arise. There was something only he could offer that nobody else could. She couldn't control him as easily as other males, so she would have to become someone he wouldn't want to toss away. He wanted her gone by morning so she had to come up with a new plan. If that failed she would have to fall back on throwing herself at his mercy as a last resort. She wasn't ready to quit yet even if she had to loose her current personality.

When Adam finally walked back through the door he was fuming and slammed his phone on the desk. She knew he couldn't call her father. She grabbed his hand and said "Look. I'm sorry. I want you to like me, so I want you to change my personality." Adam shook his head and said "You are not a bloody program. Realise it. The manipulating and bitchiness is all you. It's not some line in a stupid program." He snatched his hand back and went for a shower. After that he went to his room ignoring her and slamming the door.

Alicia returned to the lounge. She decided that perhaps now was not a good time to talk. She sat and waited for him to calm down but he never emerged. She was registering huge amounts of pain. What was it? The thought of not being near him any more caused the pain to increase dramatically. She started to panic. She thought she was about to overload or crash. She was about to knock on his door but hesitated. She didn't want to push him. She lay on the lounge and tried to sleep but her program wouldn't stop running. There was so much going on. She didn't understand.

Chapter 4

Adam awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs cooking in the kitchen. It made him instantly hungry so he tossed back the covers as he launched from the bed. He found Alicia at the stove with a pan full of sizzling bacon and fried eggs. She smiled when she noticed him and greeted him with a cheery "Good morning." Adam stepped back suspiciously. He was very hungry. "Smells great." he said adding "I know you're going today and I hope you understand why, but I don't suppose theirs enough for two?" "No." Alicia replied with a happy smile. Adam's shoulders slumped in disappointment. He knew it was too much to hope for from her. She shoved a heaped plate at him saying "Enough for one. It's all yours. I don't eat a fried breakfast. Gotta watch the figure you know." She pointed at the bowl of cereal she had been eating while she cooked.

Alicia guided him to the lounge and sat him down. Adam was still in shock it looked delicious, and it was all for him. "Are you sure?" he asked. Alicia nodded saying "I know I may not have made the best first impression in the last few days. I wanted to show you the real me." Adam was in heaven. Good food and a hot girl being nice to him. This was a dream come true. Shame it was all a scam he could spot a mile away, but he decided to eat before calling her out. She had even started another anime for him to watch while he ate. Adam knew it was too good to be true. He was too suspicious after her behaviour from the previous day, but was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Alicia disappeared to the kitchen and returned with a cold glass of cola. As she leaned forward to hand it to him her blouse fell forward offering him a good down blouse glimpse of her cleavage and bra. When she saw him look and quickly turn his head away she placed a hand to her chest feigning coy embarrassment. Adam placed the plate and the drink down and stood saying in a serious tone "OK, the new personality was nice, the breakfast was great and the boobage was ..... not bad, but I'm not stupid." "What do you mean 'Not bad'?" Alicia spat angrily. She sat down defeated and sighed "It was worth a try. I got nothing left." Adam was glad she had dropped the act already as he asked "So what do you want Alicia? I explained why you can't stay." Alicia replied innocently "Nothing. I just want to tell you something. I'm going to tell you the truth. All of it. I need you for more reasons than I understand. It's confusing. I don't want you to hate me, but I feel that I should be open and honest with you." Adam nodded in agreement saying "Correct, but it's too late. Every time I start to....not hate you so much it turns out to be lie and you turn psycho again. I need the job, but you're too much." Alicia grabbed his hand with both of hers and looked him in the eye admitting "Actually there's a few things I need to tell you. Just listen ok. The first is more of an omission than a lie. My father has gone away but he isn't on a trip. He didn't really abandon me and dump me on you. It was his dying wish that I come to you. He couldn't trust anyone else. You see...." Adam felt her grip tighten. Before Alicia could continue they were suddenly distracted by a loud crunch sound from outside.

Adam cursed loudly. Just when it looked like she was going to open up and be honest. He thought it was probably just going to be another scam anyway so maybe it was good they were interrupted. He was terrified he would weaken eventually. In a way he wanted a good reason to. Something inside him kept making him to want to give her more chances. It disturbed him as he struggled to ignore the feeling. It would only cause pain in the end if he admitted the truth to himself.

Adam walked to the door with his fingers crossed hoping his car was ok after the loud crunch sound. He opened the door and saw two figures in military looking camo and legionnaire's caps. They were arguing beside an old blue hatchback that had just run up the back of his car. Surprisingly his car looked to be only slightly dented on the back and bumper but the bonnet on the blue car was a little buckled. The two people arguing were both young women or girls. Short girls he noted, especially the one with a large knapsack on her back and wearing sun glasses. The shorter girl would have barely been chest high to him. The other was taller but still not much over five foot. She was carrying a small white case. The uniforms worried him so he whispered to Alicia suggesting she hide. He listened trying to figure out who the strange girls were. The taller of the two girls was saying to the other "Emma is going to kill you." while the shorter girl was defending herself with "Well you try driving with this on your back. Better yet learn to drive yourself." Adam decided it was just a pair of idiots with poor fashion sense as he approached to closer inspect his car.

The shorter of the two saw him approach and said cheerfully "Hi, Adam, sorry about the car. I'm sure it'll just buff right out." There was no way the dent or buckle in the rear bumper was going to just buff out, but he wasn't overly concerned about it. It was still good enough to drive. He asked the girl "How did you know my name?" She stepped forward so he could see her clearly. Now they were both facing him he noticed they were very attractive girls despite the outfits. Apart from the height difference, they looked like twins. The taller girl stepped forward to talk saying "I am Gem and this little one is Fay." She indicated her shorter companion and said "We are from the Lorene Cybernetics Institute. We have come to check on Alicia Kingsworth." Adam noticed a shock of blue hair sticking out from under her cap, and her sparkling blue eyes seemed a little large. He knew little about women's make up so he dismissed it as a cosmetic illusion. They didn't wear any of the markings or insignia of military but he decided not to trust them yet, as much as it would be easier on him to just hand Alicia over.

Adam lied as he replied "Never heard of her sorry." The little one called Fay shook her head saying "I'm linked to her now silly. She's hiding in the shower with the curtain closed. Don't worry we mean her no harm." Adam was shocked as he stammered "Linked? Are you.....like her?" Fay was already walking inside as Gem motioned for him to follow. Once inside Gem paused looking at all Adam's posters and junk laying around. She smiled reflectively as she said to Fay "Does this place remind you of anyone?" "Very much." Fay answered looking at the anime figurines on the window sill. Alicia emerged from hiding. She looked like she had seen a ghost. Alicia sat on the lounge and asked Fay "Was that you.....networked to me? I thought I was the only one." Fay nodded saying "Yep, Fay and Gem from Lorene Cybernetics. Our mother was a friend of doctor Kingsworth. Don't worry we were just sent to check on you and make sure you had made it safely to your guardian. Sorry about your father. Mother says he was a good man, unlike that assistant Khall of his. Your father was part of our plans to gradually introduce new technology and make sure it didn't end up in the wrong hands. We wanted it to be his discovery to keep attention off us. He was like a middleman for us."

Alicia sat on the lounge and asked Fay "Your mother? Is that the Ellan woman he used to chat with online? You have the same face." Gem nodded saying "Yes, Ambassador Ellan Elore. She helped him design your interface based on ours. In return for mother's help your father was going to share the technology within the right circles to help others with the same illness that killed you. Eventually the technology would help many disabled with various problems. Khall was stealing his research and leased an old tannery where he set up his own lab. He already had investors interested in his latest super soldier drug. It's a a new version of the one that rebuilt your body. The new version causes you to turn into a violent psychopath eventually and we can't cure it. He's also trying to make interfaces but changed the shielding, so they are not as good. They work, but not like ours. We also suspect him of kidnapping one of our people that went missing. We were sent to investigate him, but mother asked as to check on you while we were out." Gem sat beside Alicia and opened the case she was carrying. She pulled out a probe of some sort on a long lead. "This is just a harmless scan." she reassured Alicia as she waved the probe in her face.

Figuring that these girls seemed to know everything Adam asked "So what exactly is she? Actually what are all of you?" Fay looked to Gem who shook her head before she explained "We are biods helping our mother. Guardians of our institute's technology. Alicia is a different type of biod. Well.....she's a crude knock off anyway. She uses more primitive technology, but based on the same concept and design." Adam replied looking smug. "I know what a biod is. I read the book once. I don't remember much about it, but that was all science fiction. Alicia is a real person." Gem looked surprised as she responded "The book is serving it's purpose then. Emma wrote the book in memory of someone she had lost. It was initially for her children. We made it public to help people get used to the idea of biods. You see they are real, and one day soon they will be part of the wider community. We wanted to reduce the shock affect and curiosity in a way. Gauge public opinion. I'm sure you've seen how the public reacts to anything new they don't understand. They panic and think the worst straight away. You probably had trouble accepting Alicia as a biod yourself. The government thought it was good idea anyway."

Taking a seat at his desk Adam tried to remember the rest of the story. He asked "So does that mean you expect me to believe the book was a true story? " Fay laughed "No of course not. There is no such things as aliens, or space cities. That's just ridiculous. The basic theory behind biods however is real. Just look at Alicia, or us."

Gem returned her probe to it's case and delivered her report stating "She is a simplified biod. She doesn't even have the capacity to hold a single training module. It is all Kingsworth's work with none of our components. No unauthorised data. No data regarding the missing biod. No memories prior to death. Her genetics is unchanged. Muscle and nerve tissue has been artificially boosted with Khall's synthetic steroid like the one we saw before. Not a dangerous level and not the new batch. I believe she does possess our same inherent design flaw though. She has malfunctioned shortly after activation." Gem leaned over and whispered something in Alicia's ear. Alicia sat bolt upright smiling and asked "For real? I can?" Gem nodded saying "I did."

Fay stood up and said cheerfully "Great news. So she's none of our concern. We can leave her alone. She has a guardian to watch over her, so we can be on our way. Sorry we can't explain more. We probably said too much already. Obviously this is all confidential, so we were never here." Adam spoke up saying "Wait. Look, I'm not a carer, babysitter or bodyguard. I can't even stand this girl most the time. She's just using and manipulating me. Why can't she go with you? I never agreed to all this. Actually I never agreed to anything. If she's malfunctioned as you say, take her with you, or at least fix her. Maybe make her more likeable if you can. She still thinks she isn't real."

They all heard Alicia growl "I am very likeable you jerk. I just hate loosers like you."

Gem placed a hand on his shoulder and said to him "We can not change her personality. She has malfunctioned already. It is a good thing. I am sure our mother meant for it. Please do not judge her so harshly. Ask yourself why she is like that. You may not need to change anything. Not all change requires a program. Find a connection with her heart. " Adam muttered in disappointment "I don't think she has one." Alicia glared at him and yelled "Stuff you bastard. You don't even know me. You don't even try to. I'm fine the way I am. Anyway I'm an AI, a program. Of course I don't have a heart you jerk." With that she ran to the bedroom in tears.

Gem took a last look at the flat and returned to the car. Fay stood before Adam shaking her head and said "Tsk, tsk. It always amazes me how men never see things for what they truly are. You never see the forest for the trees. Look closer dummy." With that she lifted her sunglasses, winked an oddly large purple eye at him and left.

As the car pulled away making a horrible tapping sound Adam noticed the window sill where some of his figurines had been sitting. They were gone. "Very strange girls." he muttered as he returned to the lounge. He could hear Alicia sobbing from his room and cursing as she punched the pillows. Feeling guilty he felt he should check on her. He poked his head in the door and asked if she was ok. A pillow flew into his face knocking him backwards. "Piss off jerk." was all the reply he got.

He went and sat at his desk feeling lousy. He probably had spoken a little too harshly.

Biod or not, she was still a girl, or at least acted like one. He remembered the key and wondered if he could wipe that part of her memory or cheer her up somehow. He didn't feel confident to change any settings without more investigation. Instead he switched on the audio link and listened to her sobbing. He felt he deserved the pain of hearing it as punishment. Soon he heard her muttering to herself "What the hell's wrong with that jerk. Doesn't he understand what it's like to be dead? How it feels to be a machine? I hate him. I hate him so much. Why did I bother trying to open up this morning? Dad chose him, but I hate him. That looser, jerk, perve. He's nobody." Adam shrank in his chair. He couldn't feel any worse. So she really was trying to open up to him this morning before they were interrupted. He heard her speaking softly to herself again saying "That's it. I'll go. I'll just go and hide till they catch me or I stop working. I hope he sees what they do to my body then. I hope he suffers from the guilt. Damn that jerk." Adam switched it off wondering how to fix this.

Soon he heard Alicia pass behind him and grab her handbag. "Stop, I'm sorry." Adam called out. She ignored him so he blocked the door. "Please." he pleaded "I really am sorry. This is a lot for me too you know. Let me make it up to you. Just talk like adults." Alicia stood in front him and ordered "Move you dishonourable jerk. I'm not 'likeable' remember. I don't have a heart and you think I'm just using you. It's obvious you hate me, so I'll just go and die under a bridge somewhere." She brushed him aside with the strength of two full grown men slamming him into the wall causing a large crack to appear. As she stepped through the door she turned and added sarcastically "Oh, and my boobs were just 'not bad'. At least their real not like your pervy posters and cartoons and crap."

By the time Adam regained his composure and checked himself for injuries, there was no sign of her in the street. Alicia was gone. He raced back to his desk and grabbed his car keys. For the rest of the day he checked every park, street and other place he thought she might go. He even checked under bridges. As night fell he drove out to her fathers house, but saw there were no lights on, so he turned back. He couldn't understand why he felt so responsible. She wasn't really his problem. It struck him then. She was alone in the world. No family she could be with, nobody she could trust. As unpleasant as he found her most the time, he was all she had. He was the one her father had told her to run to. He had rejected her though. Adam couldn't feel like a bigger heel than he did now.

When he got home Adam showered quickly to wake himself up a bit. He forced down some cold left over chicken. It was the chicken she had bought to thank him for helping her with the shopping. He nearly choked on it with guilt as he remembered. He tried accessing her with the key again, but she was still nowhere in range. Adam felt tears welling in his eyes as he cursed himself for abandoning a girl in need. He was disgusted in himself.

Eventually he made sure the door was unlocked just in case by some miracle she returned and went to his room to think on his horrible words. He lay there for hours feeling like the biggest jerk in the world. Around midnight he was awoken by a loud crash and thump from the lounge room. Adam bolted out to find Alicia laying face first on the floor. She wreaked of a smell he knew well from the days he could afford to go out. It was bourbon. An old man in a blue shirt stood in the doorway with his hand out. Adam looked at him quizzickly. "Cab fare." the man said before adding "And cleaning fee. Pukey here made a bloody mess." Adam gave the man two hundred dollars notes from the envelope and thanked him. He seemed content and turned to leave. "Oh I forgot." he added as he left "Her shopping is just outside the door." Adam picked up the carton of bourbon cans and placed it just inside. It was still cold and unopened.

He tried to help Alicia to the lounge but gagged at the smell of her. Looking close there were chunks in her hair. He couldn't leave her like this. He dragged her to the shower and made sure her interface seal was secure. Without looking he removed just her skirt and than ran the water. He pushed her under, soon noticing that leaving the blouse on was kind of pointless. It was fairly transparent when wet but at least her bra kept things reasonably concealed. Alicia sat cross legged in the shower moaning as Adam washed her hair and rinsed the vomit from her blouse. As he was nearly done she opened one eye looking at him and began to slur. "Stills a virrrrrgin. Yous rights. Nobodies wants me. No mans before I dies or gets hacksed to pieces and experimats on. Justs a orrible bitch." She started poking herself in the chest saying "Not bads, only not bads." Adam stopped her poking and held her hand saying "I'm sorry I lied. I didn't want to give you a big head. That's all. Honestly they are wonderful. Perfect." Alicia smiled at him in pride with her eyes closed and muttered "Thanks you. You wants a look?" "No." Adam forced himself to yell as she fumbled trying to unhook her bra. He stilled her hands again saying "You're drunk. You will only regret it later. Besides you don't like me remember." Alicia shook her head mumbling "Not true. I do like. Just can't show good. Yous all I got Adam. I wanteds to talk in this morning. Tell you truths. You saids 'not bad'." She began poking herself again.

There was another knock at the front door. Adam left Alicia to her poking and raced to see who it was. A middle aged woman in a low cut black top and pants was standing there. She smiled and asked "Did the girl make it home ok?" Adam replied "Yes she did thank you. Where was she?" The woman chuckled "She was at the pub I work at. She only had a few drinks and started flirting with all the men. One guy tried to cop a feel but she picked him up and threw him across the bar before he could. I figured she wasn't much of a drinker, or really as willing as she was trying to make out. I put her in a taxi and sent her to the address she said was home. She wouldn't leave till I agreed to sell her a carton for her guardian. She said it was an apology for him. The guys in that place would have had a young hottie like her for breakfast. They aren't the most respectable types. Anyway I just thought I better see if she made it safely. I was just on my way home after my shift." Adam thanked her and handed the woman two more hundred dollar notes. She refused, but he insisted saying "Thank you so much. You probably saved her from a really regrettable situation. She seems unharmed. I'll make sure she sleeps it off when she finishes her shower." Adam turned at the sound of a crash behind him. Alicia was stumbling towards them still in her wet blouse dripping water everywhere. "More drinks." she demanded. The woman laughed "Well it looks like you got your hands full." "Take care." she called to them both as she left.

Adam closed the door and guided Alicia to the lounge. He quickly grabbed the last dry towels from the cupboard and after wrapping one around her, started drying her hair. In the short time he had been away getting the towel Alicia had managed to grab a can from the carton by the door and open it. She had already sucked half of it down. Suddenly she stopped and sat upright. She rose to her feet and staggered to the door. Lifting the carton she handed it to Adam saying"I forgots. Sorry pressents for Adam." If she wasn't so drunk she could barely stand, he would have thought it a very sweet gesture. He thanked her and guided her to sit again so he could finishing drying her hair. She murmured to him "Touch me. Like real girl. Not machine." Adam ignored her as she drifted in and out of coherency. When he started brushing the knots out of her hair she was purring like a kitten with a huge smile on her face. It wasn't long before she was asleep. He carried her to his bed and removed the wet blouse with his eyes shut. He then placed her under the covers laying her on her side. Next he found an old bucket and sat it within reach.

He returned to the lounge and turned on the TV. Adam figured she must have forgiven him, but they really did need a serious talk. It seemed they both felt a need to open up to each other and explain their situation. He realised that he wasn't the only one overwhelmed by everything. Adam saw the carton on the floor and grabbed a can. It was going to be hell in the morning and he was terrified that she would kill him as soon as she awoke in just her bra and panties. He decided a can or two now might be a good idea.

Late in the morning the following day Adam awoke to a shrill voice screaming "What the hell?" Alicia was awake. He panicked and locked himself in the bathroom. He heard heavy footsteps stomp from the bedroom to the lounge room. Alicia swore as she tripped over the pyramid of empty cans Adam had piled up on the floor as he contemplated what fate the morning would hold for him. He listened at the door as Alicia muttered to herself. "Did I drink all that? No. Adam. Where is he? Did I kill him? Did I apologise? Did we...... Oh no. We must have, and I missed it. Wait, maybe he forced me." "I would never do that." Adam protested rushing back to the lounge room to defend himself adding "I swear I was nothing but a gentleman." He froze as he noticed Alicia was still in her underwear. Her hair was a complete fuzzy mess and he had to stop himself from laughing. Before he knew it she had pinned him to the floor and straddled him. She looked like a wild animal as she spoke to him through clenched teeth "So why was I in your bed half naked? " Adam was terrified by the look on her face and her incredible strength as he answered "You were drunk at some pub. A barmaid sent you home in a taxi after you tried picking up all the men in the bar. Your blouse was covered in spew and your hair was full of chunks so I showered you while you were still clothed and put you in my bed. I swear I never saw or touched anything. I slept on the lounge and had a few from the carton you said was a present." Alicia looked at him trying to decide if he was telling the truth. Eventually she decided he probably was. Besides her head was killing her.

"So you didn't take advantage, force me or a cop a feel? No perving while I was passed out and helpless? " Alicia demanded. Adam replied feeling offended "No, I wouldn't do that I didn't even see anything." He looked at her half naked body straddling him and added, "Well nothing more than I see now." Alicia suddenly realised she was still half naked and screamed as she jumped to her feet and ran back to the bedroom. Adam began picking up the cans and junk food wrappers that littered the floor. He was still feeling a little seedy himself. Alicia returned wearing one of his T-shirts. It was too big for her, so it covered everything well enough. She grabbed her clothes bag and was heading back to the bedroom when she seemingly changed her mind and stopped to sit at his desk instead. Adam came to see what she was doing as images flashed on the screen. It was blurry glimpses of her night out from her point of view.

It started with her looking at her own crying reflection in the local river. It then flashed images of men at the bar sitting beside her and crowding around her. Next was an image of a middle aged man reaching toward her chest. Alicia started to cringe as she saw the image, fearful of what would show next. Unexpectedly it showed a group of men backing away from her in fear as a pair of legs disappeared behind the bar. "You threw him for trying to feel you up." Adam explained. "The barmaid checked on you after her shift and told me the story. Later in the shower you were going on about still being a virgin, so you were very lucky." Alicia put her head down in shame. When she looked back to the screen Adam could see her face was red with embarrassment. She continued viewing her glimpses of memories. The next image showed her being led outside by the barmaid. Next she was sitting in the taxi nursing her carton. Next was a pool of vomit on the floor of the taxi with golden strands of hair dangling in it. Adam was feeling queezy now. He didn't need to see that on top of already feeling seedy. The images continued. The taxi driver yelling at her, a close up of the carpet in the main room of the flat, an image of her looking down in the shower. She was still wearing her blouse and noticed the soap bubbles everywhere. She paused for a moment deep in thought about that one before asking Adam "You swear I'm not going to have to kill you if I keep going?" "I swear. I wouldn't take advantage of you." he replied.

Next came a video clip rather than an image. She was looking at her chest poking it and Adam's voice could be heard saying "Honestly. They are wonderful. Perfect"

Alicia growled and said aloud "Next." The next clip showed Alicia looking at him saying "Wanna see?" Adam was looking away while his hands were trying to stop hers. "Next." Alicia barked, not that she needed to say the words aloud. Quickly the image flashed and dissappeared. Adam wasn't sure but it looked like Alicia was looking inside her blouse. Adam wasn't sure, but that was what he thought he had just glimpsed. Adam offered "Ummm... I left to answer the door about then. The barmaid." The next image was Adam's back in the doorway as he handed cash to the barmaid. Another video clip appeared showing their reflection in the TV as Adam brushed her hair. She was smiling happily with a towel wrapped around her. That was all there was in that time frame. Alicia sat silently looking at the blank monitor and finally said softly "Thank you." Then she added as an after thought "But your still a jerk." Adam was offended and could see the bitchy side coming back as he queried "Why am I a jerk now?" "It doesn't matter." she replied sadly.

Adam decided now wasn't the time to talk. Perhaps after lunch. He made them both sandwiches and took one to the foot of the bed where he found her sitting deep in thought. She took the plate he offered without a word and sat it on the bedside table. As he turned and started to leave he found that she was holding his shirt tail. "Sit." she demanded. Adam sat beside her as told. "Why didn't you touch me or even look at me? " She asked, "I might never have known. Is it because I'm ugly now you know what I am? Is it because I'm a zombie as you put it? Not a real girl. Do I repulse you? I'm not a REAL girl am I?" Adam could see the pain in her face as the questions emerged. It must be a terrible issue to deal with he thought. He put a reassuring hand on her closest shoulder hoping she wouldn't rip it off. He wasn't sure exactly how to explain it, but tried to be as honest as he could. He said compassionately "No. You're a real girl to me. A normal girl. I don't think of you as just a machine or a program. I really do find you physically attractive, very beautiful, but I haven't given your personality a fair chance yet. For that I am very sorry. I'm only just now starting to consider what you have to cope with. I just assumed you were a bitch without trying to understand you." Alicia raised her hand and placed it gently on top of his. He decided that was a good sign so he kept going and said "Besides it would be wrong. I couldn't do that to you as a girl who deserves respect and dignity. Whether you know about it or not, it's still wrong. I would know. If I had a daughter I wouldn't want some guy treating her that way. " Alicia was smiling now. He decided to finish with the biggest truth and admitted "The biggest reason of all is that I'm kind of a coward. Girls scare me. I have no confidence with them at all."

Alicia nodded and said "Thank you." She started weeping again, only this time she was smiling. She kissed him on the cheek and asked "So I'm not repulsive, or just a machine?" "No." Adam replied honestly, "You're just a normal beautiful girl with an implant. Still a very appealing young woman that any guy would want to know better." Alicia grabbed him by his shoulder and dragged him to the centre of the bed where she straddled him saying "Ok mister coward, prove it."

Chapter 5

Adam was starving by dinner time. Carefully he slid his arm out from under Alicia's blissfully sleeping head. He was careful not to wake her. He wasn't sure what came next. He was starting to realise he liked her a lot, but couldn't risk saying it. He was unsure how he felt exactly and wondered if it was even safe to like her. The afternoon had been an awkward and clumsy experience rather the magical experience he had imagined. Eventually they seemed to fall into sync but it took a lot of embarrassing misunderstandings and mistakes from each of them as they worked things out. They had both found it wasn't as simple and natural as they thought it would be. He was expecting a black eye from where she had accidentally elbowed him at one point. Adam realised that perhaps it was because their was no real spoken love. She had basically forced it to happen, not that he resisted. He pitied her. He was sure they were meant to lay there staring into each others eyes romantically or something afterwards instead of going to sleep exhausted. "Oh well." he muttered, "It was still pretty good. No regrets."

He tip toed quietly to the fridge and grabbed the sandwich he had meant to eat at lunch. He sat on the lounge and quietly turned the TV on. It wasn't long before Alicia walked through the bedroom door yawning and stretching. She looked triumphant as she took a seat beside him and helped herself to the other half of his sandwich. "Mental check list, 'V' card crossed out." she said making a cross sign in the air with her finger. "So what was next?" she muttered to herself. Adam felt disappointed as he finally understood. So that was all it was. It was just something to check off her 'things to do' list. She was using him again. "So how was it?" Alicia asked waiting expectantly with a grin on her face. Why did she feel the need to ask that he thought. Adam wasn't going to admit the truth to her now he felt used. Instead he replied "Well I'm sure you'll get better one day."

Alicia's grin was instantly replaced with an angry scowl as she growled "Hey listen Romeo, it took you a while to figure things out too. Maybe we just need more practice." "Practice?" Adam chuckled to himself before he replied with a bored expression "Nah, I'm good thanks. Meaningless encounters don't do much for me."

He closed his eyes waiting for the slap. Instead he was surprised to hear sobbing. Gingerly Adam opened one eye. He was about to apologise and admit the truth

when he remembered this crying thing was one of her control tools. One of the ways she manipulated him. He finished eating his half a sandwich ignoring her.

When he returned from taking the plate to the kitchen Alicia confronted him. She grabbed his hand and dragged him back to the bedroom saying "I can do better. I just did a search online. I can show you what I read." Adam broke free from her grasp yelling "No. You checked it off your to do list. It's done now. Go and use someone else. Someone who enjoys doing meaningless acts instead of valuing it and sharing it with someone special they respect. That's just not me ok. I wont be manipulated again."

Alicia was fuming as she spun around. She spat at him through clenched teeth, "Meaningless act? Valuing? Sharing? Respect? Manipulated?" She was shaking with the rage building up inside her. Adam seriously feared for his life. Alicia pushed him into the wall causing another large crack. She pinned him by the throat and leaned directly into his face snarling "What the hell is wrong with you jerk? Sure it was something I wanted to experience before the end, but it couldn't be just anyone. Yesterday I left knowing how much I disgusted you. I thought I could settle for just anyone. The men at the bar would have been easy. You didn't want me so why not? Who cared? I don't know how long I have left. Hours, days, weeks, who knows? I couldn't do it though. All I could do was think of you. The values you wrote for me. The coding and the words you used to express your beliefs, the personality you created for your bot. The values you expressed. It was beautiful. It showed your true character. I started to become a little interested and curious. Even my father approved of you. Maybe not as a potential suitor, but you in general. He checked you out thoroughly before trusting you. I came back last night with a peace offering willing to do whatever it took for your acceptance. Look what I got. More freaking rejection and not being good enough for even a looser like you."

Alicia paused for breath before her next barrage of "I was nearly ready to go against my own sense of right and wrong and allow myself to take a chance at something I knew I shouldn't. You see I can't let people in. I can't let someone love me. It would be wrong of me. They would only suffer loss when I'm gone. That means I have to hide my true feelings. I got used to being that way. I wanted this for me. I know it was wrong. I know it was selfish. Crap. I wanted to experience love and this just seemed like a way to speed things up with the only possible candidate. The only person I might develop love for. Do you get it now? There wasn't anything meaningless about it you idiot. Not for me anyway." Alicia relaxed her grip and hung her head in sorrow saying "I just wanted to feel like a real living girl for once, and experience selfish things for myself while I still could. What's the point of living without a life?"

There were so many things Adam wanted to apologise for. His heart was breaking now. He was drowning in empathy for the girl. As he looked at her now he felt for the first time he could see the real her. The Alicia that was alone and couldn't risk causing others pain by getting attached to her. She had exposed her real unguarded self. She had bared her soul. He hugged her tightly and spoke the only words that seemed to sum up all the many things he wanted to say. He replied gently "I understand now, and I think I could love this version of you Alicia." They kissed with a passion that was missing before. That's what it had taken. The truth had to surface so they both felt secure and trusted the other enough to be open. Adam felt that he could risk admitting it to himself now. He had strong feelings for the girl, perhaps it was what they called love. He stopped being suspicious and guarded now. He allowed himself to believe.

Things went much smoother as they fell to the bed. Nothing was forced. It came naturally without being even concious of what they were doing. They found the magic that was missing the first time. They were both uninhibited and honest. They no longer felt like two separate bodies going through the motions and acting how they thought was expected. Afterwards they lay in each others embrace looking into one another's eyes. There was no need for words. Any barrier between them was now shattered.

Adam awoke as the morning sun started coming through the window. He smiled contentedly at Alicia still smiling in her sleep. This is it he realised. This was love, but how long could it last? He hadn't noticed any battery or recharging sockets anywhere on her body. She only had the two communication sockets that he guessed were only for use when wireless networking was unavailable. He wanted to go to his desk and start researching immediately but he couldn't tear himself away. Not yet. This was heaven and he wanted to soak up every second of it. He felt complete. Being with her felt like home.

Eventually Alicia woke too. She stretched up and kissed his lips before resting her head on his chest. She listened to his heartbeat for a while before asking "Can we get married now?" Adam wasn't ready for that leap yet. Then he realised. She didn't know how much time she had left. It was natural for her to be impatient. He decided he would spend every last hour she had left keeping her happy. It was the least he could do for her. "Sure." he replied. Alicia looked up at him and said "I know there are laws and stuff to do it all official, but we can have our own little ceremony for now. The beach would be nice." Adam smiled and nodded saying "Whatever makes you happy."

"Thank you." she said making another cross in the air with her finger. "Two down, one to go." Adam froze as he contemplated what the last item on her list might be.

She was a biod. Was it even possible? He held Alicia close and asked, "Do you still feel like a biod? Just an interface and not a real girl." Alicia chuckled. "Of course. That's what I am. Every thought I have and every move I make comes from the AI based on your original program. This is all I have known since I was activated. Before that was nothing." Adam argued "I know a bit about AI. You are not one. Do you really think that your feelings and desires are just the product of a program telling you how to respond?" Alicia mumbled "Of course. I died remember. Even those Lorene chics said I was a biod." and then she faded off to sleep again.

Eventually Adam snuck out to his desk. He couldn't find anything in her files that looked like a manual. When he pulled up the schematics he found the power input labelled as 'Three volt' but that was all. There was nothing saying where the three volts came from. He needed more information if he was going to come up with a replaceable power supply. The strange girls from Lorene Cybernetics didn't seem overly interested with Alicia, so he decided the first place he needed to get to was Doctor Kingsworth's lab. It seemed only logical she would die if the interface ran flat.

When Alicia finally emerged from the bedroom she leaned against him from behind and hung her arms over his shoulders. "What you doing honey?" she asked casually. It seemed odd to hear her call him honey rather than jerk for a change. Adam held one of her dangling arms close to his chest and told her that he was looking for a manual or information on her power supply. "I want to keep your interface alive and functional or whatever for as long as possible." He told her. Alicia was happy with that and kissed him again before starting on breakfast.

After breakfast Adam prepared to go to the house to see what he could learn. Alicia decided she was coming too, which he thought was a good idea. He wanted her to pick out an engagement ring on the way back. As they drove up to Alicia's front gate they noticed police tape across it. There was a new padlock on the gate and a crime scene warning. The smell of smoke was still heavy in the morning air. Walking up to the house they found both it and the barn were burnt out. There was nothing but ash inside. There were puddles everywhere, so it appeared the fire department had been. Alicia wanted to sit and mourn her father for a while, so Adam sifted through the barn. There was nothing left amongst all the burnt and broken lab equipment, so he decided to look around the rest of the property.

When his stomach started growling Adam decided it was time to eat. He sat on a log and pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket. Just as he was about to bite into it he was startled as he thought he heard purring like a cat behind him. He jumped as something rubbed under his armpit. Looking down he found a head full of long dark hair trying to poke under his arm. It was a girl's head wearing a cheap pair of novelty cat's ears that had seen better days. Where the hair parted over the neck he could see a flesh coloured interface seal like Alicia's. The girl looked up at him with big blue eyes and a silly grin saying "Meow." He guessed she was about fifteen or sixteen, perhaps less. Her hair was long, black and filthy. She obviously hadn't washed it in ages. Adam could smell her odour. He presumed she hadn't bathed either. She was skinny and dressed in only a hospital gown and neck collar. Her face was bruised and scraped. She would have been quite pretty if not for her filthy state and swollen bruises. She sniffed at Adam's half eaten chocolate bar and looked pleadingly at him. He offered it to her and she grabbed it gulping it down instantly. As the girl leaned over and licked his face he heard a familiar voice behind him saying "A bit young isn't she?"

Alicia stood there with her arms crossed looking angry. She reached down and the grabbed the girl's shoulder but she twisted away with amazing speed. The cat girl grabbed the arm that had been reaching toward her and was instantly pinning it behind Alicia's back. Adam had never seen anyone move that fast. Alicia struggled as she grunted "This bitch is strong and fast like me, maybe more." Alicia wasn't done yet though. She flung herself forward sharply, throwing the other girl through the air. The cat girl twisted mid air landing on her hands and feet ready to pounce. Her eyes looked dangerous as she hissed at Alicia. Adam jumped in front of the girl yelling "No ! Bad kitty." She carefully crawled forward and began purring again as she rubbed against Adam's leg. Alicia spoke to the girl. "Bad kitty. Mine." She seemed to understand and backed away to sit down, but keeping a wary eye on Alicia. "Where'd you find this stray fleabag?" Alicia demanded. The girl hissed violently at Alicia. Adam responded "Well at least she understands what we say. She just showed up when I sat down to eat a chocolate bar. She has an interface like yours. Do you know her? " Alicia shook her head replying "No, I thought I was one of a kind until those Lorene institute girls showed up. Hey didn't they say that one of them was missing?" "Yeah they did." Adam agreed, "maybe she developed a fault or escaped." Alicia squatted down in front of the girl and asked "Who the hell are you?" The girl looked at her saying in an innocent childish voice "I'm a cat dummy. Cats can't talk." Alicia was getting annoyed as she retorted "You just spoke idiot." The girl shook her head and meowed. Adam thought he better try something before Alicia lost her cool. He approached the girl and gently stroked her hair keeping a cautious eye on Alicia. In a calming voice he said "I know you think you're a cat, but really you're a girl. A human girl. The girl stood and growled in his face "I'm Felicity the freaking cat right. I need to be. I don't want to be a real girl any more."

Alicia annalised the situation and stated "Well she's damaged goods all right. Should we deliver her or just let them find her?" The girl suddenly dived to Alicia and started licking her hand. "Oh gross." Alicia yelled snatching her hand away. "I think she wants to be your friend." Adam laughed. Alicia looked at the girl's state and started feeling a little pity for her. There was obviously something very wrong with her and she was in a pitiful state. She said "This kid looks hungry and filthy. Very feral. Maybe we should take her home first." Adam wasn't fond of that idea but didn't want to say no to her. The girl did look very neglected. Adam nodded saying "Ok, but I better not find any mess behind the lounge or scratches on the furniture." The girl stifled a chuckle at that comment.

Felicity purred and looked very happy as she followed them back to the car. On the way they asked Felicity if she remembered her childhood. She nodded which meant that unlike Alicia, she must have had the surgery while she was alive. When asked if they could take her back to her family she shook her head definitely and looked scared. It looked like they would be taking her home with them after all. An idea came to Adam. He pulled out his phone and scanned for network connections. Alicia's connection appeared because he was still wearing the wristband. He read the other available connection aloud hoping Alicia might recognise it. He read out "F E L 0 1 K H A L L." Alicia froze in horror and gasped "Khall.....Dr Khall. My father's old assistant. She must belong to him." Alicia grabbed Felicity by the shoulders and demanded "Did Khall create you?" Felicity nodded. Alicia asked urgently "So you work for him?" Felicity shook her head. Adam interjected with a question asking "Did you run away?" Felicity smiled and nodded. "Oh great." Alicia exclaimed. "She really is a stray. What's worse is that Khall must be making his own interfaces now." Alicia closed her eyes and focussed for a while before saying "She has a password. Sorry I'm not a hacker. He's probably watching us and listening right now. She's a spy." Felicity grabbed Alicia's hand and shook her head. She looked to be pleading. A moment later she stopped and showed Alicia the inside of her collar. It had a small device in it, but a piece was missing. Adam inspected it and concluded "She removed the battery. I'm guessing it was a signal booster or something. Felicity nodded. She spun the collar around and showed Adam a small locking mechanism. "Don't worry." Adam told her "I can cut that off when we get to the car. It probably has a tracker too." Felicity grinned and rubbed her cheek against his. Alicia pulled her away roughly saying "Don't push it fleabag, or our next stop might be the vet surgery." Felicity walked carefully behind Alicia for the rest of the way to the car. Adam removed the collar and tossed it away after he found a pair of aviation shears under the driver's seat. Then he searched through the mess in the back of the car and found a jacket to help Felicity cover up a bit better.

On the way home they stopped at the jewellers and Felicity agreed to wait in the car. Alicia picked out a nice ring that wasn't too expensive and Adam placed it in his pocket. "I want to wear it now." Alicia pleaded, but Adam said she would have to wait because he wanted to propose properly in the old fashioned way. She accepted that and thought it was romantic. On the way back to the car Adam spotted something of interest in a costume store. He ducked in and returned with a bag of goods. "It's for Felicity." he explained to Alicia. "I hope it's a flea collar." Alicia teased. As they reached the car they found Felicity gone. Looking around they soon spotted her in front of a petshop licking her lips at the fish on display. She really likes playing this role he thought. Adam wondered how far she would take her pretending to be a cat as he dragged her back to the car. As soon as they returned home Alicia pushed Felicity to the bathroom and shoved her in her in shutting the door. She hoped the crazy cat girl would emerge clean and less smelly. It wasn't long before Felicity stuck her dirty head back out the door looking helplessly at Alicia. "Don't tell me you need help?" Alicia asked. Felicity nodded so Alicia breathed a heavy sigh and reluctantly went to assist.

Adam began looking at the connection to Felicity on his laptop while the girls were busy. The password was a problem. He was no real hacker either, but thought he had the software to crack it and change it. He was glad the wristband security device worked on her interface as well. Once he was in he started looking around. It was almost the same software as Alicia. Adam was annoyed to see the name DeBot had been changed to Khall AI though. It wasn't important, but it annoyed him. Eventually he found a directory of her visual memory snapshots and decided to check some it out from newest to oldest. They started with images of the petshop, then images of him with Alicia. Adam noticed that some of the files where video clips, so he skipped down to them. Adam was sickened as he saw the girl's hand dragging a knife across a man's throat slowly. It looked like the inside of Alicia's house judging by a family picture hanging in the background. Felicity had made sure it wasn't a quick kill. She savoured it taking her time. As the man fell backwards Adam noticed he wasn't wearing any pants for some reason. The file before that showed the man sitting on top of Felicity punching her in the face. It was blurry. He was yelling at her, "You're junk, faulty, defective. You're my toy now to do whatever I want." Adam skipped a few files and played another. It showed a man with a goatee in a lab coat talking to the man who had been killed. It seemed all Felicity's visual records were blurry and unfocused. The man in the lab coat was pointing at Felicity saying, take that rubbish with you. Consider it a gift. A reward to entertain you for a while as you wait for the Kingsworth girl. Just destroy it when your done. I'm bored with it now and it's too defective to be of any other use." The other man chuckled in reply "Thank you Doctor Khall. It might be some entertainment for the stake out." This was getting too disturbing. He couldn't watch any more. Adam was afraid of what he might see.

He debated whether he was game enough to see one more, but decided he should. He skipped to one of the first of the video clips. The doctor was slapping Felicity around and yelling "Useless. That wasn't the order." He turned over his shoulder and called to someone out of view. "Hose it down with disinfectant. Increase the sedatives and leave it in my private office." He grinned in Felicity's face saying "May as well use it for something before trashing it." The man called over his shoulder again "Increase the shielding on the next ones."

It was obvious she was deemed faulty and they were just abusing her for entertainment until they destroyed her. It sickened him. He considered wiping the files from her memory, but wasn't sure he should. Did he have that right? He would think about it and ask Alicia's opinion. Adam spun around as he heard the bathroom door open. Alicia emerged looking very pale and sickened. She slowly shuffled to the lounge and sat down. Adam raced over to her and asked what was wrong. Alicia looked at him with tears forming in here eyes and sobbed "Her body. It's covered in bruises and rope marks. Some fresh, some almost healed. There are scratched and small burns on her back. They wrote disgusting things on her with a marker. It was hard to scrub off. She was just their toy. Humiliated. Abused." Adam put an arm around her saying "It's ok now. She's with us. I checked her memory. They were going to kill her because she was faulty. She killed a man who was attacking her in your house and escaped. Should I wipe her memories?" Alicia shook her head. And replied "I don't know. Memories are lessons. She will avoid such horrors now. Learn from them. She won't let herself be treated that way again."

Adam nodded as Felicity emerged from the bathroom wearing a blouse and skirt that Alicia had loaned her. She pounced gleefully like an excited child to stand in front of them. Felicity spun proudly showing them how clean she was now. Adam noted she was a very attractive girl and in a few more years would be a beautiful woman. At the moment with the way she acted though he couldn't see her as anything but an innocent little child. This just didn't seem like the same abused young woman relishing the slow bloody death of her attacker. Felicity sat at their feet and curled up. Adam glanced to Alicia and began to move his legs away from the girl laying on his feet, but Alicia stopped him with her hand and began stroking the girl's hair as she purred. Alicia explained "It's ok. She's just a cat. It's her safe zone. Her escape from being a girl that was treated like that. Let her deny her reality. It's good she likes you. I'm surprised she isn't terrified of all men after that." Adam nodded in agreement. He had so many questions about these biods. It looked like this Ellan woman would be his only chance. Foremost amongst his questions was how to make these girls realise they were real living humans and not AI. It was obvious to him, but he knew Alicia didn't believe it.

Adam sat at his laptop and found an email address for a Director Ellan Elore at the Lorene Cybernetics Institute. He sent her a quick message to introduce himself and ask if the missing product might have been captured and reprogrammed. He attached a photo of Felicity that he'd taken with his phone. He also asked about upkeep of the three volt power supply.

It was only minutes before his DeBot AI alerted him that he had a reply from an Ambassador Elore. He rushed to read it, but was dismayed to find that Felicity was unknown to them, and not their concern. It was their policy not to meddle in the affairs of others and were unable to assist for diplomatic and security reasons. They suggested he take good care of her and wished him luck. The reply finished with a note on the power supply. It read "Do not concern yourself with upkeep on the malfunctioned interface. It was not designed for extended use." The words hit him hard 'Not designed for extended use'. Did that mean Alicia was not designed to last long. How long did she have left? He quickly sent another email with his concern. He waited and waited, but there was no quick reply this time. It seemed that Ellan Elore no longer wished to have anything to do with the project she had helped Doctor Kingsworth with.

Adam decided that seeing as they had no guarantee on how long Alicia had left, he would make the last of her time as pleasant as he could. He counted the money remaining in the envelope. He'd spent a large amount already, mostly on the ring. He decided that the remaining nine thousand would be plenty and started researching rushed weddings. He wasn't sure they could afford a month of waiting for the intention to marry lodgement. For all he knew the interface could shut down tomorrow.

He sent a few emails with a brief version of what little he knew about Alicia's history. He couldn't be too specific. He figured if he presented her as terminally ill, but in a short remission they might get some sympathy. At first there were only a few replies, nothing showing promise. Eventually a Father Lawson replied asking for more details on the terminally ill girl's story. Adam decided he sounded trustworthy. He used Alicia's name this time and was surprised the priest new of her from his regular hospital visits. He was happy that Alicia was in a temporary remission and more than willing to help.

When Adam turned back to see what the others were up to he noticed Felicity had now claimed the lounge to nap on. For just a moment he could have sworn he saw a black cat laying there instead. He rubbed his eyes and looked again to see it was just Felicity. Adam decided the stress of the situation must be getting to him, but there was something definitely weird about Felicity. There was something more to her. When he looked in her icy blue eyes it was like there was immense energy behind them waiting to escape. It sent chills down his spine to think about. He wasn't sure what to make of her. Was she a good person traumatised by Khall or was she evil to start with? Whatever she was he decided to watch over and treat with compassion. It just seemed the right thing to do.

Chapter 6

Tracy stopped running to let her body rest for a while. She leaned against the wall of the alleyway and slowly slid to the filthy ground. She kept her young body of twenty four years fit and healthy. She ate well with the allowance Kingsworth had provided her and visited the gym often, but she was at her physical limits now. She didn't have any physical enhancements like Alicia. The men pursuing her were armed with a taser. A weapon that she suspected would probably prove deadly to someone like her. She wasn't going to go down easily. Her new life was better now so she wanted to keep it. Besides that she had a purpose to keep pushing forward. Alicia was in danger.

Tracy knew she was more than a biod. More than just a biological device. She was the prototype who's existence had been kept secret, but somehow the creepy doctor Khall had discovered all about her. Two men had arrived at her small apartment that morning and demanded she go with them. She wasn't stupid. She always had an escape route handy out the side window. Tracy was an intelligent woman, but still suffered some of the paranoia and anxiety from the previous life she had attempted to end.

Tracy had realised something was wrong with her some time ago. She seemed to operate outside of program guidelines. She still felt much the way as she did before her interface, only now there was the input from the AI as well. It wasn't controlling her fully. Tracy knew she was out of date and the girl she considered almost a sister had software a version superior to her. Alicia would also have a far superior body thanks to Doctor Khall's drugs. They weren't true sisters in the sense that they shared any common genetic bond, but they were guided by the same interface running the same basic program. She had never met with her sister after the operation. For a few months before Alicia's murder Tracy had been her nurse as her body and nervous system wasted away. She had grown attached to the poor girl. Tracy had been very unhappy with her own life and often contemplated suicide. She was diagnosed with a personality disorder and treatment had helped her control her actions and maintain her job, but it never went away. Tracy was always in emotional pain and her own life meant nothing to her back then. She would have been relieved if the pain ended. She had begged Doctor Kingsworth to allow her to be his test subject, not worried about the risks. She wanted the chance for a different life. After he refused, she threatened to take her own life repeatedly, thus forcing his hand. Kingsworth had set her up with her own place to keep her a secret from Khall until they knew he could be trusted.

All she could think of now was protecting her little sister. Alicia was in even more danger than she was being the newer model. Doctor Kingsworth had treated Tracy well and kept her informed of the progress as his dead daughter was re-animated, but now he was dead. Alicia was the only thing resembling a family that she had left in the world and she was going to be hunted until they had her. Tracy was not about to allow that.

She had to find her sister before Khall's men did. Tracy remembered that the doctor was looking for a carer for them both. The only candidate that seemed of any interest was the young man who had written the original AI engine and structured the program within them. Tracy pulled a wireless signal device from her pocket and accessed the internet. Unlike the technologically ignorant Alicia, Tracy had been a bit of a computer nerd in her past life, so it wasn't difficult to find Adam's address. She frowned as she decided she was going to have to introduce him to online security. He had very little. Now she knew where she was headed Tracy immediately ran onwards.

It had been a long night for Adam as he fiddled with the servos and controllers on his desk. At last he was done. He actually finished a project. During the night he had awoken to find Felicity curled up on the foot of the bed. He felt sorry for the girl laying on his feet. There wasn't much he could do about it though. He understood why she insisted on being a cat. It was easier to think of herself as a feline. Simple escapism. If she needed the pretence to escape, than so be it. She did break character occasionally, so he knew she wasn't completely crazy. Adam remembered the bag of goods he had purchased for her earlier. It was still sitting on his desk unopened. He had felt a wave of inspiration so had snuck out to experiment with this new technology available to him.

Now it was done and it seemed to work well. He had taken a robotic snake apart and twisted every second servo around. It was operated by a very cheap and common wireless hobbiest interface. It was now attached to the bottom of a wide padded belt with the interface and battery pack discretely placed inside. He slipped the black fury cover over the snake and put the finishing touches to the device. He doubted the device would be used much, but it was his first learning experience using a biod's interface. If it was a success, then maybe Alicia would give him some credit that he did understand enough of this technology to be able to say that she was not just an AI. Felicity was hardly in a condition to help him convince her.

When the girls came out they were dressed to go jogging. Adam was eager to give Felicity her gift and handed her the bag. Inside she found a new pair of grey cat ears to replace the tattered ones she always wore, and a new collar with a soft lining. She was very happy as she immediately tried the items on. Next he guided her to the desk and indicated the belt "No freaking way....I mean meow." Felicity exclaimed breaking character. She hurriedly put the new belt and tail on. Adam tapped the keyboard a few times and said "I just gave you the interface address. I know it's just a toy, but try it out."

Felicity closed her eyes and focused. Eventually she opened her eyes as it became clear to her. The tail started waving and curling. Felicity jumped on Adam licking his face repeatedly. He guessed she liked it. Alicia pulled her off and dragged her back. "Bad kitty." she scolded "Do you want to end up in the animal shelter?" Adam laughed and said "I'm glad she liked it. It's just a toy though. In time I could improve it. That was just a quick experiment so I knew if I could do it."

Adam sat with Alicia on the lounge while Felicity experimented with her new toy. He said to Alicia "You know that tail could just as easily have been an arm or leg for an amputee. Even an exoskeleton for the disabled to walk again. It wouldn't take an AI or even a full interface. Just a streamlined implant. We could do a lot of good with your father's technology." His tone became more serious as he continued "The trouble is it could also control a shoulder mounted weapons system or other dangerous armaments. Imagine the control you could have over a weapon if all you had to do was think to control it. It became part of your body. Then add this super drug. People like Khall could make an army."

Alicia nodded saying "Yes, my father had similar concerns. He was also worried about the implications of bringing back the dead as a property item or slave, but that Ellan woman told him it wasn't going to be an issue if he kept to her design ideas." Adam considered what she had just said. He knew why it wouldn't be an issue. The ones implanted with a device weren't merely reanimated. It seemed to jump start their body back into full life. He guessed this was the 'malfunction' the other biods had mentioned. They did say it was a good thing. It was all starting to make sense now but he had yet to convince Alicia. He was certain now of what was going on and very concerned what impact it would have on the world if the dead could just be bought back to life. That wasn't how things were supposed to go.

Adam returned to watching Felicity still playing with her tail. She was having a ball watching it curl up and straighten again. He crossed his fingers and said to Alicia "You know, she's a lot like you. She's a girl who thinks she's a cat, and you're a girl who thinks she's an AI." Alicia scowled at him. Her look softened after a while and she looked to be having doubts for the first time as she asked "How would I know for sure? I have no memory of being alive. I have no comparison. This existence is all I have ever known. I know what the interface was meant to do, and how to use it. I can see the file structure in my head and network with things. We know the device is implanted. I hear it talk to me."

Adam squeezed her hand and said excitedly "That's it. YOU hear IT talking. Because IT isn't YOU. It's separate. They said it had malfunctioned remember. Maybe it was part of you to start with, but it no longer controls you. Your own conciousness took over." Alicia was struggling with the idea as Adam suddenly had a brilliant idea to prove his theory. He rushed to the laptop. Searching through Alicia's files he found the log file for the command procedures. He loaded it and let out a loud "Yes !" He turned to Alicia saying "Can you read this log file for procedures initiated by the AI?" Alicia thought and nodded. She sat quiet for a moment before asking "What is this? I didn't do any of these things." Adam grinned "That is the commands the AI has basically told you to do. What you should have done. It's a log file of all the procedures and routines the interface was meant to initialise." Adam rejoined Alicia on the lounge speaking excitedly and said "You see? Do you understand that you have been acting independently of the AI. It lost control long ago. 'Malfunctioned'. That's why you don't act anything like an AI ever could."

He could see Alicia wanted to believe him. It would redefine her understanding of her own existence, so he knew it was going to be difficult to accept. She looked into his eyes and asked "So all these feelings and emotions I have.... they are real? Not just the AI telling me what I should be feeling?" Adam nodded and said "I'll show you. He returned to the laptop and scrolled down to the day they met. He found the moment that he had jokingly ordered her to remove her blouse. "Do you remember this?" He asked pointing at the screen. Alicia replied, "Yes. I first felt an urge to obey, but I ignored it." " That's right." Adam said pointing at the actions she was meant to follow. "You were commanded by the AI to initiate a removal of clothing routine because I was an authorised administrator. Instead you slapped me. That was not an issued command." Adam scrolled further down the list saying "You haven't followed any of these commands, or urges as you called them."

Alicia gasped "So this is what real life is. These are actual emotions, not just part of the program. I didn't comprehend the difference. I didn't understand. I had nothing to compare my existence to." Felicity crawled over to her and held both of Alicia's hands she closed her eyes and her face looked a little strained. "Permission granted." Alicia mumbled. Ten minutes went by as the two girls sat motionless with their eyes closed. Alicia finally hugged Felicity and thanked her.

She was weeping tears of joy. She turned to Adam to explain "She shared some of her childhood memories with me. Not just the ones stored in her interface. She can transfer organic memories too. I think they're linked or something. I guess they work as one. I saw her thoughts of love she had felt for a pet kitten. The thoughts and feelings she described behind the pain of it's loss when her father killed it. The fear of her abusive father. By the way we can't ever send her back to her family. Not with a drunk like him. She has had no mother since she was a toddler. I experienced some simple pleasures that she recalled. I can't feel her feelings, but she explained how it all felt as a living child. It was just the same as I felt watching it. I understood."

"I think I get it." Adam said "Maybe whatever the malfunction is causes your own conciousness to over power the AI. The device is meant to be a controller, but in both you and Felicity it failed for some reason. Khall thought it was a fault in Felicity. It wasn't designed to be in a living person. It can't overpower a conciousness. It wasn't built to compete with one. Seeing as all your bodily functions had been regulated by the AI, I think it unintentionally bought you back to life. Jump started your brain while the body was functional. It's like when you roll start a car with a flat battery. By forcing the motor to turn over and go through the motions, it starts running again."

Alicia had no interest in technology or mechanics, but she understood the point he was trying to make as she said "So its like momentum. Once all the body's systems start going through the motions again, they keep going." "Exactly !" Adam cheered. He wished he had of worded it that way. Alicia was struggling with the concept. She shook her head as she debated the meaning of it all. "Maybe." was all she could say. At least she was seriously considering his theory now. Adam put a comforting arm around her and said "I know it's a lot to grasp. Give it time to sink in."

A knock at the door drew their attention. Adam checked through the window and saw a rather attractive and fit looking woman with long blonde hair and green eyes standing on the doorstep. She looked exhausted and was having trouble standing. Fearing she was about to collapse he rushed to the door and flung it open. The girl looked straight at Alicia and whispered "Sister." before she collapsed in Adams arms.

After laying the girl on the lounge Adam checked her vitals. It appeared she had just feinted. He turned to Alicia and queried "Do you know her. She called you sister?" Alicia shook her head saying "I have no sisters. I have never seen her before." Felicity approached and turned the girl's head. She had the same interface as Alicia and Felicity. Felicity closed her eyes and focussed. After a while she shook her head. She couldn't access the interface without concious permission being granted. Adam sat at his laptop and checked available networks. There was a new one. It was simply called 'Tracy'. Adam thought for a moment. Alicia was called 'Alicia' and Felicity was called 'FEL01KHALL". The naming conventions used would indicate this was not one of Khall's creations. He tried to hack into the device, but he couldn't. There seemed to be advanced security in this interface. He had no access without updating his hacking tools. It would take time.

Eventually Tracy stirred. She sat up and asked for some water. Adam grabbed a can of cold cola from the fridge and offered it to her. She refused and barked at him. "I said water moron. Not that carbonated crap." Adam turned to Alicia and asked sarcastically "You sure she's not your sister? She talks like you." He left fetching a glass of water. Tracy looked at the girl with cat ears and tail sitting on the floor. She glanced at all the anime posters covering the walls and closed her eyes for a moment. She opened them suddenly and grabbed Alicia's hands. She sounded desperate as she said "Oh honey, I have to get you out of here. This guy's a pervert. Look at his internet history and this poor girl he forced to wear cosplay crap." Alicia tore herself away defiantly and replied "No. Adam is a good man. He is my fiance. A good decent man. So what if he appreciates a girls appearance? He might be a bit immature but...." Tracy grabbed her hands again saying "Fiance? Oh deary, what has he done to you girls. Did he drug you?" Adam went to interject but Tracy shoved him away with all her might. "Stay away from my sister, and whoever the cat girl is you creep. Drink that water yourself. I bet it's laced with drugs." Tracy was strong, but not as strong as the other girls thankfully. He regained his composure and said angrily "Listen freakster. I don't go around drugging girls, ok? Felicity likes to be a cat for her own reasons. She's just a kid anyway. Alicia makes her own decisions. There is nothing perverted going on here." Tracy glared at him suspiciously and demanded "So your not using them or forcing them to your sick and perverted will?" Adam spat back angrily "No. Never." Tracy looked at Alicia for a moment and called out "Liar. I can see her memory glimpses.I know what you've been doing." She shoulder charged Adam and drove him to the floor. Tracy raised her fists to start beating him to a pulp but the other girls easily lifted her and held her down on the lounge. "Look closer." Alicia ordered her. Tracy closed her eyes and focused for a moment. She relaxed after a while and said calmly "I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions. I get paranoid about men." She turned to Adam and added sarcastically "But he's still a pervert."

Adam rose to his feet saying "Ok freak, I think you better explain who the hell you are." Tracy looked defeated as she pulled a packet of pills from her pocket and gulped one down before reaching for the water. She breathed deep as she started her story by saying "I am sorry. I get a bit... stressed and anxious sometimes. It's an illness that creeps up and surprises me sometimes. It takes over before I can control it. I'm Tracy. I was Alicia's nurse for a short before she died. She wouldn't remember me. Her memories would have died with her body. I volunteered to be her prototype. I talked the doc into it. Forced him really. He hid me away before he teamed up with that Khall creep. He didn't want to trust him with everything straight up. We stayed in touch over the net, but when he failed to respond at our regular chat time, I thought I better go check on him. I took a taxi out to the property and found the bodies. I wasn't sure where he kept all his research so I torched the place. I knew he wouldn't want his work falling into the wrong hands. I guess I was too late. Khall sent men to capture me. If they knew where I was, than they must have had his files, so I figured they would want Alicia too. She is a slightly newer version."

Adam sat at his desk banging his head on the desk top. He was well and truly over trying to understand biods. It was all getting to be too much. Not only did he have a girl that doubted she was alive and a girl that thought she was a cat, he now had this oddball. To make matters worse this dangerous character called Khall was going to be hunting for them for sure. All these strange girls were in serious danger. Adam could only think of one thing to protect them all. Doctor Khall had to be taken out of the picture.

A small voice sparked his attention as it stated "Quite the harem you've got going on here Adam." Fay was standing in the open doorway. Felicity and Tracy immediately took a defensive stance, ready to defend themselves. Alicia told them they could relax as Fay went to the kitchen and grabbed a can of soft drink. She was still wearing the same uniform as before with the legionnaire's cap, sunglasses and knapsack on her back. She sighed as she took a seat on the lounge and looked at the two new additions.

She sounded serious as she spoke "Things are getting complicated Adam. Very dangerous too. One of our guys was captured. They did horrible things to him. He died before we got there. Khall will figure out the malfunction now he has one of our interfaces." Adam didn't care what she said. This was his chance to get some answers. He hoped the girls would have his back. He approached Fay and said sternly. "I want some answers. Now." Fay looked unperturbed as she laughed, "I'll tell you only what I am permitted. You can't force me. I'm stronger than any of you." Adam grinned as he asked "But are you stronger than all of us?" Fay was startled as she realised she hadn't considered that. She struggled as Alicia and Felicity pinned her down on the floor. Tracy followed their lead and sat on her legs. Fay was helpless now and at their mercy.

They had all neglected one thing. Fay was not alone. Gem and another biod with with a knapsack entered the room and grabbed Adam's arms. Seeing this the girls looked at each other and relaxed their hold on Fay. Fay thanked Gem and Angel for their intervention. She stood and walked up to Adam saying "Nice move. Very gutsy. Almost would have worked too. I really am starting to like you Adam. Got a girlfriend yet?" Alicia growled with jealousy. Fay looked surprised as she hacked Alicia's interface and said "Oh you naughty boy. I thought you said you hated her and couldn't stand her." Fay chuckled staring at Alicia and said "I guess I'm too late. Sorry I didn't know how far you two were involved now. Congratulations by the way. I love weddings. Can I come?"

Adam gave up. He muttered "Sorry Fay. It was worth a try. I'm just getting frustrated with all these questions and theories without confirmation. Besides that the girls are in danger and I don't know who to turn to for help." Fay walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder saying Your heart's in the right place. Do what it tells you. I'm already in trouble with mother. It's nothing new, so I am going to give you some information that I'm sure you would have worked out eventually anyway. I suspect you already may have, so I may as well. Maybe if I confirm a few things, it will ease the pressure a bit."

Fay turned to her companions and said "Gem, Angel, it might be better if you two wait outside. I promise I won't break the rules ok." The girls left the flat as Fay went to the kitchen and began preparing herself a sandwich. As she worked she began to explain "As you've probably already surmised these biods are alive. Just like the ones my mother created. It was a design flaw originally, but a monumentous discovery as well. I was the very first. The original. Without the shielding of older models, the new interfaces leaked signals to the brain. It kick started because the interface was already controlling enough of our bodies other systems. The lack of shielding also meant that that our conciousness could then interact back to the AI. Instead of just being the puppets we were meant to be, we actually came to full life. Quite simple when you think about it really. Anyway that's the first little treasure I'm going to share with you. What else can I help you with?" Adam knew straight away what concerned him the most. "Power supplies. How long can their interfaces last?" Fay shrugged and said "Maybe three years in a Kingsworth interface if they don't break down. They recharge from the bodies own chemistry. Eventually the recharging capacity of yours will fade away and it will stop being able to hold a charge. You could surgically replace it with an alternative I suppose, but why bother. It doesn't matter. Once the malfunction occurs and they come to life, they don't need the interface any more. They are only using them now as tools to store files and communicate. They can live without it....well, we're pretty sure anyway."

Tracy added "Yes. Kingsworth had recently discovered this. It happened to me after a while. He wasn't sure how to break it to Alicia. The interface was damaged but still works." Adam was relieved and wanted to be sure so he asked "You're telling me that even without the interface, they can stay alive. They can live a normal lifetime." Fay nodded and replied "Yep. Mother was sure of it. If you like I can shut one of them down now so we can see?" "No." Adam yelled urgently. "I think we can trust your mother on that one. I rather not take the risk just in case." He was very pleased with the answers so far. Next he asked "One more question if you don't mind. Your institute seems to have technology and resources. Why don't you do something about Khall?" Fay sighed and put down the now empty plate saying "We would love to. Killing him wouldn't be an issue for me or my sisters. Our institute has to follow strict government guidelines as well as our own traditions of non interference. Mother was pushing things as it was by carefully guiding Kingsworth's work so that it would be his discovery. We also work within the strict guidelines of a special task force. That also restricts our ability to take any action in outside affairs. Our relationship with the government is very tenuous. It is very sensitive and we don't want to jeopardise things with them. It will be them that eventually, we hope. There's a lot of red tape to handle."

Fay hugged Adam around the waist quickly before starting toward the door saying "I hope that relieves things a bit. You're a decent man, as far as young men go. Just follow your heart. Continue Kingsworth's work. Look after his children." Fay paused

at the door and added "Oh and if things don't work out with Alicia, give me a call ok." Fay winked and left to rejoin her sisters.

Adam looked at all the girls who were staring at him expectantly. He suddenly felt like a leader. He wasn't sure how that had come about. "Well girls. Now we know. You truly are alive. Even if the interface stops working, you can live a full life for years. The only hurdle is this Khall creep. Tomorrow we should make plans on what to do, but today I think it's time to celebrate. Not here though. Somewhere safer."

Adam suddenly noticed his jeans felt loose. He was sure he had put a belt on this morning. He wondered if that was why Fay hugged him for no apparent reason. It wasn't worth worrying about right now.

Alicia went to the bedroom and Adam followed to see if she was ok. He couldn't imagine what it was like to discover that you were a real living girl with many unexpected years yet to live. He felt the box containing the ring in his pocket. He guessed he wouldn't need it now. She didn't need to rush any more. Alicia had time to find a better husband now.

Alicia was laying on the bed with her face hidden in the pillows. He sat on the edge of the bed and asked "Are you ok?" At first she didn't reply. Eventually she asked in a quiet voice "Did you only agree to marry me out of pity? Because we didn't know how long I had left?" "No way." Adam replied putting a hand on her back "You're a great girl. Any man would be honoured to have you even consider him a potential husband. I do understand though that you don't need to rush things now. You have plenty of time to find the right guy." Alicia went silent for a while before rolling over and kicking him violently off the bed. "Jerk." she spat at him. "I already found the one I wanted. It was my heart talking to me, not the AI. You just want an excuse to bail out now that you've had your fun don't you?" "Absolutely not." Adam retorted, "I just know you can do better." Alicia crawled over to the edge of the bed where she could see him still laying on the floor and said "Yeah, I probably could, but I don't want to moron. I made my choice when I gave you my virginity. My heart told me you were the one. Not just the AI." Adam felt his hand was being forced now. For just a moment he wondered if he was being manipulated again. He got to one knee and pulled the ring from his pocket. He held it out to the surprised Alicia saying "I know it's only been a few days, and I know you can do better, but I love you Alicia. Please be my bride." Alicia flung her arms around his neck forcing him back to the floor. "Of course I will." She replied between kisses. "We can grow old together now and raise a family."

It was almost dinner time when they emerged from the room. The other girls seemed happy at Alicia's news as she showed them the ring. Tracy seemed to have some issues, but she kept them to herself and put on an approving face. Adam packed his laptop into a carry bag and made a few phone calls to organise a restaurant and taxi. He hoped Alicia had enough clothes for the other girls.

Chapter 7

Adam had no idea what time it was when he woke up looking at an unfamiliar ceiling. He felt horrible. Something has digging into the edge of his mouth. He tried to focus his eye on it and realised to his disgust it was a foot. He turned his head and saw Alicia sound asleep with a little drool running from the edge of her mouth. It wasn't how he liked to picture her so he turned his head the other way and found Tracy's face with mouth wide open on the other side. Some of her hair was being sucked in and out of her mouth as she breathed. Adam started to tremble with fear as he tried to recall the night before. Looking down he saw Felicity was curled on top oh him with her feet in his face. She was wearing what appeared to be a motel robe. He felt suddenly sick. There was a soft knock on the door and a woman's voice called out politely "House maid." Adam couldn't move. He didn't want to disturb the hornets nest he was laying in. The door opened and a woman's head poked into view. She looked shocked as she stammered "Err, I'll come back later." and disappeared closing the door.

Adam looked for an escape route. It was like he was standing in a mine field. Any wrong move and he would awaken the sleeping dangers. He could envisage the anger and the fury of the girls as they automatically jumped to conclusions. Of course it would all be his fault somehow. In truth he had no idea how he had wound up in this situation. He gathered he was in a motel room, but had no recollection of coming to one. He remembered appreciating how the drinks over dinner were helping him forget the stress of things, but that was all.

He carefully managed to reach an arm over the deeply sleeping Alicia and gradually rolled from under Felicity and over Alicia. He was on the edge now, so it was an easy escape. Unfortunately he hadn't been as careful as he hoped. Felicity screamed as she jumped from the bed. She was clutching the robe to her and checking herself in a panic and screamed "Where's my clothes?" Adam cursed. Why did Felicity choose now to forget she was normally a quiet cat. He soon heard Felicity wretching in the bathroom. Alicia stirred and blinked a few times. "Good morning honey." she slurred looking at Adam. "Sleep well?" Adam grinned innocently saying "Slept like a log. All night." Alicia looked over his shoulder and asked someone "Ummm, why are you walking around naked Tracy." Adam quickly pulled the sheet over his head and froze. He didn't want to look or accidentally see anything. He closed his eyes just to be safe. Tracy murmured in a half sleep "I'm not naked. I got panties on. I'll find a robe if it bothers you. Is prince charming still alive?" Alicia snapped the elastic in his shorts causing him to jump and chuckled "Yep, still alive." He didn't seem to be in the immediate danger he had expected so he dared to ask. "What happened? I can't remember anything after the restaurant." Alicia teased "Oh you don't remember? Well after the nightclub and then the motel spa we all had a foursome."

Alicia laughed at the horrified look on Adam's face and giggled "Oh wake up silly. You wish we did. You were blind drunk the after the nightclub. We carried you up to the room. Then us girls had a spa alone, ordered deserts and had some champagne. Lots actually. We had a hen's night while you lay there unconscious the whole time. It was fun. I guess we all passed out though in the end." Tracy slurred in agreement "That's what my memory images show, but I can't remember taking my bra off. Can anyone see it? I don't normally drink." Felicity let out a loud and sorrowful meow which echoed in the toilet bowl. At her age she wouldn't likely be a drinker either. Adam pulled the covers over his head and and snuggled closer to Alicia. He was relieved nothing had happened. So relieved he fell asleep again.

When the taxi dropped the four seedy and stumbling passengers back to the flat they found the front door was ajar. Adam was certain he had locked it. He grabbed a tomato stake from the small front garden and carefully went inside. The place was trashed. The posters were torn and everything was tossed about. Nothing was in it's original place. Even the fridge was laying on it's side. Who ever had been here was very thorough in their search for whatever they were after. It had to be Khall's men, which meant the flat was no longer safe.

"Glad we weren't here." Alicia said joining him and gabbing his hand. This was it. Adam was pissed now. He didn't have much of value, so he treasured what junk he did have. The laptop and the wristband were still in his possession so at least they were safe. His old desktop computer was gone, but there was little of interest on it anyway. He returned to the front step and realised something else was gone. His crappy little car. It wasn't even worth a thousand dollars, but it had served him well and been a true friend.

Alicia sat with him as Felicity and Tracy searched the area together. They wanted to make sure nobody was staking the flat out for when they returned. When they were satisfied they returned and Tracy asked "Should we call the police?" Adam thought for a while. There was nothing of real value missing apart from the car. If the police became involved, how much could he tell them. He understood now why Alicia had not reported her father's murder. Adam answered Tracy with "No. There's nothing of real value missing or broken. Besides I'm going to take that bastard down. Screw waiting the government. I have to do it so you girls can be safe. I don't need the attention of the police right now."

Alicia hugged him saying "You don't have to do anything. We made plans last night. We have abilities you don't have. We had already decided to take care of him ourselves." Adam stood up saying "I can't allow that sorry. I took the job to be your guardian. It's my responsibility. This is my fight. You girls have been through enough." Tracy placed a hand on his shoulder and said "Don't be a sexist jerk. This is our necks on the chopping block. Drop the cliches and the chauvinistic crap. You sound like an anime character." The girls all looked at him in agreement. It seemed like he had no say in the matter. He accepted his defeat stating "Well then we do it as a team then." Alicia smiled and added "Of course silly. None of us can drive."

Alicia stood to attention and saluted asking "First orders sir?" Adam thought about it and replied "We need a car and supplies." "Easy." Alicia replied "My dad's car should be waiting at the garage where it was being serviced. It's a big four wheel drive thing with lots of room in the back. If we can get to the bank I can draw out a few thousand easy. My credit card hasn't been maxed out yet either." Adam smiled as it looked like things were coming together. He said "I still have around eight thousand left from what your dad gave me. Lets go get that car." A thought came to him as he added "We should all go. We stay in a group from now on."

When the taxi dropped them at the garage where Alicia's father's car was being serviced the mechanic recognised Alicia. She told the mechanic that her dad had sent his new assistant with her to pick up the car. Adam asked to settle the bill as the car was being bought out. "That's a big bill." Adam said to the mechanic looking at the invoice. "It's a big vehicle." the mechanic replied pointing to the machine pulling up out the front. It was a shiny black hummer with all the options. He looked to Alicia for an explanation. "Well we did live out of town." she shrugged.

Tracy suggested they might need some kind of light weight armour and weapons in case it got rough. Adam suggested a good pair of sneakers should be all the protection they needed, but he was shot down. Alicia felt they needed protection in close quarters combat should they confront guards. They stopped at the weapons shop, but didn't have a license to carry a firearm or taser. There was no body armour they liked. It was all heavy and bulky. When they left the store they noticed Felicity was no longer with them. Adam returned inside and found her staring at something on the wall above all the knives and hatchets on display. It was a glove with three long blades attached to the back like long claws. They looked razor sharp. Felicity looked at Adam pleadingly. He reached up and grabbed the glove. It seemed well constructed and had a bar sewn into palm to give it strength. "Ok." he said in reply to Felicity's subtle whining. He also grabbed four large hunting knives and a heavy hatchet he liked the look of as he went to the cash register. Felicity was still trying to lick his face in appreciation as they rejoined the others on the footpath. She only settled down after an icy stare from Alicia put her in her place.

Next they tried a variety of clothing and camping stores with nothing inspirational coming to mind. At one store Alicia had suggested long black leather coats but Adam just shook his head. It wasn't enough. On the way back to the car they passed a pawn shop and something caught Adam's eye. There was a selection of various swords. Most were only for decoration. They would bend or snap easily. There was a few that were real however. He picked out one that felt comfortable. It was heavy in the tip, but not so large as to be cumbersome. He liked it but the price tag was a little steep. He had a wedding to pay for soon. He returned it to the rack with a sigh, but Alicia and Tracy found ones that appealed to them. None of them had any experience with weapons or even fighting, but it made them feel safer.

As they left the central shopping area Alicia asked him to pull over at a motorcycle dealer she had just spotted. Some of the female rider's body armour they saw was very light and allowed plenty of movement. Alicia suggested that by cutting away some sections and reinforcing others it would suit their needs without overly compromising their agility. It wouldn't stop a bullet, but would soften impacts and reduce injuries from being knocked down. Adam didn't see any problem so he agreed and they each bought a suit in their size. They all chose a suit that was mostly black and came with a matching face shield. Adam thought they would at least look like they were a little serious and prepared now.

By the time they had done some grocery shopping the back of the car was getting full. The final stop they made was at an electrical store. Adam bought a bunch or motion sensors to cover the area surrounding the flat. After straightening the flat with the girls Adam went about installing the security system while the others played with their armour and weapons. The girls were like children with all their new toys. It was good to see them smiling and feeling a little more confident. He prayed they would never need the gear, but something told him it was inevitable. They had all been in minor struggles before and there would surely be more before the end. After dinner and showers they all sat together to watch TV. It felt good to be snuggled up with Alicia on the lounge while Tracy played with the laptop and Felicity lay across their feet. It was comfortable. It felt like family.

It was around nine o'clock when Tracy looked up from the laptop saying the sensor on the path to the front door had just gone off. Adam grabbed his hatchet and carefully looked through the peep hole on the door. The girl's all grabbed their weapons of choice and stood ready behind him. "It's ok." Adam said opening the door. Gem entered the room alone looking very serious and wary as she addressed them saying "Things have worsened. I am in a rush but I want to offer a little assistance. I do not know if we will ever get authority to act against Khall. Our hands may be tied." She paused for a moment before saying to the girls as a group. "Transfer complete. Do you remember how how to escape a choke hold?" Felicity closed her eyes and soon nodded followed by Tracy. "Yes" Alicia replied "It's like a how to guide when I think of the question. How did you do it?" Gem replied to her "I gave you a very basic training module for defence and common weapon use. It is very streamlined to be small enough for your interfaces to store, but it might save your life. You girls do not have the capacity for a full module. It only contains the most common scenarios for defence only and popular firearm use. This is just in case you are attacked. Khall has many men guarding the old tannery where his lab is set up. Stay away. It is dangerous. He has made biods injected with the new version of his drug. Investors are on their way. Fay is altering all their communication so the leak will not spread with any accuracy, but there is a limit to what she can do alone. Within a few days we expect that Khall will discover his messages have been modified and find other ways to contact his buyers. Good luck and be careful. Avoid Khall." With that Gem turned and was gone again.

Adam was the first to speak saying "Well that was odd." Alicia agreed and added "One day we will have to visit this institute of theirs. They are a strange group." They returned to their television watching. After another hour the sensor beside the flat activated. Adam checked his laptop as the girls armed themselves again. "Two biods with Khall in their network name." he warned, "This is it. An attack." He looked up noticing the door was ajar and asked "Where's Felicity?" The other girls shrugged. Adam raced outside with his hatchet at the ready. He could hear the scuffling and grunting beside the flat. He ran towards the melee fearing what he might find. One guard was laying on the ground with blood pouring from his throat while the other wrestled with Felicity on the ground. Her face was covered in blood and it looked like she was loosing to the superior strength of the man crushing her. Adam raised his hatchet and swung at his head. The hit landed dead centre burying itself deep inside the man's skull. Tracy rolled the man over and helped Felicity to her feet. Her eyes were closed and her face was covered in blood. "It's not her blood." Tracy assured them in relief. When she slit the first guy's throat it sprayed in her face."

When Adam looked at her Felicity seemed hyped up and ready for more. Her eyes had never looked brighter as they darted around seeking another victim. He was a little scared by the look in her eyes and could sense the blood lust she was experiencing. Adam was relieved she was ok as he said "Let's get her inside and clean her up. Then I'm gonna kick her ass till morning." Tracy took Felicity back inside as Adam rolled the two bodies into the shadows. They both had a taser each so he took one and gave the other to Alicia.

After deciding what to do about the bodies he decided to just leave them covered in the back of the hummer for now. Tomorrow they could bury them somewhere. As he and Alicia finished loading the second body Adam saw something familiar down the street. It was his little car. He cheered as he ran down to find the screwdriver still in the ignition so it would hopefully still start. He guessed that the attackers had been using it. It was full of fresh junk food bags but he didn't care. He had his old friend back and it would be handy for what he was planning.

When Adam re-entered the house a freshly showered Felicity was sitting on the lounge looking as sweet and innocent as she could. She meowed cutely as he stormed towards her. He wasn't going to fall for it. He grabbed her wrist and yelled at her "You stupid little bitch. You almost got yourself killed. We work as a team here right. A family. Nobody goes off alone. Nobody is allowed to die." Felicity burst into tears and sobbed "I'm sorry. I know it was stupid. I don't know what came over me. It was like an energy that had to be let go. I just had to kill them instantly. All of them. They all have to die immediately. What they did to me.....well they just all have to die." She curled up into a ball and continued crying. Adam sat beside her and patted her head saying "I know, but I don't want to see any of you die. Imagine what it would do to the rest of us if they got you. We will make them pay, all of them. It's going to take all of us though, working together with co-ordination and patience. Just don't do something that stupid again." He went to stand but she grabbed him without warning. With her exceptional strength she pulled him towards her and planted a big kiss straight on his mouth. Adam pulled away speechless. "That's it." Alicia growled "We're having you spayed."

Adam went to sit on the front step alone. For a while. The realisation of what he had just done suddenly hit home. He had just killed a man. In the heat of the moment he didn't even think about it. The adrenaline took over and he just did it. He grabbed the hatchet and wiped the bloody weapon on the grass. It wasn't long before Alicia joined him silently and put an arm around him to comfort him. After a while she said softly "It isn't easy is it killing someone? You do what feels right at the time. If you don't act you or someone close to you is dead." Adam replied "I never really believed I could do it though. I never thought I would have the guts if it ever came down to it." Alicia kissed his cheek saying "That's because your a good man. In the end though when push came to shove, you had the strength to do what had to be done. You did the right thing. You saved her." She smiled as she added "I still want her spayed though." They both sat there quietly till it was too cold and they went back inside and climbed into bed.

The next morning they awoke in each others arms. This was their little piece of heaven. An escape from the world. They could have easily lay there all day. Adam had the feeling something was wrong though. Something was missing. It occurred to him then that Felicity wasn't laying on the foot of the bed. He jumped out of bed in a panic as called her name. He was worried he had scared her away or she had decided to do something stupid on her own. Instead the door opened and Felicity entered carrying a tray. "Good morning." she greeted them "Breakfast in bed for two."

Adam and Alicia were speechless. Not only was she talking and acting like a normal girl, but she was dressed clean and tidy without any cat ears or tail. Alicia suspected that she was even wearing make up for the first time. Felicity placed the tray containing two plates of hot pancakes with syrup on the bed. "Please enjoy." she said with a smile. "No more cat girl?" Adam asked. Alicia sat on the foot of the bed and replied. "Just taking a break for a while. I thought I might give being a regular girl one more chance." She paused reflectively for a moment and explained "When I was a girl before, I knew nothing but pain and abuse. I hated being a girl. It made me a target. I was just a toy to be used and abused by men. My own drunken father sold me to those creeps. I never felt loved. Nobody cared about me. Now though...it feels different. I was kind of hoping that maybe you guys could think about adopting me....just for a little while."

Adam looked to Alicia hoping she would make this decision. She eventually responded after considering it and said "Trial period only. No more slobbering on my fiance though. Got it?" Alicia turned to Adam and asked "Sound fair to you dear?" Adam nodded. Felicity was about to pounce on him again but managed to catch herself. "Thank you both very much." she said smiling at them.

Before leaving she asked Adam "Also, do you think maybe you could wipe my memory? Not all of it, because I don't want to forget why it's ok to hate them, but maybe the worst bits. There's way more in my head than what I need to validate how I feel. I'm not asking for a fresh start or anything." Adam nodded and replied "As long as you're certain." Felicity thanked him and left them to eat their breakfast. Alicia kissed him again saying "That was sweet of you." She scoffed down a pancake and asked "You do realise don't you that teenage daughters are a real handful?" Adam hoped he wouldn't regret agreeing later. He decided she must be a very tough girl to have been through the hell she had endured and still be willing to keep going.

After breakfast Adam went to his laptop and started erasing files for Felicity. She couldn't do it herself. Adam considered increasing her security level so that she could erase her own memory, but felt that it would leave her susceptible to regrettable erasing if certain moods hit her. For the next few hours he skimmed files trying not to look too closely. It made him feel sick knowing there was this much data tagged as assault or abuse. He just hoped there wasn't much in her natural organic memory. He didn't want to risk trying to access that yet even if it was possible. When he was done he found Felicity sitting on the lounge watching an anime. "It's done. I erased it." he said. "Erased what?" Felicity asked. "Never mind." he replied. He realised that if he reminded her what he had done, she would only guess at what horrors must have been erased. He doubted though that anything she imagined would be as horrific as the glimpses he had unwittingly seen. It was better they were just gone as though they never existed. Adam was starting to realise the magnitude of the responsibility he had accepted. Messing with a person's mind was nothing to take lightly. There were still enough horrors left to keep her cautious of certain people, just nowhere near the amount she had previously. It shouldn't alter her personality too much.

He found Tracy sitting on the front step and joined her. She seemed the most mature out of all the girls and they hadn't spoken much. "Do you think we can do it?" he asked. Tracy shrugged and said "Gem's data was uncertain. We are outnumbered ten to one. Most of them are stronger than us. All of them are stronger than you. Some of them are biods. It seems that his investors have left armed men there as well. Our only chance is to take them out in small groups. It wont be easy, but our only other choice is to be hunted and eventually be caught. I doubt they expect us to unite and fight back." Adam asked "How many are biods?" Tracy guessed "Maybe a dozen." Adam considered for a moment. "Maybe I can take care of them. I hacked Felicity. My main concern is how many people are going to die. Some of those men probably have families. They might be just contracted security guards." "No." Tracy argued. "If they agreed to have Khall's injections than they are no longer innocent. They have to die. Too much screws with their brain. One day they would turn on those around them. As for the biods, they are a technology we have to control. If it falls into the hands of people like Khall and his prospective buyers, you get armies of super zombies under a mad man's control. It's already happening. We have to stop it no matter what those Lorene people say. It isn't them being hunted."

Adam wasn't fond of killing anyone unnecessarily but had to agree that Tracy was right. All evidence had to be destroyed. They couldn't even spare biods because of the level of drug they probably contained. It occurred to them that Alicia and Felicity had the drug as well. He asked Tracy about the drug inside the girls. Tracy said that as far as she knew, Alicia had a small amount to combat her illness as she was being revived. As for Felicity she had no idea. She suggested that perhaps hers was an early version or they stopped giving her the drug once they decided she was a failed unit and demoted her to play thing. They just had to watch for psychotic behaviour. Adam hoped she was right. He couldn't bring himself to destroy her as well.

He had one more thing he wanted to ask of Tracy. "If something happens to me, you'll take care of them won't you?" he asked. "Of course." she replied. Adam thanked her and stood to say "Tonight we go." She nodded in agreement and rose to her feet as well saying "Yes. First we dump our garbage though. We should all go together. If we cut out the controllers and use a lot of powerful acid from the hardware store it should destroy the rest of the interface remaining." Adam had forgotten about the bodies in the hummer.

Later that morning they drove far out of town and buried the bodies beside a rarely used track. Felicity had no qualms about removing the main interface controls which concerned Tracy a little. She hoped the girl had just become desensitised because of her past experiences. Even she as a trained nursing student would have been sickened by the gory task. They saturated the heads with acid and covered the graves. Death was a horrible thing to look at. On the way back to town Adam noticed Felicity was curled up asleep on the back seat. This seemed like a good time so asked the other two "Do you think Felicity is too young for any of this?" Alicia replied "I would agree, but they took her youth. She isn't a kid. I doubt we could stop her anyway." Tracy added "We can't deny her seeking justice." It looked like he was the only one that wanted her not to be involved. He started going over his own plan.

After a big healthy lunch prepared by the girls Adam spent most of the afternoon modifying and upgrading programs on his laptop. He studied the maps of the old tannery that Khall was using on the edge of the next town. Tracy had said that this was the site Gem had downloaded to them and warned they avoid. It was only an hour or so drive south. The laptop was going to be his main weapon so he made sure everything was how he wanted it and the hacking tools were updated. The girls were modifying their armour for flexibility and manoeuvrability. Their mood seemed excited. It didn't feel like they were about to go and attack someone. There would most likely be more killing. He wasn't sure whether it was a good or bad thing. He didn't really want the girls in a fight, especially Alicia. Then he had to think of the cat girl. She was just a kid and a little uncontrollable.

As the sun was about to go down in a few hours Alicia told him it was time to get ready. They all gathered in the lounge room with their armour and their gear at the ready. The girls looked fierce, but Adam felt he didn't belong. He had decided a knife, hatchet and laptop was all he wanted. Felicity was wearing her cat ears again. Adam figured it wouldn't matter. As long as she felt more confident by wearing them. They took a quick group photo before climbing into the hummer. Before they pulled away Alicia grabbed Adam's hand and said "You know I love you right?" Adam nodded and said "I love you too. After this we can have the wedding if you like without having to worry about Khall and his men." Alicia slapped him playfully saying "What do you mean 'If I like?' You still aren't taking me serious are you?" Adam just smiled at her. Felicity yawned from the back seat. He glanced back and saw Tracy's eyes looked to be getting heavy too. Alicia stretched and yawned soon after. He couldn't imagine life without Alicia now. He couldn't imagine being alone at all any more. This wasn't a traditional family by any means, but he loved it. In the very short time these girls had been in his life, they had changed him forever. That's why he wasn't willing to risk their lives. If things went as he planned they wouldn't see any fighting.

As they waited for him to start the engine he reached for his phone and activated an app he had just downloaded and prepared. He felt guilty doing this to the girls. It wasn't fair of him to take advantage of them like he planned but he had to do it. They would be angry at him for this, but he decided it was the best thing for their safety. "Sorry girls." he muttered as they slowly opened the car doors and slowly returned to the flat dragging their feet. They lay on the bed and didn't move. They could have resisted the urge to obey the AI if he hadn't of sent commands directly to their body to lower oxygen intake and relax their muscles. They weren't concious of it so couldn't fight it. Once the body was tired, they didn't fight the urge to go to bed. Adam was surprised it worked. He had to upgrade his software before he could gain access to Tracy so was concerned her own security modifications might reject his hacking. It could have all failed right then. It reminded him of the biod sci-fi book he had read. That protagonist had also put his girlfriend to sleep to avoid the fighting, but he also managed to get himself killed. Adam hopped for a better result, even if he was alone. He popped the bonnet of the hummer, pulled the engine fuse and jumped in his old car to speed off.

Chapter 8

Alicia was awaken by the sound of Tracy swearing and cursing. She sat up and asked "Why are we still here? I thought we left." Tracy turned to her and replied "Yeah mister 'nobody dies' and 'all work as team' ditched us. I'm gonna kill that mongrel. Get Felicity up while I start the car. Alicia nodded and shook Felicity till she woke.

When they went outside they found Tracy was fiddling with the engine. "I thought you couldn't drive?" Alicia asked. Tracy replied "Yeah well I shouldn't being a biod and all. At least that's what your dad said. I used to drive the old farm ute sometimes when I was young though. Just around the farm. It was a long time ago and I wasn't very good. Never needed to drive since." Alicia really wished she knew how to drive now. "The bastard sabotaged the car." Tracy explained " Never mind I can work around it, but we wont have the air con." That didn't really bother any of them. Alicia checked the time. He had almost an hour head start on them now. She started planning how many times she was going to slap him silly when she got her hands on him.

Adam parked his car behind a large rock in a very bushy area. Khall's lab was just over the next hill. He sat with a good view of the road and waited. Half an hour passed before he saw a car coming. It looked to be three men on board. The laptop showed one of them was a Khall biod.Adam initiated the hack and when a command box appeared he simply typed 'Kill the driver now.' Seconds later the vehicle started to swerve and ran off the road. It hit a rock and rolled. Adam typed in 'Walk to the road.' but a message came up saying signal lost. "Crap." Adam swore. "I need a new one now. Test successful though." He carefully crept closer to the old tannery staying in cover of the trees. Once he was getting close enough he started getting signals of biods again. He couldn't see them and had forgotten to add a way to link their vision in his rush. One by one he hacked the biods and told them to kill anyone working for Khall. Alarms soon sounded and men were running around in a panic. A wide variety of gunshots could be heard. They had closed the front gate and armed guards protected it.

There were only a few men on top of the highest sheds and it wasn't long before they were shooting at a pair of biods that were hunting them down and tossing them to the ground. Adam chuckled that the superior technology of a biod could so easily be hacked by a free downloadable tool from the internet. It was a flaw in their design left neglected by Khall's arrogance and rush to get his creations out. He guessed it was probably one of the last things to be added for the final design. Adam chuckled "See what happens when you rush the beta versions." He was going to exploit the flaw for as long as he could. He would use this army of biods to kill everybody in Khall's camp and then turn them against each other. Hopefully the doctor himself would be one of the victims. The plan was working brilliantly and the girls were out of harm's way. Four of the seven biods he had hacked now had no signal. The gunfire had ceased. He assumed the remaining biods must be incapacitated. In just minutes he had eliminated eight biods who had no doubt taken plenty of others out with them. It was too easy.

Adam checked that there was no guards left on the roof tops and wriggled under the side fence. He found a service ladder leading to the roof of a shed opposite the main building and hid behind a large air conditioning unit at the top. There still seemed to be a lot of men running around. More than he expected. Tracy's estimate of being outnumbered ten to one were far from accurate. Some of the men were wearing hired security uniforms. A dozen or so looked like gangsters. Adam guessed these men were protecting their bosses investments in Khall's work. His biggest worry were the dozen or so men and women in green outfits that resembled military men. They couldn't be army so he assumed these were mercenaries and volunteers for Khall's super soldier drug. They were checking on their fallen comrades. Hopefully some of them were biods as well. He opened the laptop and scanned for signals again.

Adam counted at least thirty people still moving around and he had no idea how many remained inside. He found six more biods to hack. It wasn't going to be enough but it was a start. They may have had the super soldier drug, but he suspected all of Khall's hired men did as well. The gunfire soon started again. Apart from the guards on the gate it seemed the other non biods who survived were headed for the main building. He made himself comfortable as he sat and waited for more biods to come into range. It was getting dark now and he could hear what sounded like helicopters circling the area. He couldn't see any lights in the sky, so he figured they were still far off. As he listened closer he also heard a low roar in the distance. It was getting louder. He thought it was a truck. Down the road leading up to the tannery he could see headlight approaching at high speed. A guard fired a pistol as he stood in the gateway. Adam watched as the vehicle slammed through the front gate killing the guard standing there while those closest to him dived for cover. Another guard opened fire as the black hummer sped forward and dissappeared from his vision. There was a loud crash and the shed shook. Adam reflexively reached for something to grab hold of but lost his grip on the laptop. It slid across the roof and over the edge.

Adam prayed as he wriggled to the edge and peered over. The laptop was smashed on the concrete below. He checked his phone and sure enough the three girl's signals were listed. He cursed loudly and slammed his fist against the roof. There were more guards here than they had been led to believe. They were about to be killed. He spotted Felicity climbing into a window of the second floor of the main building. The others were still on the ground preparing to follow. Adam gauged the distance and wondered if he might make it jumping to an open window across from him so they could group up inside. He felt he had a reasonable chance and began to run to the edge of the roof. He leaped and realised halfway that he wasn't going to make it. He wasn't sure how but at least one arm made it through the window and held him in place. The impact with the wall knocked the wind out of him. His entire body ached, but he managed to lift himself enough to get his upper body inside. He grabbed the edge of a desk and pulled himself the rest of the way. Adam lay panting on the floor for a moment before he felt ready to stand. He had to protect his future wife and the others. Alicia had to be safe. He didn't care what it cost him, he was going to get her out of here.

As he walked to the door he saw something on a desk. It was an interface, but unlike anything he had seen in Alicia's schematics. The single socket didn't even look compatible with any plug he had ever seen. It wasn't his primary concern at the moment so he shoved it in his pocket and moved to the door. Carefully he opened it and looked out.

Something cold touched against his throat and he froze. A voice whispered in his ear "You're in deep trouble mister." He turned slowly and saw Felicity giving him an evil look. She suddenly hugged him quickly and said "I'm so glad you're still alive. We just have to keep you safe from your wife to be now." "Where are they?" Adam asked. I thought they were climbing through the window behind you?" Felicity nodded and replied "They were but some guards came. They ran behind the building." "Ok.", Adam said "We need to regroup. Safety in numbers." Felicity shoved him and said sarcastically "Yeah, so says the guy that was going to abandon us after his big speech about teamwork." They slowly worked their way to the back of the building to see if they could spot the others. Adam spotted a body laying in the corridor. It had deep slashes across the throat and bloody holes in the stomach. Felicity commented "I do love this glove weapon thingy." It sent chills down his spine when he heard her talk about killing so casually. At the back of the building Adam leaned out a window. It was too dark to see much. "Alicia, Tracy." he called as loud as he dared. The only sound he could hear was more sporadic gun fire.

Felicity tapped his shoulder and pointed at a door behind them with a small window. Adam looked inside and saw a familiar face. Fay was fastened to a support column wrapped in chains. The door was locked so Adam smashed the little window with his hatchet handle. He reached inside and grabbed the door latch but hands grabbed his arm. He saw a pistol was pointed at his face through the smashed window. Suddenly the door fully opened as Felicity charged into it. Adam retrieved his arm as a bullet whizzed past his head. He saw the gunman on the ground and swung the hatchet at his head. It impacted over his ear killing him immediately. He turned to find Felicity picking herself up from the floor rubbing her shoulder. "That door was harder than it looked." she complained. They rushed over to Fay and used the hatchet to smash the lock on the chains. She was unconscious and looked to have been badly beaten. There was dried blood trickling from her mouth and nose. Her long white hair was stained with blood as well. Adam caught her as the chains fell away. She was wearing some kind of a thick grey body suit. He was surprised as he noticed her pointy ears. They weren't much bigger than a normal person but they tapered to a point at the top. This was a surprise but what truly shocked him was her the two appendages that drooped from the back of her shoulders. They looked like extra arms without hands and also tapered to a gentle point. Adam couldn't help but to think she looked like an elf from a story book except for her extra arms. "What the hell is she?" Felicity asked. "I don't know." Adam answered before suggesting "Perhaps her institute are experimenting with genetics or some weird surgery now. Whatever they've done to her she's still a person and she's hurt. We have to help her."

Felicity raced back out the door while Adam checked Fay over. She seemed free of any major injuries and was breathing steadily. He touched her ears to see if they were real and she reacted with a quick half smile and opened an eye for just a moment. He guessed she was going to be ok. Felicity reappeared at the door and beckoned him to follow. He lifted Fay thankful that she was very light while Felicity grabbed the dead guard's gun. Further down the corridor Felicity lead them to a room that looked like an old first aid room. It was very dusty so they figured it was no longer used. Adam lay Fay on the bed and placed a sheet over her. He said to Felicity "We can't carry her everywhere. Maybe we can hide her here. Cover her, turn the lights out, lock the door." "Agreed." Felicity said as she placed the pistol under Fay's hand and made sure the sheet still covered it. She looked up at Adam grabbing his hand and asked "Hey, by the way. Can you tell how scared I am?" Adam shook his head. Felicity smiled saying "Good. I don't want them to see it." Adam decided that maybe she wasn't quite the emotionless killing machine she acted like. He would have worried if she wasn't scared. Perhaps it was just a front like her cat persona hiding what she truly felt. He mussed her dark hair saying "I'm proud of you Felicity. As long as we stay in control of our selves, we have a chance to win. Just don't go feral on me again." She purred happily in response making him smile.

They pushed the bed into the far corner and tuned off the lights before locking the door from the inside. They wished they could take her with them, but staying alive was hard enough as it was. Fay's chances were better on her own. Hopefully she would regain conciousness soon and find the gun. She was on her own then unless by some miracle they made it back.

Eventually they found some stairs leading down and carefully descended. As they entered the main corridor three men appeared from nowhere wearing bullet proof vests and helmets. They were pointing machine guns at them. Adam turned and saw three more. They were trapped. Felicity removed her clawed glove and dropped it to the ground as she placed her hands on her head. "It was a good try." She said as they were disarmed of their remaining weapons at gunpoint and placed in extra heavy handcuffs.

Alicia and Tracy were getting tired from running and hiding. The swords had come in handy a few times now as they had encountered lone guards looking confused about what was going on. They had cut them down without slowing as a groups of guards were yelling somewhere behind them. They ran through a large roller door in the front of a shed to avoid their pursuers and found there were no other exits. It was littered with crates to provide a little cover at least. They managed to overpower the first two men that entered by surprising them with their swords from beside the door. They had taken their weapons and Alicia shot out the two huge lights hanging overhead. The gun was nothing like her father's little pistol, but as she looked at it and wondered how it worked she realised she already knew. She was going to have thank Gem for her little gift. They hid in the back corner of the room and shot at any movement they saw enter the door like snipers. They knew the enemy must have known where they were by now. There were around ten bodies piled up near the huge door now which would draw even more attention. When Tracy started to run low on ammo she slid her rifle to Alicia and said "Just cover me. If I go down please make sure I'm dead. Don't let them take me." She drew her sword again and held a position in the middle of the room. She knew that if she got too close to the bodies in front of the door she might be surprised by a sniper. She would hope that if any made it through the door far enough she could cut them down and restock their ammo. She crouched in the dark and waited for the next intruder.

Alicia was having trouble keeping the gun steady. Fear was starting to overcome her. She shook her head hoping to clear it. She knew she had to stay calm. She forced herself to focus as she kept careful aim on the doorway. Nothing was happening. She hadn't seen anyone try to enter for a while now. She wondered if she would get to snuggle in bed with Adam ever again. It seemed unlikely now she would have her wedding or start a family. She wouldn't be growing old with Adam. Alicia was sure the enemy knew they were in there. She concluded they must be massing for an assault or something. She started shaking knowing that any minute a large number were going to rush the door and they would be killed. For all she knew they had grenades or explosives they could just toss in and blow them to bits. It didn't look good and she was terrified. They were trapped and the bullets were running low. Felicity was on her own out there somewhere and she had no idea where Adam was or even if he was still alive. "This all sux." she murmured to herself.

Alicia leaned against the back wall and felt it move. She grabbed the sheet of tin and it felt loose. Carefully she peeled it back until she could fit through. She whistled and Tracy scurried back. They had no idea what was on the other side but it lead away from here. They crawled through and found themselves in another dark shed.

It wreaked of stale urine making them gag. "Must be a toilet block." Alicia suggested. A light appeared on the other side of the room as a guard opened a door just enough to stick his head and shoulder inside. He was shaking an unlit torch and swearing at it angrily.

Alicia charged forward with all the stealth and speed she could muster driving her sword into his chest. Tracy's blade pierced his stomach an instant later. She grabbed the man and quickly pulled him in the door. She looked outside and said "Coast clear." Tracy picked up his baton and the torch. There was no gun unfortunately. She tapped the torch a few times and it turned on. Shinning it around the room they were sickened by what they saw. There were people huddled against the walls. They were tied to each other. Alicia guessed about twenty of them. Males and females aging from mid teens to late twenties. Each wore a gag and looked to be sedated. They were alive but didn't really seem interested in potential rescuers suddenly appearing. One man started grunting for their attention. Alicia removed his gag. He thanked her and explained he hadn't eaten any of the slop they were ordered to eat. He only pretended because he was a vegetarian. He wasn't sedated like the others. He went on to explain how he had been kidnapped a few days ago. Prisoners were bought in and taken away as the scientist chose them. Tracy asked him if any of them had been injected with anything. He shook his head. Tracy asked him "Can you fight?" "I think so." the man replied. She cut the rope around his hands and said "Stay here. Stretch a bit but do not try to escape until all the gun fire has stopped for a long while. Try to act like you're still tied up till then." She tucked her knife under his leg to conceal it saying "Remember, do not try to escape yet. The guards are on alert." The man agreed to follow her instructions. Alicia would have liked to set them all free, but they would only be slaughtered. She had to think logically. Their best chance would be when all the guards were out of the way. The two girls kept moving.

Adam and Felicity were roughly shoved along a corridor and bought to what appeared to be a large surgery. Two lab assistants stopped hovering over the body of the patient they were working on and watched them curiously. Doctor Khall emerged from his side office wearing his lab coat and drawing a pistol from his pocket. He looked like the typical evil scientist from a horror film with his pointy goatee and crazy eyes. He looked at Adam with an annoyed expression saying "So you were the ones turning my creations against me. I suppose I should thank you for pointing out Kingsworth little lapse in security measures. Don't worry, I'll fix that by the time you become one of my slaves." He glanced at Felicity before continuing "And it looks like you bought me a little gift. How kind of you. She looks familiar though." He looked at Felicity scratching his chin.

Felicity was seething with hatred as she saw Khall standing there. She hissed loudly. Finally recognising the girl he approached with an evil smirk and said to her "So you're still alive my feral little bundle of damaged goods." He looked her up and down. "Nice outfit." he commented stroking her furry cat ears, "Maybe we can have some fun before you die. One for the road maybe." Felicity tried to bite at his hand but a guard grabbed her by the hair. Khall chuckled maniacally as an idea formed in his head. "Well my spirited little kitten, you aren't the only cosplay girl here now." Khall said. He clapped his hands twice loudly and said "Meet your replacements. They're much better equipped than you were my broken little play thing." he said poking at her chest with his pistol. He spoke in the direction of the guards saying "You boys are going to just love this. A little show from your generous master. It should be fun. A large chested attractive woman appeared from a side office. She was wearing a black leotard, white rabbit ears and fishnet stockings. She was followed by another gorgeous busty woman in a nurse's outfit. Her very short uniform was open at the front exposing the red lingerie beneath. At Khall's signal a guard ran over to the women. He gave a large knife to the bunny girl and his baton to the nurse. Adam cringed. These were probably unwilling innocent woman once that he now controlled with his interfaces. They were slaves to his sick and twisted fantasies. Khall was deranged. No doubt these women would be fast and strong as well. Probably more than Felicity was. Felicity stood little chance unarmed against the pair. If she somehow could win, she would be shot anyway. Khall walked over to the girls kissing them both quickly and said "Rip her to pieces. Make it entertaining, and very bloody." They walked forward as the guards holding Felicity opened her handcuffs and threw her forward. Felicity rolled and sprang to her feet in a defensive pose.

"Stay calm." Adam yelled "Don't let the anger cloud your judgement. Remember giving in to rage gets you killed. Stay in control." He couldn't think of much else to say. Felicity glanced at him quickly before replying. "I will try for your sake. I will stay in control. Thank you for showing me care. Thank Alicia for me too, and Tracy." The nurse lunged first. Felicity spun and kicked at her head but was too slow. The fist baton swing glanced off the back of her shoulder armour as she twisted away, but the return swing smashed into her ribs knocking her to the ground. She rose slowly struggling to breath. Felicity watched as the knife wielding bunny inched closer waiting for a clear shot. The nurse kicked her in the stomach and raised the baton to strike, but Felicity had latched onto her leg with both hands as the kick had made her double over. The blow was clumsy and glanced off the back of her head. Felicity still held tight to the leg. Now the nurse was trying to balance on one foot. Felicity held on waiting for the right moment. As she saw the bunny thrust the knife towards her throat she pulled the nurse towards her and threw herself backwards pulling the nurse with her. The nurse fell to the ground as the knife pierced her back. She moaned in agony but didn't rise again. The bunny was fast as she slashed at Felicity in a flurry of attacks. She no longer had to avoid hitting her partner.

Felicity was soon bleeding from slashes to her leg, forearm and waist. It was getting harder to dodge. She remembered Adam's words and tried to quell the rage inside her that urged her to just charge the enemy wildly. She had to stay in control. Adam was proud of her and she didn't want to disappoint him. He was the first person that ever made her feel she was worth something. Felicity tried to think of a plan but something was wrong. Her head hurt and her body was twitching for some reason. She feigned a stumble and left her wounded side open to attack. The bunny lunged at her open area as Felicity twisted around and elbowed her in the face. The bunny girl was knocked back a few paces, but withstood the blow. The move Felicity had planned worked, but she was starting to stagger now. The knife had still managed to slice the side of her stomach. She fell to her knees holding the wound. The bunny girl dropped the knife as she raised her broken wrist. Her hand dangled at an unnatural angle. In the same twist she had elbowed the bunny's face Felicity had snapped her wrist. Felicity dove on the knife and quickly thrust it up into the woman's stomach twice while she was still in shock. Felicity tried to stand but couldn't. A strange convulsion shook her body. She turned slowly to Adam and whispered "I'm sorry. I tried." Felicity fell face forward to the floor bleeding badly from her wounds. She lay motionless as Khall carefully approached and stood over the body.

He looked disappointed as he said "Bad kitty. You broke my new toys. Never mind I can make plenty more. You know I almost wish I hadn't tossed you away now. Turns out all I had to do was add more shielding to make you obey." Khall tapped Felicity's head a few times with his foot but there was no response. "Aww... Is the poor Kitty dead? Better make sure." he chuckled as he aimed the gun at Felicity's head. Adam knew he had to do something, and it had to be quick. "Wait !" he called out, "There's something you don't know." Khall looked at Adam smuggly and boasted "Oh don't worry boy, I know all about the shielding. I know why this one failed. I control life now. I learnt everything that ..." He didn't get the chance to finish his boasting. His jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide in horror. Now he was in range and distracted Felicity had sprung her trap and struck. Khall was bleeding from a slice running most the way across his belly. The gun fell to the ground with two of his fingers. With her third lightning fast strike Adam guessed she probably castrated him. She dove behind him to use the screaming doctor as a shield. "Let him go now, or doctor sicko dies." she called out holding the knife to Khall's throat. "Do it Khall begged. Let him go." Felicity used her foot to pull the gun closer to her and grabbed it. Her twitching was getting worse and she was turning very pale.

The guards holding Adam released him and he grabbed their weapons. He passed his aim slowly over all of them yelling. "All of you drop your weapons and stand against the wall. I want to see faces pressed against the wall people." The six guards and two lab assistants looked at each other to see what they were all going to do. Adam fired a short burst over their heads and they soon obeyed. As soon as they were all unarmed and facing the wall he opened fire until the gun was empty. He no longer felt any remorse or hesitation when it came to killing these people who followed the orders of that mad man. Not for any reason. He was quite willing to be their judge and executioner.

Adam raced over to Felicity and helped support her. She was starting to take long slow blinks. Her eyes closed for longer each time. She was still twitching at regular intervals. Felicity was pale from the loss of blood and beginning to loose conciousness. Doctor Khall was moaning loudly and begging for his life as Adam dragged him off her roughly. Felicity slowly reached a hand over Khall's belly wound and thrust it inside. She pulled out a handful of intestines and spread it out over his chest. He gasped and screamed as he saw what was happening to him. A few seconds later his eyes closed and he went silent. Adam was deeply disturbed and sickened by what he just seen. "Damn." Felicity cursed "I was hoping to drag it out much longer." She closed her eyes with a contented smile and whispered "Go help the others. I got my revenge." "No." he replied "Nobody is allowed to die remember." She didn't respond. He dressed the wounds as best he could and tried to minimise the bleeding. She was still breathing, but it was very faint and he could hear a rattle to it. He had no idea why her body was twitching and convulsing. He slung a fresh rifle over his shoulder and lifted her unconscious body in his arms. Tracy had studied nursing. He had to find her quickly.

.As he left the lab he realised everything had gone silent outside. He guessed the battle was over. He prayed that Alicia and Tracy had somehow survived against the odds.

Chapter 9

When Adam finally made it back to the entrance he was staggering. Felicity was a skinny girl a little shorter than Alicia, but she was growing heavy. He found Tracy comforting a distraught Alicia near the front gate. There were blood covered bodies everywhere. At the sight of Adam Alicia's expression turned to one of disbelief. She raced forward and hugged him tightly sobbing "I thought you were dead. I couldn't find you. You can't ever leave my sight again." Tracy carefully took Felicity's body from between them and lay her down. She was twitching and spasming sporadically. Tracy checked her saying "She still has a weak pulse, but these convulsions worry me."

They were startled by the sound of boots in the gateway. There were ten men and women in strange armour. Four more appeared on the rooftops holding some kind of rifle with a huge scope attached. They all wore armour resembling blue plastic plates over a dark grey body suit. They looked like they had just stepped out off a sci-fi movie set. Adam guessed these might be Khall's special guard or something. Perhaps mercenary reinforcements. They all raised their swords in unison looking threatening. A man's voice barked out harshly. "Drop your weapons and sit. Now. You are outnumbered by vastly superior forces. The perimeter is surrounded."

Adam was not ready to surrender yet. The girls were exhausted. It was up to him now. He hoped he could hit enough of them to give the girls a chance before he was taken down. He reached carefully for the rifle ready to fire it. A familiar voice caught his attention. It was Gem yelling at the leader of the group "No dear stop, this is Winters crew." Adam saw Gem lift the faceplate on her own blue armour as she approached from behind them. The man beside her lowered his weapon and removed his faceplate and helmet. He looked like an ordinary man in his early twenties with sandy brown hair. He was about the same height as Adam which made him taller than his companions. He didn't look like a soldier at all despite the outfit. He turned and spoke to Gem saying"You mean they survived? They did all this? Impressive. I thought you were going to warn them to stay away." Gem replied "I did. I only told them the location so they could avoided it and not get lured here as a trap." The two approached as Gem clung affectionately. She introduced them saying "Dear this is Adam Winters. Doctor Kingsworth's choice of guardian for Alicia and Tracy. Adam this is Aidan3, my husband. We just call him Aidan." Aidan held out a friendly hand and Adam was grateful to be shaking it rather than having to kill again. Aidan chuckled "You know you would never have had a chance to fire that gun. Sorry we're late. Government red tape and crap. We couldn't make a move without their approval. We didn't think we were coming at all actually. That new drug is none of our concern technically but we suspected them of killing one of our own. It wasn't enough for instant approval. Too much at risk for our government relations."

Gem knelt down to inspect Felicity. She pulled the medical kit from her back and opened it to remove the probe. Aidan called to his team "Clean up time. Stay in pairs. Bring all survivors for testing. Any who are clear we will interview. Catalogue and incinerate all bodies containing dangerous levels of the drug or interfaces. I want every bit of evidence destroyed before the army joins us just in case." Alicia told Aidan about the prisoners in the shed and how they weren't injected yet. He thanked her and assured her they would be unharmed if they contained none of Khall's drug. Aidan explained to them that a specialised task force of Australian troops they were working with had the area secured for miles around. They were gradually closing their protective net as they approached. Adam didn't really care. All he was worried about now was the bloody body of the young girl on the ground. Alicia held his hand tightly as they waited for Gem to inspect her with Tracy's assistance. They looked deeply concerned. Alicia squeezed Adam's hand and whispered "I can't sense her interface any more. Do you think she'll be ok? " "I'm sure she will be." he lied not feeling confident about her chances at all.

Aidan pulled Adam and Alicia aside so Gem couldn't listen and asked "Have you seen any of our people by any chance?" Adam pulled the foreign interface from his pocket and handed it to him saying "We found this. Fay is locked in a room on the second level. She was beaten and unconscious but seemed well enough. We locked her in an old first aid room to hide her." Aidan looked at the interface sadly and said "He was one of ours. A peaceful man. He was buying supplies when he went missing. Thank you for taking care of Fay." He paused to focus for a moment and continued saying "Yes, I can sense her moving now. Gem will be relieved. She worries more than she lets on." Adam wasn't surprised to learn he was talking to yet another biod. This one was larger than the others though, and looked more normal. He even had an Australian accent. He began to wonder just how many biods existed.

Adam returned to Gem. She was pulling a knife from her leg armour saying "Her interface is badly damaged. It's destroying her brain with charged pulses. I have to get rid of it now." Gem carefully proceeded to cut the device from Felicity's neck and cut the connection to the internal conduits. Alicia squeezed his hand tightly and dragged him away. Adam assured her "She will be ok. She has to be." He looked into Alicia's eyes and saw she was scared for the girl too. They held each other close while Gem and Tracy operated. Eventually Gem stood and approached to explain "Her interface is too damaged. It looks like it was crushed. I have removed it and repaired the wounds. Her body should survive, but there was major discharge to her brain as the interface failed. I believe her organic memories are gone. All of them. There may be further damage." Adam thought for a moment before asking "So the girl we knew is gone forever?" Gem nodded and said "Yes. Trust me, I know exactly what it is like. There is nothing I can do to get them back." Adam was saddened that the tough girl who had endured and overcome so much was gone in the moment of her triumph. Gem held out held out her hand with the blood covered interface. As she turned it over they could see where it had been impacted and crushed against bone. Gem explained further "I can not remove the conduits. It is too dangerous to remove all of it, but they are harmless. This is the interface controller. The wound will heal without scars. She is human again now, but I can not predict the exact damage to her brain. I had to replace a lot of flesh as well. We can discuss side affects later. This was all I could do for her." Adam and Alicia thanked Gem for her efforts appreciatively.

Adam was suddenly knocked to the ground as something impacted into his back. "You bastard." Fay yelled standing over him. "What's the big idea leaving me in there. I could have helped if you waited. You're so lucky I might be willing to forgive you." Aidan picked her up and carried her away before she could berate Adam any further saying to her "Not a good time Fay." She started into Aidan instead then accusing him for following rules instead of his heart. They dissappeared from view but Fay's rant could still be heard fading away. Alicia helped Adam up and they returned to Felicity. Tracy said "At least she's alive. She can have a fresh start now. We will protect her wont we?" They all agreed.

As Alicia saw Gem walking off to rejoin her team, she spotted the repair kit. She quickly ran over to walk with Gem for a bit. Adam noticed Alicia pointing at the kit as they chatted. He asked Tracy "Is Alicia hiding a wound? She looks ok." Tracy shook her head saying "Not that I'm aware of. Would you mind getting the car so we can go home. I kind of parked it a bit awkwardly. I'll stay with Felicity."

Adam walked to the big shed he guessed the car hummer was still inside of. He expected it was most likely dented because the impact had shaken the entire shed. He didn't expect it to be on it's side though. He looked closer to see if it might be drivable but the amount of oil lying around the front indicated it wasn't worth trying. Alicia soon rejoined him surveying the damage and said "I hope daddy kept the insurance up to date." Adam held her and looked her up and down asking "Are you sure you're ok? No injuries? I saw you and Gem talking and pointing at her first kit." Alicia chuckled. "I promise I'm fine. I just had a question for her about her kit. I wanted to know where to get one. That's all." Adam was relieved. He confessed to her "You know I was scared you might have been hurt. It made me think of living without you. I couldn't handle that now." Alicia grinned saying "That reminds me." She slapped him across the face and said "That's for trying to leave us behind jerk." She leaned in and kissed him then saying "And that's for wanting to protect us. You know I can't loose you either. You're part of me now."

Aidan joined them and looked at the vehicle laying on it's side saying "I'm no mechanic, but I think it's due for a service. Don't worry the army reports they found your other car. A soldier is bringing it up now. It might be a good idea to take Felicity and leave before they all get here. We can debrief tomorrow. One of our scouts will watch over your place tonight." "Thank you very much." Adam said as they all returned to Felicity. Tracy looked happy as she told them "She seems to be stabilising well. I think she'll be ok physically at least. The cuts are mending really fast." When Adam's little car came through the gate they thanked the young soldier who delivered it and carefully lay Felicity across the back seat with her head on Tracy's lap. Her bleeding had stopped and the wounds were healing very fast. He could see why Alicia was so interested in their first aid kits. They left the tannery as dozens of soldiers in army uniforms started to enter.

On the way home Alicia decided to remind Adam of the wedding. "What's the rush?" he asked and added "We should see how Felicity is first. Besides you have a full life time now and Khall is dead." Tracy kicked the back of seat and spoke on Alicia's behalf growling "God you men are stupid. Don't you realise you both nearly lost each other tonight. Don't you think she was terrified? Stop being a jerk and stop using Felicity as an excuse. I can watch her if need be. None of us can be certain how long we have left. Tonight should have proved that." Adam sighed and said "I guess we can do it tomorrow afternoon. I already found someone to perform the service. "You did?" Alicia asked sounding surprised "You mean you really are taking it all seriously? That's a big relief." Adam smiled saying "Of course I was. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy." Adam felt another kick in the back of his seat as Tracy said "Cut the mushy stuff before I barf. Just do as she tells you."

When they got home a blue armoured scout made them jump as he emerged from the shadows. He said he would be keeping an eye on the outside all night so they should rest well. Adam thanked him and told him to help himself to the kitchen, TV or anything he liked. The scout thanked him and returned to the shadows.

While the girls cleaned Felicity up and dressed her for bed Adam cooked up a batch of chicken burgers. They sat and enjoyed the food as they discussed the finer details of their night's battle. Adam sent a text message to the priest he had contacted and got a positive reply almost immediately. Today they had been fighting for their lives and tomorrow they would be holding a wedding. Everything seemed to be happening too fast, but he had vowed to keep Alicia happy and had every intention of keeping that promise. It didn't really feel right with Felicity being hurt, but he understood Alicia's impatience. Odds were everything should have ended very differently tonight.

Felicity slept laid out beside Alicia all night. It was odd to see her not curled up in a ball for once. It was a restless sleep. She often muttered various words that made no sense, but at least it seemed she still had speech. Adam pulled his desk chair in beside the bed and sat watching over them as they slept. Tracy had already collapsed on the lounge not that he minded. He didn't think he could sleep while he was so worried. At some point in the early hours of the morning he must have succumbed to exhaustion and drifted off.

In the morning he woke to find Felicity was no longer there. She was huddled in the corner of the room with a terrified expression. This wasn't the strange girl he knew prone to bouts of blood lust. This was a lost and frightened child. He leaned forward and said "It's ok Felicity. It's me Adam." She looked like she was trying to remember but couldn't. Adam carefully stood trying not to startle her. He edged his way out of the room and hurried to the fridge. He eventually found the chocolate bar he was looking for and returned to find Felicity kneeling on the floor beside the bed staring at Alicia. She quickly scrambled back to the corner. Adam opened the chocolate bar and sat it on the side of the bed before cautiously backing away to sit in the opposite corner. Felicity looked at it. She seemed to recognise what it was and slowly inched forward until she could snatch it. She ate it without taking her eyes of Adam. "Well at least you remember chocolate." Adam smiled. He tried talking to her by saying "I know you're scared Felicity, just waking up and not knowing where you are or who we are. We wont push you. Just take it at your own pace. We all want to help."

Felicity nodded so it seemed she understood. She didn't seem quite as scared now so he asked "Are you thirsty?" Felicity nodded again. He stood and walked out to the fridge again. He sat a glass of cola on the floor near her and she drank it quickly. He thought that was a good sign too. She wasn't as helpless as he had feared she would be after the injury. There was know way yet of telling just how much damage her brain had suffered or what Gem had managed to fix with her strange medical kit.

Felicity pointed at Alicia saying "Who?" Adam replied "That's Alicia. She is one of your friends. Just like me and Tracy who is asleep on the lounge. I'm Adam remember." She shook her head but crawled closer saying "Adam.....friend....I...I can't remember. Where am I?" Adam smiled, it looked like she wasn't too bad apart from the memory loss. He explained slowly "You are in my flat. You've been staying here with us. You asked us to care for you once and adopt you. You were in a fight last night and you saved my life, but you were badly injured." Felicity looked confused and whispered "I can't remember." She began to cry as she sobbed "I can't remember anything." Adam slowly crawled toward her and placed a hand on her arm saying "It's ok Felicity. We are like your family. We will look after you. Just don't try too hard. You've been through a lot. We all love you and are proud of you." Felicity suddenly jumped forward and hugged him sobbing "I'm so scared. I don't understand. Why can't I remember anything?" When she pulled back she patted her head saying. "Where are they? Something is missing. Gone. I need them. I'm not safe. Where are they?" She started to panic.

"Your cat ears?" Adam asked. Alicia's hand suddenly stuck out from under the covers holding the ears. She said softly "I was minding them for you Felicity. They fell off during the night." Felicity quickly grabbed them and stuck them on her head. She seemed instantly relieved as she licked Alicia's hand and began to purr. Tracy spoke from the doorway "At least she remembers her security blanket. That's gotta be good." Tracy kneeled beside Adam and explained gently to Felicity "When you were scared before you used to pretend you were a cat. It helped you cope. We understand if you still need to do that sometimes. Do you remember being a cat?" Felicity shook her head but looked deep in thought. Eventually she just meowed. She smiled after that. It did seem to help.

As they ate breakfast Felicity sat on the floor and watched them. She ate some cereal and didn't seem too different from before. She wasn't acting like a cat as much now, but she wasn't acting like her normal self either. They guessed it was just going to take a while and everything would be new and a little scary at first. She seemed to be curious about little things that interested her, but they were things she should have known well. They couldn't risk startling her or she would cower into a ball. She was very child like despite being able to talk if she really wanted to. It saddened all of them, but they were willing to be patient and support her recovery. Just after lunch Tracy did some basic therapy with her. She concluded that her short term memory was good, but there was nothing about people or events from her past.

The doorbell rang and Adam answered the door while Felicity hid in the bedroom peering around the corner. Adam welcomed the man inside and introduced him as Father Lawson. He seemed like a genuinely nice man and was happy to hold the wedding. It would all be legal and legitimate. Adam explained that he had found the father online and when he heard the story he was only too willing to help Alicia out. He had said earlier in the conversion with Alicia "I am so glad you are in remission. I visited you once before in the hospital and they had told me you were terminal. You were in very bad shape at that stage so you may not remember." Alicia couldn't remember, but she had no memories at all from before her death. Those were the real Alicia's memories. She wasn't sure what kind of a story Adam had told the priest, but was eager to play along with still being a terminally ill patient if it got her the wedding she wanted so much. Father Lawson asked whether Alicia's father would be present which caused her to start weeping. Adam explained he was overseas on business and may not make it in time. Tracy offered to stand in as the carer appointed by her father. Adam had no family he cared to invite so it would just be them. Adam gave the priest a generous donation and they agreed to meet up at three pm in the park by the beach with no more questions. It was a beautiful day and it was a quiet time of year, so it shouldn't be crowded. After father Lawson left Tracy shoved Adam out the door told him to get out while they prepared. He left Tracy with half of what remained in the envelope and left to hire a suit and find a wedding ring.

The park was beautiful as Adam and Father Lawson waited in the pergola of the park. There was a picturesque view of the beach and all the flowers were in bloom. There didn't seem to be many people around. Adam was nervous. He prayed this was all true. The Alicia he had first met liked to play games to control him, but he was positive that was not the real her. "It's just nerves." Father Lawson assured him seeing the worried look on his face. "It's quite normal to have fears and doubts. Just believe. If I doubted her feelings I wouldn't be here." It did reassure him to know he was just experiencing normal jitters. His nerves were put to rest when a taxi pulled up. Tracy and Felicity emerged holding small bouquets of flowers while. They both wore pale apricot coloured dresses and had small flowers in their hair. He thought neither had ever looked more beautiful than they did now. They held hands as they came to stand by his side. "You both look beautiful he told them." They both looked embarrassed as Tracy said, "Turns out you weren't the only one making plans in secret. She had these reserved at the hire place two days ago." Adam had no idea when Alicia had found time to organise bridesmaids dresses.

Eventually Alicia emerged from the taxi with the driver's help. By coincidence it was the same old driver that had bought her home from her drunken escapade at the pub a few night ago. The one that called her Pukey. She had chosen a traditional lacy white sleeveless dress with a low cut but still respectable front. Instead of a veil she wore babies breath in her golden hair. She held a large bouquet of pink and white flowers in her hands. Adam knew he would never forget this image. This was perfection. She looked like a dream as she drifted towards him. He breathed in deeply as she reached for his hand. Finally he managed to say "I have never seen anyone more beautiful." She blushed a little and replied "Thanks, you scrub up pretty good too. Really good actually." Father Lawson cleared his throat and began.

The ceremony was short as they had asked. When it came to Adam's turn to say "I do" he did so eagerly. He heard Alicia mutter "You better." jokingly under her breath. When it was Alicia's turn she said her "I do." in a definite and certain voice without hesitation. Father Lawson finished the ceremony with "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride." They took their first kiss as a married couple until Felicity's giggles caused them to laugh as well. They thanked Father Lawson and he pulled out a camera from his robes telling them all to line up for some photos.

It had all gone perfectly and Adam couldn't believe he was now actually married to Alicia. He had booked the best rooms in the best motel for their honeymoon, but Alicia asked if they could just stay in their own bed for tonight. It was just where she felt like being. At home with her family. Also she didn't want to expose Felicity to too many new locations just yet. Adam agreed and they were all piling back into his little car when Fay approached out of nowhere. She was wearing a tennis outfit with a headband and carrying a large sports bag on her back. Her eyes were moist and she held a tissue. "That was just beautiful." she said to the newly wed couple "Congratulations to you both." She paused for a moment and asked Alicia "Does Adam have a brother?" Adam shook his head chuckling "Sorry Fay. Only child." Alicia tossed her the bouquet which she caught. She asked Fay "You know what that means don't you?" Fay looked puzzled and focussed for a moment before cheering "Yay, thank you. I'm next." She was obviously jubilant.

Adam doubted this was a social visit and asked "Are you here for the debriefing, because it's not really the best time." Fay replied "No that's been put back to tomorrow now. I was hanging around just in case. You know, Alicia might have bailed and you'd be left there all alone feeling miserable. A priest at the ready."

"Really?" Adam asked. Fay nodded and said "Yep, but I was also meant to deliver a message about the debriefing tomorrow. You've all been invited to please come to the institute. I already transferred the details to Alicia. It's only two hours drive. Mother wants to meet with you all and discuss your futures." "Don't worry, we'll be there." Alicia said. "But for now we have a wedding to celebrate." "That's cool." Felicity said before pulling a long sad face and asking "Will there be that cake with the fruit in it?" She looked at Alicia with large pleading eyes. Alicia smiled saying "You'll have to and see wont you." Fay quickly jumped in the back of the car pushing Tracy across."Let's go." she said excitedly.

When they arrived back at the flat a catering van was parked out the front. Alicia smiled and said, "I didn't feel like cooking. So I ordered food with some of the money you left." The caterers laid out the feast on a folding table in the living room with extra folding chairs and a two tier wedding cake on the kitchen bench Alicia closed the door behind the caterers thanking them and went to the bedroom to change out of her dress. Fay claimed the bathroom saying she needed to change too. Alicia soon returned in a T-shirt and skirt saying "Now we can do this in comfort. Just us relaxing at home together nice and casual." When Fay returned all their mouths fell open in surprise. She was now wearing a simple short lavender coloured dress and had translucent blueish tinted wings on her back. She looked at their surprised faces brushing her long white hair back to expose her pointy ears and large purple eyes. "What?" She asked "I like the fairy theme. Didn't Adam tell you about my extra appendages? They're for controlling fake wings. They work in conjunction with an anti gravity harness." She flapped the wings a few times to show how the artificial wings moved before asking "Didn't my name give you a clue?" Adam answered "Oh yeah, Fay means fairy doesn't it? The 'fair folk'. I think the term covered all the elves, pixies, fairies and stuff. Fay replied "Yep, but I'm none of those really. Because of my size, and wings mother named me Fay. She grew up with stories about the same mythical creatures too. Seeing as you already knew about the ears and the arms and tomorrow you will learn the rest, I couldn't see the sense in concealing it any more. Besides when I drink I kind of don't keep secrets very well anyway. Mother will explain the full story tomorrow. Tonight is for partying."

Tracy popped open a bottle of cold champagne and poured everyone a drink. She had sparkling apple juice for Felicity not wishing to risk alcohol in her healing state . They toasted the newly weds and Alicia joined Adam on the lounge to eat. After the cake was served Adam noticed Fay carefully wrapping a few slices in napkins and tucking them into her sports bag. She kept chatting and maintaining eye contact with Tracy the entire time. She was very good at not being noticed. As Tracy opened another bottle to fill the empty glass Fay was holding out, Alicia quietly grabbed Adam's hand and pulled him into the bedroom locking the door behind her.

In the morning they found the mother of all messes in the main living area of the flat. Felicity was sleeping peacefully on the lounge while Tracy and Fay were slumped leaning on each other against the wall. There were three empty bottles beside them and Fay was still clutching another. Alicia laughed saying "I will never delete these images. We should print out a few copies. Adam laughed and hugged his new bride. This was a happy home for their new family, but it was too cramped. He suggested to Alicia "I think we might need a bigger home. Tomorrow we should start looking for a bigger rental."

Hearing them talking Fay started mumbling something and soon raced passed them with her hand over her mouth. Alicia followed to make sure she ok. The image of the groaning fairy resting with her arms and head on the toilet seat made a very unique picture. They all picked at left overs from the fridge instead of a proper breakfast. After that a horn beeped out the front. Fay stumbled to the door with her bag groaning "That'll be my taxi." Adam asked "What about you're disguise?" Fay shrugged and replied "I usually just tell them I was at a costume party. Works all the time." She donned her sunglasses as she walked through the door yelling "Congratulations and all that stuff." Then she was gone. Alicia wrapped her arms around Adam's waist and asked "What exactly is she?" Adam shrugged saying "I guess we'll find out later today Mrs Winters." Alicia held him tighter whispering "Alicia Winter. Sounds good doesn't it? I like it."

Chapter 10

After following the coast road north for just over two hours they finally reached their destination. The institute was hard to miss with it's high security fence and military guard post at the front. Nothing could be seen of the institute itself because of a dense line of trees just beyond the fence. As they approached the gate two armed men emerged from the small guard hut and stopped the car. They wore Australian army uniforms. Adam leaned out the window and said "Adam Winters and three companions. Ambassador Ellan Elore is expecting us." The men circled the car suspiciously. One carried a mirror on a stick to check underneath the car while the other checked the passengers carefully comparing them to a data tablet he held. As soon as they were done a soldier returned to the car window and said "No worries mate. The car park is just through the trees. A scout will meet you there. Don't leave your vehicle until they arrive. All visitors must be escorted. You must also wear these." The man ordered holing out four photo identity tags. Adam passed out the tags to the girls curious how they already had their pictures. He guessed they had been printed out from a biod's memory because they looked to have been taken just after the raid on Khall's lab.

Adam drove forward as soon as the boom gate lifted. It was only a short distance to the car park. Gem and another Lorene woman were already waiting in the small car park surrounded by trees. As they all climbed out of the car he noticed the woman with Gem was wearing cat ears in her flaming red hair. Felicity instantly ran towards her for a closer look. The woman smiled in a friendly manner as she inspected Felicity's ears in return. The two seemed to bond instantly. Gem waved them over and introduced her companion to them all saying "This is my sister Kitty. Defence trainer. Excuse the ears they are sentimental to her. A gift from an old friend. She rarely takes them off and believes they also help distract opponents. Now was the first time he had seen Gem without some kind of head covering over her long blue hair. Her ears were pointed just like Fay's. He looked at Kitty and noticed her ears were the same as well. Gem noticed him looking and said. "You are about to witness a lot of things that may seem very strange to you. There is no need to fear. Mother will explain it all." She motioned for them all to follow.

As they emerged from the trees the group had to stop as they saw the institute. It looked more like a modern version of a fairy tale village. There was a large grassy park area in front of them. It was covered in lush green grass and gardens with a single road passing through the middle. Everything was clean and well looked after. The gardens and various trees were beautiful. Along the north and south side of the area were long rows of two story units that appeared to be for residential use. Every building was a gleaming white. At the far side of the garden area and bordering the beach were several two story buildings and a large shed that looked like an airport hanger. Every person they saw seemed short like Gem and Kitty, but none were as short as Fay, nor could they see any that had the extra arms on their backs. They all had the same pointy ears and beautiful petite appearance. Most of them had flowing white hair, but a few had coloured their hair in various bright colours. They all looked friendly, happy and peaceful. "Is this heaven?" Alicia asked. "No." Kitty laughed "It is more of a refugee camp as well as our science institute and embassy. It was a caravan park once, but the government purchased it along with some of the land around it on our behalf."

Alicia grabbed Adams's hand telling him to look. She pointed to a small group of tiny children near a cherry tree. They were silently listening to a woman dressed as an angel reading to them. She had long golden hair and wore large white wings. Tracy seemed transfixed by the woman. Gem explained "You met my sister Angel once before when you attacked Fay. We only have a few children here, all under three years old. They like to hear the stories she reads to them when she wears that outfit. She is eager to become their teacher in time." Adam couldn't help but to ask "What's with all the cosplay." Gem smiled as she reflected. "When we first arrived on this beach, the man who cared for us was a big fan of your animes. His home was much like your home Adam and his tastes very similar. We knew nothing of your culture and some of us had no names. We all grew close to him and when he asked my sisters to choose a name they looked at his posters and shows for inspiration. They had all watched a few of his shows to learn more of your culture and they each had favourite characters or styles they related to. Fay and I already had names, but the others chose to adopt names and appearances inspired by characters that appealed to them. Kitty liked cat girl characters, Angel liked angelic characters and their wing styles appealed to her. Monica liked the demonic type girls so adopted a look like them, but she is dead now." Adam felt bad for reminding Gem of her dead sister and said "Sorry about your lost sister. I shouldn't have bought it up." Gem replied "She died a hero saving billions of lives. It is not a bad thing to remember her or her sacrifice." Adam decided not to ask any more questions.

"G'day." they heard a woman's voice yell. When they turned around they saw an attractive woman with long wavy bright pink hair approaching with two white haired toddlers in tow. "Just wanted to welcome you all." she said. She was a stunning woman in her early twenties. She looked nothing like the others. For one thing she was not as short as the other people here and her ears were normal. The pointy eared toddler girl with her reached out her arms toward Gem calling excitedly "Mummy." Gem picked her up saying "This is my baby girl, Sapphire." She motioned to the pink haired woman saying "This is Emma. A close friend of the institute and her son Danny." Adam noted the young boy holding Emma's hand had normal ears despite the white hair. Emma shook their hands saying "Don't want to hold you up. Just felt like saying hi. If you need anything, or just want a chat, my house is on the block just through the north gate."

Gem handed her daughter back to Emma telling the child "Just stay with Aunt Emma a little longer and then we can play at the beach with daddy." Alicia asked curiously "Aunt? Is Emma your sister too?" Gem chuckled, "Not really, but we have been like sisters since we met. It was her and the original Aidan that looked after me when Aidan rescued me from drowning. They were always kind." That just left Alicia muttering confusedly "Original Aidan? I don't think I'll ask any more."

As they began to move on Adam noticed that Tracy was still standing far behind staring at Angel. He asked Alicia "What was wrong with Tracy? Do you think all this is too much for her?" Alicia grinned and winked, "I'll explain later ok." He called to Tracy and she seemed to wake from her daze and catch up to the group. As they continued it all just seemed unbelievable. The people seemed so nice and everything was beautifully maintained. As they entered what looked like the main building another man stopped to greet them politely. He looked just like most of the people here with long white hair, blue eyes and a petite build. Gem introduced him saying "This is Alec. He will be working with you in the future. He is developing new servos and actuators at the moment for cybernetic applications." They shook hands and exchanged greetings. Adam was very interested in seeing his work. He imagined that any servos designed here would be far better than the cheap ones littering his desk at home.

After he walked away Adam asked Gem "What did you mean by 'Working with'? " Gem looked trouble and tried to explain "I am afraid that you attacked Khall's lab and killed dozens of people. You are viewed as vigilantes by the government. Criminals no matter what the reason. You took it upon yourselves to judge and execute them all. As justified as it was, and even though you rescued all those who would become his next victims, it was also mass murder. You had no government sanction or authority. Mother has defended you, but to keep your government happy, she has had to make certain arrangements. She will explain." Adam and the girls all stopped and looked at each other in horror. They had just done what seemed right at the time to protect the girl's lives. They attacked Khall so he wouldn't hunt them down. They had never considered the legality of it all. Gem looked at them all and said "Do not be concerned. We all know you did the right thing and we support your actions. We did not want the matter dragged into the judicial system though." She opened a door just ahead and said "Please follow. This is mother's office. She will be with you shortly. They all took a seat in the plain looking office silently deep in thought. Felicity was still holding Kitty's hand so she offered "She can play with me for a while if you like. We'll just be outside in the garden." Adam thought that was a good idea and thanked her. Felicity seemed to be fine to stay with the other strange cat girl.

Ellan entered only moments later. She looked to be an attractive white haired woman in her early thirties. Her eyes were a bright purple and her long lavender dress was elegant and simple. She wore fine basic jewellery but not enough to be considered gaudy or overstated. They all shook her delicate hand before retaking there seats. Ellan took a deep breath. This was always a hard conversion to have and difficult for people to absorb. As the leader of her people here it was her duty though.

She sat at her desk and introduced herself in a soft girlish voice saying "Welcome. I am Ambassador Ellan Elore, or Director or Chief Engineer. Most here just call me mother. Congratulations on taking out Khall before he could build a larger army or sell his research. I am sincerely sorry that I could not organise approval for our own forces to act sooner. I did my best. If we had of attacked without approval and under the eye of the task force, relations with both the Australian government and the United Nations would crumble. This encampment would be raided and our technology taken. It would have a major impact on an unprepared world if the release of our technology was not monitored carefully. Even just our basic power cells for example would destroy your mining industry, and thus your economy. It is a very delicate situation."

Adam replied saying "We just did the only thing that seemed available to us to protect the girls. We saw no other option other than a life of running and fear. We were lucky." He paused for a moment to look at Ellan's eyes. She seemed genuine, not like a politician. He asked "May we finally ask about this institute and it's people now?"

Ellan replied "I will do my best. I understand it may all seem unbelievable. I am Ellan Elore. I am a full blooded naturally born Lorene. I was born two hundred and ninety two years ago in a large city that explored our universe gathering renewable resources and searching for answers to the great mysteries it held. We researched the creation of the universe and pondered the similarities of humanoid life on inhabited worlds. I was a chief engineer in genetic and neural sciences. I was the one who accidentally learnt how to create life in a dead body when I was designing the interface for the third generation biods. Previous biods were nothing more than puppets. Their organic bodies were created full grown with interfaces. They had no life. Fay was the first of the third generation. Her and her sisters are only three years old. Because the mind is full grown, they mature fast and have an AI with modules on behaviour. Their maturity is accelerated. Actually Fay may not be the best example, she has some odd quirks, but I am sure you know what I mean."

Adam nodded in agreement and asked "If you don't mind me asking, is Fay the only one with extra arms? " Ellan looked surprised and responded "Oh, I guess you noticed the wing controllers. We have anti-gravity devices including a biod harness. They simply provide lift. The arms were my genetic modification to control artificial wings that provided manoeuvrability. Angel is the only other one surviving with them as well. I no longer have the resources to make more biods."

Adam seemed satisfied with the brief explanation so Ellan continued saying "As we were in the vicinity of earth three years ago Gem and her sisters came here. Without dragging out all the details we were attacked by one of our own. An outcast called a darkened. In our arrogance we had minimal security in the city. There were no races that challenged us seriously so we felt no need to maintain high security. A single intelligent woman took control and killed three quarters of our people. My daughter Monica and Emma's first partner Aidan were killed freeing the city and saving this planet. I choose to follow my daughters and abandon the city with eighty five of the second generation biods that had been upgraded and were now alive. Most of the biods were happy to remain in the city when it departed, but some of them sought a fresh start to go along with their new life. I had given them the freedom to choose."

Ellan paused for a moment expecting questions but there was none. She continued her story and explained "We eventually formed a relationship with your government and they agreed that our existence would be best keep secret for now. In time we would slowly merge with the general populous. A special task force was set up with the Australian military and United Nations guidance to assist and monitor us. We had a level of technology that made us a target and in the wrong hands could be very dangerous to your society. Our people had a strict policy of not sharing our technology. We would not interfere in the development of lesser races. It was not our right, but with the help of people like Doctor Kingsworth, we have been slowly and carefully integrating some of our technology with yours under strict guidelines."

Alicia interrupted to ask "If it's your policy not to share, why are you sharing it now?" Ellan replied "For one reason, I have grown to see flaws in our traditional way of thinking. It was one of our people that almost destroyed this world. That and their initial attitude to my discovery made me realise that our race were not infallible. I feel now it is our duty to protect the other races. The second reason is that the Lorene were already integrated with the humans long ago anyway." The group listening to Ellan looked mystified as they looked at each other confused. She tried to elaborate saying "Have you ever wondered where the fair hair and blue eyes came from in your genetics?" Tracy replied "It was something to do with environmental conditions in Europe just after the last ice age wasn't it?" Ellan shook her head saying "I am not certain of this, but I do know there was a Lorene colony in the north west region of Europe some seven to eight thousand years ago. Our ancestors were more golden haired than us and most were blue eyed. They had forsaken the technology of our people to live within the nature of that region. We do not know what ever became of them, but it is my theory that they integrated with your society. It is just a theory I am working on. Even many of your myths follow ours, so they must have socialised at least. We do know that our races are not just genetically similar, but genetically compatible as well. Actually most of the dominant races across the universe are humanoid, which further prompted the Lorene to investigate and respect the suspected grand scheme of things."

Ellan looked up at them expecting a shocked reaction, but they seemed to be absorbing it all well. She asked Adam "You don't seem overly surprised by all of this?" Adam shrugged and replied "I've been watching anime, playing games and reading science fiction for years. I guess I'm kind of de-sensitised to the idea. I always wanted to be a part of it somehow. I had a rough idea when I saw Fay's extra arms anyway." Tracy added "Yes, same for me. I was kind of a geek when I was young. This isn't shocking so much as a dream come true." She turned to Alicia expectantly for her take on the situation. Alicia chuckled "Well I died and came back to life. Then we fought an army of super zombies. Not much is going to surprise me now. Anyway I have my Adam with me so I know everything will always be ok." She leaned closer to Adam to snuggle against him. Ellan seemed surprised. She remarked "I wish it was always this easy. Most people refuse to believe at first or demand proof. It comes as a great shock for them to learn that aliens are not only true, but also probably part of your human heritage."

Adam thought for a moment and asked "Now we know basically who you are, what's this about us being labelled as murderers? What happens to us now? " Ellan smiled and replied "It is true that your government in all fairness can not condone your actions in hind sight. You are an unmonitored dangerous rogue element. It is unlikely, but we can not know for certain if you may be discovered one day and be placed in danger again. Next time you may kill innocent people without meaning to. We have however reached an agreement. They will not purse matters if you agree to come under my wing."

Adam asked in a concerned tone "Does that mean we are prisoners?" Ellan reassured him quickly "No of course not. You will just be under my authority. You can come and go as you wish as long as we are aware of your approximate location. Officially you will all cease to exist. The raid will be handled as an action of the task force. You must understand they can not allow you to go on taking the laws into your own hands. I think it was easier for them to place you in my care rather than dealing with complications arising from human biod involvement. It was a complicated situation and we did eventually gain approval to conduct the raid ourselves, however you beat us to the punch. It is my plan to offer you all employment and accommodation here with my family."

Tracy was the first to eagerly speak up saying "Count me in. I studied nursing for a while if that's any help." Ellan nodded and replied "We do have a small infirmary. It would be nice to have a regular staff member in attendance. We can teach you how to use our repair kits. We are also designing a hospital for humans across from this institute." Adam looked to Alicia. He wanted to jump at the chance to be part of this world but she was more important then living out this fantasy. She was deep in thought.

When Adam and Alicia failed to reply Ellan spoke up offering "We can monitor Felicity better here and our cybernetics program could benefit from Adam's input. Not only are we designing limbs for humans here, but we have been asked to make some prototype androids. We have agreed to look into it as long as they can only ever serve peaceful roles and not increase levels of unemployment. I could also benefit from having a human liaison officer to assistant occasionally. My workload is very heavy." This tempted Adam greatly. He had little interest in politics other than protecting the girls, but he loved the idea of tinkering in their technology. He wanted to accept immediately, but it was up to Alicia. He leaned over to ask her "What do you think? I will go along with whatever you choose." Ellan could see Alicia's hesitation and said to her "We have many roles Alicia can try until she finds one she likes. I often need assistance dealing with humans, Emma may like assistance with her fashion designs and writing or integration classes. We are setting up a school to teach children and there are...." Ellan stopped as Alicia stood up saying "That's not it." She silently walked around and whispered something in Ellan's ear. Ellan smiled and exclaimed "That is wonderful. Not a problem at all. Actually I am not surprised." Alicia smiled excitedly and turned to Adam saying "I'm in as long as you agree. I can't think of anywhere better for us, but ultimately I will happily go anywhere as long as we are together." Adam grinned as he let out a long sigh of relief and said "Well it's a dream come true for me. I'm in too."

Ellan seemed relieved. She was hopeful she could convince them to take over some of her less important duties in time. She told them "I am very happy. I have set aside two of the larger three bedroom duplex units for you with an adjoining door. I hope it will be to your liking. They are not furnished yet I am afraid. I can have someone take you for a look now if you like." Adam nodded thanking Ellan for generosity. She pressed a button on her desk and said "Oh I almost forgot. We have a small troop of scouts. You can join them in training and missions if you choose, but it is not expected. I just thought you may be interested." They all looked at each other again and Tracy said "I like to keep fit. I'd like to at least train with them sometimes." Adam was about to volunteer as well but Alicia quickly placed a hand over his mouth saying "We'll think about it."

After the meeting Kitty lead the group to their new quarters. Each unit had a bedroom downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs. They were huge compared to Adam's little flat. A single door downstairs joined the two units together. From the balcony of the upstairs bedroom they had a beautiful view of the gardens and the ocean beyond the hanger. Alicia was jubilant. She dragged Adam around pointing out all her plans for decorating. Felicity choose the downstairs bedroom and curled up for a nap on the floor. They figured she had claimed that room.

Adam returned to the balcony to appreciate the view again while Alicia continued her explorations and planning. He was surprised by Tracy's voice from the neighbouring balcony. Tracy said "This is incredible isn't it? I love it, but it's too big. Do you think we should turn my downstairs room into a shared computer room or movie theatre? We can leave the door open and all share it." "How about a spa room?" Adam suggested jokingly. "Brilliant idea." Tracy replied as she ran back inside. It was good to see them all so elated.

Soon Alicia joined him on the balcony and placed her arm around him saying "I love it here already. A permanent honeymoon." Adam hugged her lovingly and said "Thank you for agreeing. I had my fingers crossed you would say yes, but I would have turned it down readily if you didn't support the idea as well." Alicia kissed him saying "I know you were dying to agree. I was too. A new start for our wedded life in a beautiful place like this. This is paradise. What more could I ask for?" Adam looked confused and asked "So what was all the hesitation about?" Alicia just grinned excitedly and made a check sign in the air with her finger. It took Adam a moment to realise what she meant. He was in a state of disbelief as he asked "You're not? Are you? " "I am." she replied "That's what I whispered to Ellan. I wouldn't feel right accepting her generosity if she wasn't aware. She deserved to know I would need some time off from my assigned role to care for our baby." Adam didn't know what to say. He had always wanted to be a father some day, but never dared believe it may actually happen. He hugged his wife tightly saying "I love you so much Alicia."

That afternoon they all gathered downstairs. Tracy had just removed the door between the units. Adam asked her "Are you sure you want to do that?" Tracy nodded and replied "It's just a trial period. I have to keep an eye on my little sis and Felicity. Besides that I kind of, like the idea of us all staying a team. I know you're only a guy, but you're.....kind of family now. In a way that is." Adam smiled saying "Thanks Tracy, I think of us all as a family too, but what do you have against guys?" Tracy looked at him curiously and replied "Nothing really. I guess the others didn't tell you. Guys are ok I suppose, but not my preference if you know what I mean. They just don't do it for me. I told the others that night we were all drunk at the motel." "Oh." Adam replied adding "I didn't realise sorry." Tracy explained further feeling the need to and said "Yeah it kind of contributed to my original personality disorder. It wasn't easy to come to terms with as a teenager. People condemned me like it was a concious choice I had made rather than realise I was just admitting to what was natural for me." Adam placed a hand on her shoulder and said "It's all good. Doesn't bother me. I can respect it." Tracy smiled and hugged him for accepting so quickly.

That afternoon Kitty agreed to watch over Felicity while the others returned to the flat. When they got back to their home town Adam hired a rental truck and Tracy felt confident to drive the little car, at least for today. It was early afternoon when they entered the old flat. Adam began rolling his favourite anime posters that weren't too ripped and Alicia asked "Why are you rolling them up? They aren't going on the walls in the new place." "I'll take them for our computer room." Tracy interjected winking at Adam. He was happy with that. He started boxing up all the computer gear and electronics while Alicia packed what little of the kitchenware she planned on keeping. Tracy bagged up all the clothes and linen. Soon there was only the furniture left. Adam soon realised the hire truck was too big for his needs. The place was always messy and looked crowded with junk, but now it was all packed in boxes, the flat looked bigger than he ever remembered it.

He had a fridge, a bed with side table, a small lounge and a desk with a chair. That was all furniture wise. He sat on the lounge to look at it wondering if it was even worth keeping the rest. He called out to Alicia "I might leave the rest here for the next person. It might be a student or something with no money. Maybe they can use it." "That's a nice idea." she replied before saying "We're keeping the bed though." "Why?" Adam asked. Alicia stood in front of him and scowled explaining "Because it's where we first made love idiot." They immediately heard Tracy's voice saying "Eww....You can move that on your own. I'm not touching it." Adam went and lifted the mattress to drag it out to the truck. He noticed the two old porno mags still laying underneath. He picked them up amusedly and quickly flicked through them. The appeal was gone. The women he once fantasised over were nothing compared to the woman he had married. The pictures he once viewed as magical perfection were just dirty and flawed now. Their shine was gone so he tossed them in a garbage bag.

Once the truck was loaded he took a last look around his old flat. So much had changed in such a short time. It was hard to accept this was no longer home. He was getting sentimental about the old dump but Tracy soon grabbed him and dragged him out slamming the door and telling him "No time for sentimental crap. Just move on. A better future awaits." He had to agree. When they pulled up out front of Tracy's apartment she told them to wait. A few minutes later she returned with two bags of clothes and a large box. "That's it." she said tossing them into the truck.

It was dark by the time they returned to their new home and unloaded the truck. Ellan had sent over some portable cots and linen for them along with a large bag of food. After setting up Felicity's cot and making it Alicia cooked everyone a simple meal that went down well. Tracy returned to her side of the duplex while Felicity watched the TV set up on the floor. Adam decided it was now a good chance to enjoy a long hot bubble bath in peace. He hadn't been there long when Alicia joined him and lay with her back against his chest. She guided his hand to her stomach and held it there while she relaxed. There was no bump yet and normal girls without access to a Lorene repair kit wouldn't even know they were pregnant so soon. It was nice to imagine the tiny life now inside her that was half him and half her. It was a miracle. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world." he whispered to Alicia who just smiled saying "We're both lucky."

When he awoke the next morning Adam still had Alicia asleep in his arms. He felt something on his feet and looked down to find Felicity in her usual place, curled up in a ball wearing her fake ears. Her ignorance of the past was a new peace for Felicity and she probably was better off never knowing. He vowed never to tell her the full story. They would watch over her as she matured again and he would try to be a good father figure. He would keep on eye on any odd behaviour. There were so many things he had seen in her that concerned him as to what might lurk inside her. There was something very strong and dangerous about her that scared him a little. Her trauma seemed to build up like stored energy wanting to escape. In the end it was her ability to maintain control and follow her plan that had saved them both. He had seen her savour the slow kill and hack into people without even cringing at the gore. Before she felt cared for she attacked instinctively ignoring the risk. He hoped the new her would be different. She deserved some peace. For now she was unburdened, loved and happy. Tracy seemed happy with her new adopted family that accepted her instead of judging her or forcing their own ideals on her. Alicia looked content smiling in her sleep upon his arm. It was funny to think that just days ago she believed she was just an artificial being with a short amount of time to fulfil her dreams. She had done all that now and more. She accepted she was a real girl now and was going to become a mother. Adam wondered what the child would be like. He smiled contentedly as he realised that he couldn't feel any happier or fulfilled..

Afterwards

Two white winged women sat below the lighthouse overlooking Emma's little house and the Lorene Institute just beyond that. Nita commented "The new handler has done well watching over her. I'm glad all our pieces are in the one place now. It should allow us to monitor them better and more often." Allanah replied "It was close though. We almost lost her. She was about ready to turn to darkness. It was calling to her. Who knew the demons were also aware of her potential and exercising her power by controlling that Khall creep. In the end though remembering the handler's words helped her keep the power capped inside. He has connected deep within her heart. I think we have a few years grace now." She paused for a moment and asked "I trust you are making sure your new handler remains ours." Nita responded "Yes. I inspired his programming simply with a picture of myself to use as a goal and a few tweaks to his perverted dreams. I set him up to meet the Kingsworth girl as a trial and bring him in closer. He encountered our girl way before we expected, but it all worked out well thankfully. After all she has been through it is about time she felt a little love."

Allanah grinned and added "By the way, her father met a very gruesome end. I made sure vengeance was served thoroughly." Nita stopped her saying "Please say no more. You know my kind don't have your stomach for violence, justified or not." Nita looked over the area and asked "Can you feel it? Can you feel the boiling hatred and envy focused on this patch of land and those that dwell here?" Allanah replied sombrely "Yes. At first I thought I was imagining it. I do feel incredible dark power massing and desiring something here. Like a wave gathering to form. I also feel this is where we will say goodbye to this world, but I don't understand why." Nita replied "Maybe the old man was wrong. He himself admits he is far from perfect. Maybe there is such a thing as destiny, and that's why he and his kind are drawn here."

Shrugging her shoulders Allanah said "Who knows. We have done all we can. It is all up to the girl now. Her power is almost ripe. This world will be her responsibility soon enough to do with as she sees fit." Nita nodded and said "It will be nice to finally rest. Until then perhaps we should make the best of what little time we have left." Allanah grinned and suggested "Another wine tasting tour?" Nita nodded and rose into the air with Allanah close behind her.

