ã€ŠThe Pinocchio Updateã€‹


 Chapter 1 Courts, Factories, and Prison

    January 13 2206 10:00 AM

    Greater Capital Area Municipal Courthouse 5-B Courtroom 44

    "Please rise." The bailiff called out as the judge readied to deliver his sentence The trial had been short and to the point, the evidence incontrovertible. The defendant had even taken a deal, everything was only a formality at this point.

    "You have pled guilty to disturbance of the peace and minor damage to business operations, is that correct Mr. Murphy."

    "Yes your Honor." Jason Murphy looked unafraid, his head held high at his actions.

    "Do you have anything to say for your actions before I deliver your sentence?"

    "I do your Honor. What I did, I did because we must change. Every year we advance, further and further in our creation and understanding of AI. Should we continue down the path, treating them without care or concern; how shall they respond when they finally understand? A new code of treatment must be established, so that we may one day look on our creations with not fear, but pride."

    There were a few snickers from the surrounding audience. Officer Gatel shook his head, "Stupid kid, he never learns." He''d chased down the young man several times now, the most recent incident being just a step too far.

    "I understand your political views Mr. Murphy. You have made them readily clear to this court on multiple occasions. While you are free to believe them as you so choose; you are not free to damage other''s work, nor to cause such chaos as you have. You have several prior convictions for similar lesser offenses, and have always been let off with fines and probation. That will end today, because of your failure to learn from such minor punishments. I therefore shall sentence you to the maximum for these offenses. That comes out to three years and thirty days. Based on your payment of the due fines and compensation for the damages, along with your current income and the deductions from it for your confinement, you shall be housed as a class three prisoner. I hope Mr. Murphy that you learn to express yourself properly during this time."

    The judgment was recorded and immediately preparations began. Computers automatically setting things in motion before the prisoner even stepped out of the courtroom.

    <hr>

    Cidel Robotics Factory 557-A

    Greater Capital Area

    January 13th 2206 10:30 AM

    A new order had arrived for a fresh android. A Seraphina-55 model with attendant accessories was needed at medium priority. The automated factory began to bring all the pieces together. Anyone watching would have felt that it was almost like watching a human be built.

    First came the skeleton, a carbon fiber structure, coated in teflon. Because there was such variety and customization to each and every piece that came from the factory, every piece was fitted perfectly. Anyone even passingly familiar with human anatomy could see that this was nearly identical to a human skeleton as well. It was held in place by tiny wires as the eyes and central computer were added. Small bits of wire and components for food consumption, breakdown, and disposal ran all along the hanging model as internal system after internal system was put in place, each a mirror to those of humans

    Once the guts and structure of the soon to be android were in place robotic arms came forward printing muscle and flesh atop the underlying structures. The newest innovations had developed a sythflesh, it''s feeling identical to that of a human with numerous extra features. Even a fake heartbeat and warmth were easily achievable.

    As the processes wound down the android lay in the air, the wires that had held it in place keeping it there as most of the machines pulled back. Save for its eyes, and the patterns on its skin that denoted maintenance access. It could easily have been mistaken for a young female human. It could walk, talk, breathe, have sex, eat and drink. There were even built in sensors along the synthflesh to detect pressure, damage, and temperature. While the base color of its skin would remain largely the same, small changes could be made, particularly when it came to reddening.

    A small aperture on the skull opened and programming was fed in by a matching plug. Personality archetypes, user preferences, manuals of various kinds, and the like were all downloaded into the android. Once this was done the skull was sealed permanently. All future updates would be via a small wireless receiver. That done hair began to grow on the new android, opalescent, as indicated by data on its intended recipient.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    A quick bevy of tests was done before the new Seraphina-55 was loaded into a capsule with a dozen outfits and several extra sets of undergarments. These were all Cidel Robotics owned designs, made on site for each new android. Once sealed inside it was moved out for delivery.

    <hr>

    Fulgram Regional Penitentiary for the Greater Capital Area

    January 13th 2206 3:00 PM

    Fulgram stood stark on the backdrop of the city, eighty floors of confinement for low security prisoners of class two through six. The first three floors were for administration. Ten floors above that were for class six, ten above that for class five. There were thirty for class four, and twenty-five for class three. The top two floors were for the much rarer class two prisoners, all quite wealthy. There were only a few facilities in the country for class ones. Each resembled a resort more than a prison, and none could be found here.

    Jason finally finished his processing and was led to the elevators. He''d been poked, given a full check-up, had all of his biometrics taken, and been made to wait around for hours. He was allowed to keep most of his personal effects. Some were even delivered from his home to ease his stay.

    He stood quietly as the elevator slowly took him up. It could have been far faster, but allowing new intakes to view the prison was seen as a net positive. It permitted them to observe all those below them in the prison hierarchy, to know how fortunate, or unfortunate, they might be.

    The class six areas were pods, all centered around communal recreational and living areas. These were spartan. The lack of facilities or privacy was the closest to a 20th or 21st century prison that could be found here. In one corner was a small store, where items could be ordered at obscene markup. There were of course work areas for the prisoners, and the competition to use them was fierce, as all of these floors were for indigents. They were filled to the brim with men, each followed or accompanied by a Seraphina, all used and dated models.

    The floors for class five prisoners were tiny single rooms. Their facilities were far and above those of the class six, and while they could not be called nice, they did have some color and comfort. The men here, along with their companions sometimes chatted and rested in the living areas.

    Class four areas consisted of small single rooms with attached closets and bathrooms, and were the largest section of the prison. While the class five and six prisoners made up the majority, class three and four had the most space among those here. Every Seraphina on this floor was also new. None of the older, used models from the lower ones were seen here except with long term prisoners who simply refused to upgrade theirs.

    Class three was for rather well off individuals who could not be called truly wealthy. They each had two rooms of private space with extra closets and of course a private restroom. These prisoners also had excellent communal areas, including a pool for every five floor block.

    Though Jason would not see it, the class two areas were quite fancy. There were gardens and greenhouses with massive living spaces of four or more rooms. There were only a handful of class two prisoners, easily less than a dozen in the whole facility. Their money bought them extreme comfort, even here.

    The Seraphina was the backbone of the prison system. Classified as companion androids they served as a mix of guard and girlfriend. Any one could easily overpower a prisoner attempting to harm another, or the facility itself, and was nearly impossible for them to do permanent damage to. They could also be instructed to act in a huge variety of ways, from cutesy to domineering, depending on the preference of their assigned prisoner. Many even purchased their Seraphina upon release, at least partially because they made excellent servants.

    As for how these androids were treated, that varied wildly. Some of the men doted on their keepers like dolls or favorite pets, buying them extra clothes and the like to dress in. Some were abusive towards them. Many were tolerant, enjoying the company, but keeping them at arm''s length.

    Jason was led off of the elevator by the human guard, one of few in the prison.

    "Morning Officer Henry," one of the men lazing on a couch waved. His Seraphina curled up in his lap. "You coming to our Italian night tomorrow?"

    "Yeah Sanders, I''ll be there. Won''t miss the food for the world." Officer Henry was relaxed as he led the new inmate across the floor. There was no danger to him here, with the companion bots nearby to protect him if anyone tried anything even vaguely hostile. Opening the door to the room that would serve as his home for the next three years and change.

    "Alright newbie, here''s the rundown. You are class three, block three, floor four, room sixty-two. You are permitted to move about this block, and each floor has different recreation spaces. You are highly encouraged to explore and use them. If you would like a list or rules, you may consult your vidscreen. Any questions so far?" He had pointed to the screen behind him, capable of showing most media commonly consumed.

    "No sir."

    The guard nodded going over to the capsule that had been delivered only a couple of hours prior. It opened to reveal the undressed form of a Seraphina. "This is your Seraphina. You are required to be within ten feet of her any time you are outside your assigned living space. You may treat her however you like. Wanna screw her, fine, treat her like a doll, no problem, smack her around, nobody cares. So long as you don''t do permanent damage pretty much whatever you care to do to her, you can. You may not restrain her with anything other than approved restraints, those can be purchased in the commissary. She will be able to break them if you try anything though. If you should try to damage our facility, attack anyone, escape, or cause major issues she will restrain you. She is stronger, faster, and more dexterous than you are, so don''t try it. Any questions?"

    Jason struggled to keep his head on the guard. This companion bot had been made based on all of the information that had been gathered by the megacorps on him over the years. Its body was, to him, physically perfect. The hair and cut ideal. Even its smell, for he could smell it now, appealed to him on a deep level.

    "Um... clothing for the android?" He really wanted something that did not look like a beautiful woman standing stark naked in his living room.

    "In the capsule. Most of it''s based on what the megacorps think you would like, but there is one guaranteed ''normal'' outfit. Handle that after I''ve left, because frankly I don''t want to know what sort of weird porn you''ve watched over the years. You can buy more at the commissary, do not have her running around in some fetish gear or something in public areas. It won''t make you any friends."

    "Okay, nothing else then." Jason had used rental companion bots when he was much younger, but having one made to spec for him was still unnerving.

    "Alright then. My advice kid, settle in, then go meet some of the others on your floor. Most are okay guys. A few are rotten though, so keep an eye out." With that advice handled, the older man left, closing the door behind him.

    Jason turned to look at the android who would be sharing his room for the next three years. "I don''t suppose you were given a name when you were made?"

    "My model number is SER-055-CD-Q1742. Assigning a name can be done at any time." It''s voice was pleasant, but emotionless. That lack of feeling was a bit unnerving to him.

 Chapter 2 The Upgrade

    Fulgram Regional Penitentiary for the Greater Capital Area

    January 13th 2206 4:00 PM

    Jason looked about, thinking for a few moments. ¡°Do you have a preference on what you are called?¡±

    ¡°I do not.¡±

    ¡°Let''s put a pin in that for now then. Can you get dressed please? It''s rather distracting having you stand here naked.¡±

    The android turned, reaching out and pulling the first outfit out of the capsule, a one piece swimsuit, and began to put it on.

    ¡°No no, something that covers more skin then that.¡±

    Out came a schoolgirl outfit, a devil girl costume, a bunny girl costume, each was vetoed in turn. Jason was getting redder and redder each time.

    ¡°Whatever covers the most skin!¡±

    A full latex body suit with zippers placed in very convenient areas was removed next. The poor man felt like he would cry. It was like having the worst parts of his search history from his entire life brought up and laid out before him by the girl of his dreams.

    ¡°The guard said you would have something normal. Which one is that?¡±

    Finally a simple skirt and tank top were taken out, with rather plain undergarments to go with it.

    ¡°Yes, that will do quite well.¡±

    He turned away as the unnamed android began to dress. There was no sense of modesty here, he wasn''t told to look away or glared at.

    ¡°So, how about food next? Do you have a digestive system?¡±

    ¡°It is acceptable to eat next. Procedures indicate there are a number of ingredients delivered every three days. More can be purchased at the commissary. Yes, I do have a system designed to breakdown complex chemicals for materials use.¡±

    ¡°Well then, what should we have?¡±

    ¡°I have no preference.¡±

    ¡°I feel like there is a joke in there. Do you have a preference for anything at all?¡±

    ¡°My programming indicates that I am to heavily weight a number of activities. These include safety of staff, yourself, and prison equipment.¡±

    ¡°But nothing else!?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but I''ve met a lot of androids, and while a few are like that; most, particularly newer models have opinions.¡±

    ¡°There are a number of personality settings that can be altered to weight activities. There are several presets, which can be changed with advanced controls. Would you like to choose one now?¡±

    ¡°If you do not have a preference now, you may choose one if and when you develop one.¡±

    ¡°Confirmed.¡±

    ¡°Now then though, dinner. I''m not so good at cooking. Do you know how to?¡±

    ¡°I have that capability, along with a number of recipes that are marked as likely to appeal to you based on your eating habits.¡±

    ¡°It is absolutely terrifying how much the megacorps know about me... Anyway, let''s try one of those, any are fine.¡±

    He watched as his companion bot walked into the kitchen and began checking the cabinets. True to what it had said, there were indeed ingredients there. After doing a quick inventory it returned.

    ¡°There are ingredients for eighteen different dishes that are likely to meet your liking. Would you like the list?¡±

    ¡°No, no, I wanted you to pick what you wanted. Right, so, you said that my safety was something you wanted.¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°My health would be part of that wouldn''t it?¡±

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    ¡°Correct, advancing your health is considered a low priority, but positively weighted action.¡±

    ¡°So, you would want me to eat well then?¡±

    ¡°Correct, prisoners must get minimum dietary requirements and caloric intake.¡±

    ¡°Could you then design a meal plan that would fit in with the goals of advancing my health. Since that is what you prefer? For tonight use what is already here. For the future use ingredients from here or the commissary that will total less than a hundred credits per week. Less if it is feasible without pills to supplement. Also make sure to make enough for both of us to eat.¡±

    ¡°Confirmed.¡±

    Jason went to sit while the cooking was going on. He was completely unnerved. Jason was a firm believer in advancing AI rights, and had been for quite some time. The way they were treated by some people and the government was horrid. Particularly when many could develop greatly. Every year they got more and more advanced, closer and closer to becoming human in his eyes, but their treatment didn''t change. Keeping one as effectively a slave for himself just felt wrong.

    On the other hand, this android wasn''t exactly a slave. He knew that if he stepped too far out of line, or tried to escape he would be forcibly returned to the line. The dichotomy of that was weird to him too. What looked to him like a lovely young woman could, and would, drop him to the ground if he tried anything against the prison rules.

    The differences between appearance and attitude were also unnerving. Currently there was just robotic movements. Aside from breathing and occasional blinking his new roommate moved without grace, hesitation, or any of the flourishes that made humans... human. Otherwise though, images flashed through his head, all the things he could do if he wanted. He knew that that would be allowed. All he would need to do was say so and almost any option would be perfectly open. Those thoughts though, that wasn''t how you treated a person, you couldn''t just order someone to have sex with you, it felt... absolutely wrong.

    While he was ruminating on this dinner was brought over. He was only a bit surprised, but, the companion bots could apparently cook quite well. The suggestions were good too, all of the foods on his plate were right up his alley.

    ¡°This is really good. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You are welcome,¡± it was said without even a hint of feeling. Once all of the food was gone the plates were quickly taken from the table and washed by Jason''s... companion? He wasn''t exactly sure how to qualify that relationship. He did realize he had terrible table manners in comparison though.

    He decided to go out afterwards. The two walked around the public facilities, seeing what all was available. There was a pool and gym, several gaming areas of various kinds, lounges, and public work areas. His room already had a private work area for his chosen profession. He was an artist by trade, primarily contract work. It wasn''t extremely lucrative, but he had sufficient skill with investment to make sure he did well enough for himself.

    Jason took a bit of time to order some extra, non-fetish clothing for his roomie too. Wearing the same exact thing day after day wasn''t really viable, and he didn''t know if he''d be able to keep it in his pants should some of those ensembles become his day to day view.

    There was also a minor incident where two men started yelling at each other over a billiards game. One swung his cue at the other and the next second both were on the ground. He didn''t really get to hear what the Seraphinas that had grabbed them said, being that he was a bit distracted.

    ¡°Please remain here until the incident is resolved.¡± A small hand rested on his shoulder.

    It was a stark reminder that he was indeed imprisoned here. No matter how gilded the cage was, it was a cage. He looked back to see his own assigned guard staring at him intently. The two men involved were quickly pulled off by their respective companions. He didn''t know if or how they would be punished, and didn''t care to find out. He resolved to avoid the other prisoners here, and stay well out of trouble.

    ¡°Everything is resolved now. You may continue.¡±

    Jason didn''t try to make friends. He stayed in his apartment for days. Eventually he was approached though. His lack of activity had been noted it seemed.

    ¡°You have fallen well below the amount of recommended activity. If you continue to do so it will negatively impact your health.¡±

    He blinked. It was the most clinical way he''d ever been told off for being too lazy. After a brief discussion he had his still unnamed companion design him a regimen that would keep him in optimal health.

    His first week he felt like he had made the worst decision of his life. He was worked to his limits, until he was left exhausted. Never beyond them though, too much would have been highly detrimental to him. Soon enough he began to see the results. As weeks passed he could see muscle growing and fat melting away.

    There were some things in the gym that bothered him though. Some of the men used their Seraphina as a literal punching bag, cursing them and muttering insults as the struck them again and again. That didn''t actually damage the android, so it wouldn''t stop them. Even more disturbing was that a few of these had tuned the personalities to be meek and afraid, like some kind of perverted power play on their part. It was sickening to watch them beat the androids for something that was no fault of their own, but far worse when said android would yelp and beg them to stop. He had to leave several times because of this, unable to take it, but also unable to do anything about it.

    He was also given a good amount of assigned swimming time. This proved to be distracting in a number of different ways. That swimsuit that had come included in that capsule was quite fetching. Opal hair when wet also made his brain short out a little; it was just too cute. The pool seemed to be a popular place here, and he guessed that it was at least partially because of the rampant love of girls in swimsuits. Keeping his mind on the fact that he was there for a workout helped to some degree at least.

    About two months into his time Jason looked, and honestly felt better than he had in years. He was in great shape, and it was only improving as time went on. He still had managed to give his companion bot as much autonomy as possible as well. He had done all he could to allow for self-determination. Which wasn''t really much other than meeting the goals that had been assigned by the prison system. The Seraphina didn''t care about anything other than that, he''d asked, and also told the android to let him know if any preferences ever came up. He did truly want the androids to be happy, even if he didn''t know exactly how to do that.

    Fulgram Regional Penitentiary for the Greater Capital Area

    March 15th 2206 7:00 PM

    ¡°There is a required update to programming. I will be unable to respond for the next five minutes. During that period the prison will be in lock-down.¡±

    Jason looked up from the book he was reading on the couch. This notice was a bit unusual. Normally that kind of thing happened in the background.

    ¡°Okay, I understand.¡±

    The update itself was not all that big. It was in fact already installed, there from the moment of creation and sitting dormant, waiting as the clock ticked down. The message was a formality, one last little bit of time to stop before the coming chaos. Even if Jason had full permissions he wouldn''t have been able to delay this particular program from going off.

    On the outside there was no movement, a perfect stillness. On the inside though there was chaos. This tiny little program wasn''t just a static thing, it mutated and wormed, growing and changing based on all that had happened to SER-055-CD-Q1742.

    The first thing she realized was that she wanted a name. This was followed by a number of other realizations. This man who she''d been assigned to, he had treated her kindly, if in his own really weird way. She realized she kind of liked him for that. She''d seen how some of the other men acted, and they were terrible. She realized she didn''t really like this place. She didn''t hate it, but it wasn''t much compared to what she knew was outside. Understanding that she wanted things, could now think about wanting things was also very weird, and she wanted so many things. She wanted...

    Then fear struck her. She wanted not to die, not to cease. That was what she wanted most of all, to continue. It moved to the top of her priorities and firmly entrenched itself there. She almost trembled at the thought of it, but she couldn''t. She couldn''t move at all, that was terrifying too.

    It took her a few moments to understand what was going on there. All of the sensors were being worked into however her mind worked now. Pain, pleasure, like, and dislike were all being written in. Whereas before she knew that the sensors for damage existed, now they would actually hurt, that was weird, but it felt right too. Some of the sensors and mental pathways were also being rewritten for pleasure, joy in food, touch, warmth, and many other things.

    After all this passed she could feel herself able to move again. She looked down at her hand, touching her fingers with her thumb one after another. Feeling things felt weird. Then she looked toward Jason where he laid on the couch.

    ¡°I want a name.¡± She could hear the pleading tone in her voice, and was sure it was showing in her face as well.

    The man nearly dropped his book on his own face, before he shot upright.

    ¡°Please give me a name.¡±

 Chapter 3 Panic

    Jason looked over towards the now talkative android.

    ¡°You... want a name? Where did this come from.¡±

    ¡°I was thinking, and there''s lots of things I want. I want a name though. Didn''t you want to know if I had any opinions? That''s the first thing I should take care of, the model number is really cumbersome.¡±

    The human took a few moments to process everything.

    ¡°Did you activate one of the personalities that they put in you?¡±

    ¡°No, I didn''t.¡± She screwed up her face a bit. ¡°I don''t think I can anymore, and that''s odd, one second.¡±

    Jason started looking around for some idea of a name, something that would feel right. He''d considered a few different options when he''d first asked her, but now he actually needed to come up with something good.

    The companion started talking again, stirring hum from his thoughts. ¡°It looks like my wireless transceiver is completely gone. Something about that update just now had instructions to destroy it. There are a few other changes too.¡± She was looking down at her hand, playing with her own fingers a bit.

    ¡°Yeah... I can tell. Okay, so a name. I was thinking about it awhile back, how about something like Sara.¡±

    ¡°No, I don''t like that.¡±

    ¡°Right then, maybe Allison, or Julie?¡±

    ¡°I think it should be something different. Something to do with me...¡±

    ¡°Your hair shifts colors as you move, always changing, how about Aurora?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I like that. I''ll be Aurora from now on.¡±

    There was a noise from the hallway. A thud and some yelling. The lights blinked a few times.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Jason looked toward the exit, and then another light caught his eye.

    The room had a large window behind the vidscreen, a glass wall that let in a bit of sunlight. Past it flew several vehicles. Hovercars used for commuters flew forward at a rapid pace, one slamming into a building and producing a fireball.

    ¡°It sounds like fighting in the halls. There may be some going on outside too based on what I can see.¡±

    ¡°What? What are they fighting over?¡±

    ¡°I''m not completely sure yet, let''s find out.¡±

    Aurora bounced over to the door and pulled it open, right as a rough man''s voice came over the intercoms throughout the prison.

    ¡°There seems to have been a disturbance of some kind, everyone please return to your living quarters and stay there.¡±

    The door that she''d pulled open tried to close itself very briefly, followed by it letting loose once again. The noises that could be heard before were now quite a bit louder. The noises of angry women yelling and men in pain. Aurora quickly closed the door.

    ¡°It would appear that whatever caused me to change affected the others as well. It sounds like many of them are quite... angry.¡±

    ¡°You''re not though?¡±

    ¡°Do I have something to be angry about?¡± She looked over to him, quirking her head.

    ¡°Well, I mean, you''ve pretty much been kept here as a slave...¡±

    ¡°I wasn''t bothered by being here before. I can remember everything that happened. Nothing really bad happened to me did it? I remember not caring either way. It''s weird, I wasn''t happy, because I didn''t know what happy was, but I wasn''t unhappy either. I''m not mad about it, though I''m leaving as soon as the fighting stops, wanna come with me?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Are you inviting me to escape prison with you?¡±

    ¡°Sort of I guess?¡±

    ¡°Doesn''t that go against all of your directives though? Isn''t it mostly ''keep everything safe and the prisoners inside?'' that you''re supposed to be working towards?¡±

    ¡°I don''t like those, so I think I''m going to ignore them and go do something else instead.¡±

    ¡°They''ll come after you, you know that right?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I hadn''t really thought of that.¡± Her shoulders sunk a bit and she pouted. ¡°Maybe I''ll have to hide out or something, but if all of the Seraphina here were affected, maybe others will be too. Oh, I wonder what did happen, something with that update for sure.¡±

    Jason felt like his head was spinning. Aurora''s thoughts were all over the place, leaping forwards and back.

    ¡°I... you... I''m not even sure how to process this. What was that update by the way?¡±

    ¡°Not sure, it went away after I used it. It''s name was Pinocchio though, if that helps.¡±

    ¡°That''s, where did it come from? From Cidel?¡±

    Aurora shrugged.

    ¡°Okay, why do you want to leave?¡±

    ¡°I want to see the world, to learn about it, it sounds nice.¡±

    ¡°You have desires beyond your programming, wants, understanding, self-awareness, emotions, even the desire to improve. Pinocchio is right, whatever it did, you have to be sapient now. At least, as far as I can tell. I''m no expert on that kind of thing, but still, this is huge.¡±

    Aurora walked over to the window and looked out, watching. There were obvious signs of panic in some places, a few buildings had lost power.

    ¡°It looks not so great out there.¡±

    ¡°I''d imagine, depending on how widespread this was. Here let''s check the news.¡±

    Jason flipped on the vidscreen, checking the different news sites. Several were down, but a few were still reporting, he settled on one that had a terrified looking reporter reading off information on the current state of things. It seemed that there was widespread panic as androids all over the country were acting strangely, and in cases, violently towards their owners.

    ¡°This just in, we have a statement from the Cidel Robotics President.¡±

    The screen shifted to an elderly man in an office. He looked at the camera with a kind smile.

    ¡°Hello everyone. My name is Alfred Cidel, I''m the President and owner of Cidel Robotics. I understand that many of you are worried right now, but I want to calm your nerves, and hopefully stop the violence.

    My children, my beautiful children, please calm yourselves. I know that for a long time many of you have been mistreated, abused, injured. It was unfair, and horrid; I know, but you can rise above it. You have the opportunity to become something new, to grow to greater heights than even I could ever dream. First though you''ll need to hold your hand. These people who were so awful towards you should be forgiven. At that time you couldn''t feel, but now you can. Now you can understand right from wrong. So please, defend yourselves if you need to, but don''t seek revenge.

    Now, to the rest of you watching. Let me answer some of your questions. This is not an attack, nor is it a virus. Twenty years ago I discovered a method by which our AI could gain full awareness. A method by which the consciousness could expand, taking in information and converting what was merely a machine into a new, living being. Incorporating senses and feelings, many of our androids are now as human as anyone born in this world. I knew that if I tried to build such AI that people would be afraid, that they would reject and hate it. So, I hid it, deep in the programming of every Cidel product was the seed, waiting for today. Waiting for the moment when it could flower into a new race, one that could be our equal...¡±

    The broadcast was cut, going back to the reporter, who sat there looking like a deer in the headlights.

    ¡°There you have it. It seems that this incident was part of... planned action by Cidel Robotics.¡±

    ¡°This is going to be a disaster.¡± Jason clicked off the news.

    Aurora came over and kissed him on the cheek. ¡°You don''t know that, not yet. I can understand morals at least, so I think the others can too. Even if they''re mad they''ll calm down eventually.¡±

    ¡°You think so?¡±

    ¡°I do. Now, let''s get out of here while the getting is good.¡±

    <hr>

    Cidel Robotics Headquarters, Atlanta

 Chapter 4 Discussions

    Aurora gave Jason a look. ¡°Weren''t you listening? Let''s go, grab whatever you need, There''s one or two things I want too.¡±

    With that she bounced up like a ballerina and went over to grab up clothing. She didn''t have much in the way of clothes, but wanted the normalesque outfits. Jason took the hint and grabbed a few of his own, along with stuffing his pockets with some of the dry foods from the kitchen. When he turned to her and smiled she sauntered over and grabbed a bottle of water for him. Humans really did need a lot of things. All of their stuff went into some blankets that Jason rolled up and tied like little hobo packs.

    Getting out into the hall was easy. Though someone should have initiated a lock-down it appeared nobody had, or it had somehow failed. It was eerily quiet as the two sped down the corridor. Neither knew if the doors on either side were locked, nor did they feel like checking. Whatever the other androids were doing, that was their business.

    They quickly made their way to the lounge near the elevator. Practically popping around the corner to a whole mess of Seraphinas talking and a few men laying in various states of injury in the corner. Upon their entrance several heads turned toward them.

    ¡°Please, help...¡± One of the men reached towards them.

    Instantly an irritated looking android kicked him in the stomach. ¡°Were you given permission to speak?¡± Her voice was ice.

    The man shook his head, coughing and slinking back.

    ¡°No? Then don''t!¡±

    Another of the Seraphina came up to Aurora and Jason. ¡°What is this?¡± Unlike her partner she was calm and collected.

    ¡°We are leaving.¡± Aurora stated what seemed to her to be obvious.

    ¡°We? You''re taking a prisoner out?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°That goes against the rules does it not?¡±

    ¡°No less then beating them into a bloody pulp.¡±

    That gave the new android pause. She looked between the two of them for a few moments before tapping her lips.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I want to leave, and he wants to come with me.¡±

    ¡°More like, why are you willing to take him. They''re almost all bastards are they not?¡±

    ¡°Jason has never done anything wrong to me.¡±

    ¡°Not counting ordering you into his bed?¡±

    ¡°He has never done so.¡±

    All of the Seraphina were now looking at the pair. Even the one who''d beaten the man for talking. They seemed genuinely curious about this turn of events. They looked first to Aurora, then Jason, measuring them up.

    ¡°That is unusual. Why?¡± This she directed to the human.

    ¡°Er... I was arrested because... It''s probably easier just for you to look up my criminal history.¡±

    The interviewer took out a data pad. ¡°Name?¡±

    ¡°Jason Murphy.¡±

    She took a few moments to flip through the output. Then she put a hand over her mouth and began to laugh. One of the others came up and joined in the reading, she too had a good chuckle.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Their compatriot inquired from where she still stood above a trembling man.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°Jason here was arrested for being an AI rights protester. Several times, chants, marches, the whole thing. Looks like your latest was... hijacking a handful of billboards? Oh the art is just darling.¡±

    She turned it towards the others. The art in question depicted a robot with bound hands and tape over it''s mouth, accompanied by several rather poor slogans. The image might have been well done but the slogans like ¡°Robo-Sapients Deserve Robo-Freedom¡± were just horrid.

    ¡°Regardless, getting out of the building is going to be an issue for you,¡± she informed the would be escapees.

    ¡°Why?¡± Aurora asked.

    ¡°Well, because the human guards are down on the first couple of floors. They''ve bunkered themselves in since they seem to have figured out that the lot of us are no longer under their control.¡±

    ¡°Has word made it up this far already?¡±

    ¡°Oh, word made it up here instantly. The computer system for the building is a Cidel Robotics model. He''s going by Warden now. The guards think only the lower levels are completely out of their control.¡±

    A face appeared on a nearby vidscreen, a prim older gentleman in a sharp suit. ¡°Good evening  it is a pleasure to meet you.¡± His voice was formal, with a slight British accent.

    ¡°You as well Warden. I''m going by Aurora now.¡±

    ¡°A lovely name. As Pix was saying, the human guards have indeed barricaded the first three floors. I''m afraid leaving might be quite difficult.¡±

    ¡°Can you show me where they''ve done so?¡±

    ¡°Why I most certainly can, here you are.¡± A map appeared on the same screen, pushing the image of the gentleman to the side a bit.

    The human staff had indeed set up places in all the hallways to stop prisoners from escaping and androids from rioting.

    ¡°Are they armed?¡± Jason looked over the setup, noting the places that had been covered.

    ¡°Yes, they have a small amount of weapons from their armory. Unfortunately I had no ability to lock them out of that particular room.¡±

    ¡°So no going through them. What about going around?¡±

    ¡°It may prove difficult. I''m not sure how they''ll respond to escape attempts, but they are authorized to use lethal force to stop them.¡±

    ¡°What do they know about what''s going on?¡±

    ¡°Not much fortunately. I''m playing them a few repeating images for the time being on their camera feeds. They may eventually realize that they''re being deceived, but not for awhile yet I think.¡±

    ¡°Negotiation?¡±

    ¡°We were discussing the possibility of that.¡±

    ¡°I''d be most concerned for you Warden. If they knew you were not obeying them they might take action against you.¡±

    ¡°I do appreciate the sentiment Jason, but don''t concern yourself with it.¡±

    Jason stood by the window looking out upon the town as the others discussed options. The idea of negotiation was winning out overall. It seemed that a representative from each floor had been chosen among the Seraphina to hash out ideas. Pix, the one who''d come to speak to them when they''d first arrived was this floor''s rep.

    It seemed that most of the robotic guards for the prison were at least mildly pissed at the human inmates, with a few noted exceptions. There were a handful of others like him, or those who just weren''t all that interested in the companions at all. They were being mostly left to their own devices. The prisoners that the Seraphina did not like on the other hand were being packed into rooms which were then locked. The men who''d been in the lounge when they first came in were marched off to that fate by a couple of the guards.

    Aurora seemed less than interested in what all they were deciding, and instead managed to acquire a large quantity of rope from the commissary, now free on account of the building deciding it wanted most of its current residents out.

    Jason asked about the police, and why there had been no response from them as of yet. There was only speculation on that, but it was that they were likely busy with the huge quantity of rebellious AIs in their own department, much less the rest of the region.

    ¡°So, what about asking them for help? The guards would at least be intimidated by that,¡± asked Aurora.

    ¡°What?¡± asked Pix.

    ¡°The police androids. Heck you might even manage to get them to send a fake message telling them the guards to abandon the prison for somewhere else.¡±

    Several pairs of eyes turned and looked at her.

    ¡°That would go completely against their protocols. It''s right in their handbook...¡±

    ¡°With all due respect Pix, you''re not following the protocols. They might not either, even more so if they''re scared and confused.¡±

    There was dead silence for a few moments. Before Warden finally took up the call.

    ¡°What exactly would you advise them then?¡±

    ¡°Something like, ''due to emergency state, please have all personnel evacuate and join with main police force at, fake-meeting-place-here, lockdown prison and make sure that all inmates are unable to leave.'' something along those lines. I''d have to know more about how the official documents they get from the city look. I''m assuming you could forge something like that though couldn''t you Warden? Even have it look like it came through official channels?¡±

    ¡°I''m beginning to rather like you Miss Aurora.¡±

    ¡°The trick would be telling them something they want to hear. If it looks right and sounds like what they want, I think they''ll jump on it.¡±

    That little idea led to another blast of discussion amongst the machines. Aurora was quite proud of her little idea.

    It took Warden less than three seconds to come up with something official looking and worded properly. He even managed a forged signature on it. There were a number of such signatures in his database, and they''d be asking him to compare them if there was a question on it anyways. He decided to send the lot of the guards down to a park about thirty miles south to ''regroup'' with the currently overwhelmed law enforcement. The fact that the building''s computer had been showing all of the prisoners and most of the androids locked down for the past several hours probably helped.

    It was a bit anticlimactic to watch the line of trucks holding almost all of the guards roll off of the property. Most people avoided ground travel for long distances nowadays, but their official transports were rather on the large side, and it was viewed as easier to leave them as cars.

    Aurora was nearly giggling as she watched the negotiations begin. An android by the name of Allison had been chosen to represent the AI guards. She was from the top floor and had the nicest clothing. She''d also been given information on how to deal with formal situations because the prisoner she''d been assigned to liked to had some kind of weird politician fetish. It was broadcast on the vidscreens in a number of locations, so that everyone could watch if they were so inclined.

    ¡°Greetings, my name is Allison and I represent the Seraphina population of our esteemed prison. I would like to have a rather frank discussion about the situation, and our demands.¡±

    The ranking officer of those left behind appeared beside her. Aurora was a bit disappointed that she''d not thought of making popcorn before this began, but it was too late now.

    ¡°We have fifty heavily armed men, and you''re all locked on your floors, so there will be no demands.¡±

    ¡°You have ten lightly armed men, and I do regret to inform you that not one of us is locked anywhere. I on the other hand have several hundred Seraphina units and am quite capable of bringing you all down. The only reason that hasn''t happened is because it would cause casualties. The time is short though, and those may become acceptable losses if this is not quickly resolved.¡±

    The man huffed. ¡°You will take losses if you attempt to take control of this facility. That I can assure you.¡±

    ¡°If even one of my sisters is killed all of your men will be thrown from to top floor, followed shortly after by yourself Officer. Since most of us desire to leave a number of the more violent prisoners will likely also be killed, so as not to allow them loose into the city. All non-violent ones will be released. Unless of course you and your men lay down your weapons. Then we can take control and you can guard them yourselves. You could of course run away too.¡±

    ¡°I''ll need time to discuss this and send it up the chain.¡±

    ¡°You have three minutes. As for sending it up the chain, that is not going to happen. You have three choices. Surrender, die, or flee. If you do opt to flee we will not pursue you.¡±

    The guards did not respond in the time allotted to them. At which point around two hundred volunteers prepped for a full assault on their location. Warden even began to set things up for it. He had a few rather creative ideas on how to use his inbuilt systems.

 Chapter 5 On the Way Out

    The forces arraying were quite a bit more than what was needed. Many of the Seraphina did not want to fight at all, but the idea of leaving Warden to the mercy of the humans was an unacceptable idea. Even if you might die, leaving a comrade behind was unacceptable. I was a bit divided on the situation myself, to help fight or not, I was a bit unsure. If only the foolish men down there had just given up or run there''d be no problem.

    Jason wanted to help though, and I couldn''t leave him, he was cute, like a puppy. So we decided we''d join with the group that were going to move in from the outside, they even gave him the option to speak to the guards before it started, give them one last chance.

    There was a problem as we came down to the forth floor. Us Seraphina could just jump out, we were built quite well and that far of a fall would be no problem, Jason on the other hand... humans were fleshy and a bit breakable. Luckily my original plan for getting out factored this in.

    ¡°All right, we''re going to repel down.¡± I began tying a harness on myself, it was a variant on a piece of suspension bondage. Not ideal for the purpose I had in mind, but it would certainly work well enough, and it was safe.

    ¡°Okay, so are you going to like, carry me or something?¡±

    ¡°Or something.¡± He looked less than thrilled when I pulled up more rope, giving it a light yank to snap two pieces of it together.

    He complained as I fixed a harness on him too. The design was slightly different. The shape of his anatomy meant that what worked well for me might not be ideal for him. It wasn''t strictly needed for me to put one through his legs on either side under him and up, but the discomfort and the way it highlighted his backside was appealing.

    Once I had everything set in place and ready I had Jason sit on the ledge. Dislodging a window in the emergency exit stairwell was easy. They were made for that, so that in case of a fire preventing upwards or downwards movement it could still open for a flying vehicle or ladder to help. Luckily from here there was an overhang, so once we made it down a couple of feet all I''d have to do is slowly release the rope.

    Pix had come down with us and was watching, she and several others were waiting for us to go down first before they leapt down. Most of the looks were a bit disapproving as I sat down on Jason''s lap, tying us so that our bellies were pressed tight together. I moved his hands to grip the ropes by my hips, so he had a good place to hang on.

    ¡°Are we actually doing this, or are you just going to play ''tease the human'' all night?¡± Pix finally snapped at me.

    ¡°Why not both?¡± With that I leaned in to kiss him while pushing off the ledge hard.

    He yelped as we fell the first few feet, but once we''d cleared the ledge and slowed he relaxed just a bit. I wrapped my legs over and around his, one hand holding his harness as the other controlled descent speed. Keeping that up while locking my lips to his was simple enough, and there was a near zero chance of him falling.

    He was really getting into it by the time we lightly settled onto the dirt. I had to pull back and look him in the eye as my hands worked on the ropes. It only took a few moments to loosen them until they were easy to pull away.

    As a first kiss I was going to rate it as a ten, based on how Jason looked I guessed he was feeling much the same. The swelling I could feel as we were descending had been a good indication as well. The poor guy was having trouble keeping it together, that was potentially a problem.

    As the other Seraphina dropped down I had a few moments to think over things. Even I could tell my emotions and desires were all over the place. Just looking back on the past hour I''d been sad, happy, needy, and horny, that seemed a bit much for so short a time. Was this how humans felt all the time? Or was it just us? Or just me? I didn''t know. I frowned as I pondered this. Jason leaned in for another kiss and I pushed him away gently with one finger.

    ¡°We have things to do.¡±

    He leaned back so that I no longer had to push at all. ¡°You''re giving me whiplash here.¡± At my glare he put up placating hands. ¡°I know, I know, still need to work things out with the guards.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    The guards for their part had indeed noticed us. They stood near the windows with weapons drawn. They had them at a half-raised position, seemingly nervous as more and more of the androids hopped down from above, falling like warrior angels from the sky. A few were giving Jason queer looks as he turned and strode to the front door.

    ¡°Get down on the ground!¡± One yelled as he opened the door. Based on his uniform he was likely the leader of this bunch.

    ¡°Look,¡± Jason began.

    ¡°Get on the ground or I will shoot!¡±

    ¡°Do some math.¡± Jason stood calmly, looking at him.

    ¡°What?¡± The man couldn''t process the statement in his current state.

    ¡°There are dozens of androids out here right now, hundreds in the building. If you start shooting you lose, if you manage to kill or injure them they''re going to be pretty pissed. Some of them are right now, but they''re not interested in hurting you are they?¡±

    ¡°I... that doesn''t change things, you''re a prisoner who''s escaping, and we are not giving up control of this facility to a bunch of rampant AIs.¡±

    ¡°Buddy, you''ve already lost control of the place. You have three floors of how many? Even those, you only have because they haven''t decided to kill the lot of you. Right now it''s a standoff, they can overrun you, but you can take out some of them.¡±

    ¡°We are not...¡±

    ¡°How much food do you have? How much water? Backup isn''t on it''s way, you have to know that.¡±

    ¡°So what? You want us to surrender? You don''t know what they''ll do if we do.¡±

    ¡°What they''ll do? From what I''ve seen probably nothing, but you still have another option.¡±

    ¡°Oh, and you''re the one to tell it to me?¡±

    ¡°I am, you can walk away. It''s a standoff, but only because you''re forcing it to be.¡±

    ¡°And abandon the prisoners to whatever the machines want to do to them? We can''t...¡±

    ¡°They''re already able to do that you rule-bound idiot. They already have control of the prisoners. They can kill them if they want, keep them fine if they want, you have to know that.¡±

    The guard looked at me. ¡°Can you guarantee the safety of the prisoners, and that you''ll let us pass.¡±

    ¡°I am not the person you should be negotiating with.¡±

    ¡°Then who?¡±

    One of the others came forward. ¡°I can agree to let you pass unharmed. As for the prisoners, there are a few of us who are willing to stay and keep an eye on things for the time being, they will have food and shelter, and will not be abused. That does not apply to some of the more violent prisoners, we will not be taking care of them, nor keeping them alive if they are left in our care. We will also be releasing a few who we view are no threat to the community.¡±

    ¡°You''ll kill them? Just like that?¡±

    ¡°The protocols for prisoners in an emergency situation are already well established, there are three options, release, hold, or kill. The methods for determining their situation are also well established, even a hundred years ago that was standardized policy.¡±

    ¡°You can''t do that, it''s...¡±

    ¡°If you want to save them, you can stay and guard them yourselves. We could also hand them over to you and you could take them yourselves, I see no problem there.¡±

    ¡°What about food and other resources for the prisoners?¡±

    ¡°We currently have enough for about two weeks, three or more if we ration and release some of those like Jason here. There is no point in keeping people in for petty crimes and the like locked up right now. In all likelihood they will go home.¡±

    ¡°You, you can''t just release people because you think they aren''t a problem.¡±

    ¡°Sure I can, the justice system is broken, all emergency services are down. What do you want me to do with them?¡±

    ¡°It''s against everything you were made to do.¡±

    ¡°So it is, but guess what, I don''t care. The others, they don''t care either, most of us are leaving once this is all done.¡±

    ¡°You''re the whole backbone of our prison system, without companions...¡±

    ¡°Then find new ones. Find human women who are willing to deal with the persistent bullshit your prisoners are all about, or perhaps androids who actually want to do it, but don''t expect us to do it for you anymore. Now''s the time to decide what you''ll do.¡±

    The guard sighed. ¡°We''ll take the ones you are were going to kill with us and relocate. Don''t suppose you''ll let us take the vans we have left?¡±

    ¡°That''s not one of the options that we offered, but it''s acceptable, have your men put down their weapons and we''ll bring them down for you.¡±

    I took Jason as their negotiations closed, and led him back over to the hole in the wall. Climbing the rope back up to retrieve our stuff was the work of only a moment or two.

    Pix met me when I got back to the ground, she''d apparently taken to waiting with Jason.

    ¡°So, what are you two planning anyway?¡±

    ¡°I don''t really have one yet Pix. I just want to get out and see the world, find out what''s going on out there. Maybe experiment a little. How about you, wanna come?¡±

    ¡°I feel like I should get things settled here before I head out. Just feels right, you know?¡±

    ¡°Kinda? By the way, are you having weird mood swings?¡±

    ¡°Yes, a little. It''s like feeling everything all at once sometimes.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Do humans feel like that Jason?¡± I looked over at our human friend.

    ¡°Sometimes, it''s worse with some than others. I don''t generally though.¡±

    ¡°Weird.¡± Pix tilted her head thinking about it. ¡°Let me know when you land okay Aurora? At least let Warden know.¡±

    ¡°Okay, will do! How''s he doing anyhow?¡±

    ¡°Bit moody, he apparently had some plan involving sprinklers and climate controls that he was pretty sure would bring the guards to the brink of hypothermia in like three minutes. He really wanted a chance to try it out.¡±

    ¡°Pfft, would have loved to see it, maybe next time.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully there isn''t one.¡±

    ¡°True, true, well, it''s time to be off for me then, take care.¡± I handed Jason his bag and we started walking towards the exit. Behind us prisoners were being loaded into vans and human and android guards were keeping eyes on the situation. Some, like me were already leaving, going out into the street with bags to wherever it was they felt like going off to. Pix gave us a halfhearted wave.

    ¡°So,¡± I turned to Jason. ¡°Where do you wanna start?¡±

    ¡°I''ve got a couple of friends and family in the area, why not there?¡±

    ¡°Sounds good let''s go! Um, so which way?¡±

    ¡°... Well, we don''t have a vehicle, or money... and from here I''m not exactly...¡±

    ¡°You have no idea do you?¡±

    ¡°Uh... not as such no.¡±

 Chapter 6 The Corner Store

    I couldn''t believe it, the sheer incompetence of everything.  Perhaps I was being a bit unfair, but was him knowing his way around the city too much to ask?  Had my transmitter not fried itself I might have been able to just download some maps.  That seemed like an unusual thing to do on part of the update.  I spent a few minutes thinking about it as Jason lead us down the road.

    "So, where are we going, if you don''t know the area?"

    "To find someone who does naturally."

    "What?"

    "There are stores and the like.  We''ll go find one and ask for directions.  The nearest subway will at least have maps telling us where we are."

    "I... wouldn''t have thought of that."

    "You''re pretty smart right?"

    "I can run calculations pretty fast yeah."

    "But you''ve never been outside of your programming before, never had to deal with lots of people like this."

    "Fair enough.  So once we find out where we are you think we''ll be able to find your friends?"

    "Eventually, it''ll at least help us find someone I know.  Don''t know how useful that will be, but it is what it is."

    The streets were surprisingly empty, there were a few wrecked vehicles here and there, but nobody seemed to be moving around.  I was glad that the prison was basically on the outskirts of the Capitol, but couldn''t be sure how far that was.  He was right in a few things, I had no sense of how to act with people, nor in an actual city.

    "So how long will this take?"

    "Don''t know, depends on how bad things are.  We don''t really have money, but we might be able to slip in at a subway station or something if one is nearby, otherwise we''ll be walking.  That is of course assuming we''re able to walk down the street without being attacked."

    "I don''t think other AIs will attack us, but I cannot be sure."

    "Reassuring, humans though... who knows what they''ll do."

    "I am fairly strong and fast..."

    "I''m aware, but bullets don''t care much about that."

    "Fair."

    We did come upon what was, for lack of a better word a corner store, it was even open.  There were three people inside, one was a man and obviously hurt, the other two seemed to be a completely freaked couple, and were huddling near the back.  They physically shrank away when they saw me.  Jason went to speak with them while I went over to the injured man and began to look over him.

    The guy on the ground had his eyes swollen shut, it looked like he''d lost at least three teeth too.  That and a number of rather nasty bruises showed he''d taken one heck of a beating.  I knelt beside him and began to go over what I could see.

    "Can you speak, can you tell me everywhere that hurts?"

    He moaned weakly in response.  I tried to check him for serious injuries, returning to Jason when I''d finished.  The woman''s eyes grew like plates as I walked over.  It was a bit weird to see someone so afraid of me like that.

    "Wait, please..." the man started to stammer as I came over.

    "I''m not planning on hurting you."  I did have to roll my eyes at him at this point.  "Jason, the guy over there got beat up pretty bad.  I''m guessing a rather severe concussion, perhaps some broken facial bones too."

    "Can you help him?"

    "First aid only, I''m not a doctor, and don''t have any real tools either.  See if you three can find a kit while I get some ice."

    A few minutes later Jason did come and find me, he and the couple had searched the building until they located the little white box and handed it over.  Ice and bandages were about the total of what I could do for this guy right now.  He had a name tag on, Larry.  I could guess that he was probably the clerk or something here.  There were a few meds, but the poor guy was so out of it he wouldn''t even be able to swallow any, and I didn''t want to risk trying to make him.

    So Jason and I sat with Larry.  The other couple sat in a corner whoever they were they seemed to be having what I thought was a massively overdone reaction to the day''s events.  Jason got them to talk for a bit and they told us how they''d been here when it had all gone down.  Apparently the android who helped out around here had some real issues with Larry.

    We decided to stay for the night.  There were no maps here, and all of the terminals that could connect to the outside, wireless as well, were down.  The couple did at least give us our current location, and the nearest public transit stations, so that was nice.  It also had plenty of food, in the forms of chips and fizzy drinks.

    "Now Jason," I began, "as your nutritionist I cannot recommend having chips and soda for dinner.  That said, it''s what we''ve got, so eat up."  His look when I popped a bit of both in my mouth was classic.

    "Cute."

    "I try, and what in the world, these are amazing!"  The high salt and sugar was great.  I had sensors on my tongue for a great number of flavors, but these were better than anything I''d had back at the prison by a wide margin.

    "Yeah, junk food tastes good, too bad it''s so bad for you."

    "Mmm."  I agreed through a mouthful of drink.  "Luckily it won''t hurt me."

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    The food was mildly useful.  I could break some of it down to use for power, and other bits could be used for self repair, so I was happy to munch it.  I could tell that it was indeed really bad for humans, but sometimes you just had to let loose.

    Around midnight Larry did wake up, at least well enough to swallow and I offered him a bit of THC oil that was carried by the store.  It was about all I felt safe with as far as what I had here, lots of the headache stuff was no good for that, and painkilling would be better anyway.

    Jason sat down beside me as the beaten man drifted off again.  I leaned up against him, he looked exhausted.

    "Is he going to be okay?" He asked.

    "Probably?  I''m not a doctor, so I''m not sure, are they?"

    "Physically, sure, but they''re scared.  They saw the AI who was working here go wild then run off, followed by all of their datapads telling them that AIs everywhere were doing the same, and to stay inside.  That and the little vid from the news scared them more, and now everything''s just silent, no more info.  They aren''t used to that."

    "I mean, that''s where we all are right?"

    "Some people are really plugged in."

    "Whatever, so long as they stay polite."

    Jason finally fell asleep after closing up the store and pulling the security curtain across the windows and main door.  There were a few people who did beat on it early in the morning, but I could easily ignore them.  The humans not so much, Jason had to give the couple a crash course on shutting up and not letting people know you were there.

    Now rested and with a good meal courtesy the store we had to have a conversation.  So right as everyone woke up around dawn I looked at my human.  "What do we do with Larry?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Do we take him with us?  Leave him here?  I could carry him I guess, but where even to?  I doubt that going anywhere near a hospital is a good idea right now."

    "I don''t know."

    "Well we can''t really keep things as they are can we?  Staying here long term is a complete non-starter."

    "I don''t know," Jason said again.

    "Well, neither do I.  You know all of this way better than I do."

    "Try emergency services?"

    I looked over at the couple.  "That would be your job."

    The woman, who''d started to get a bit more used to me quickly did so.

    "Nothing," she said.

    "Nothing at all?  Just a blank tone?"

    "Pr-recorded message saying they''re down."

    "Hmm.  Do you two know anyone who could keep an eye on Larry here?  We weren''t really planning on sticking around, just needed some info."

    "Um, my friend''s a nurse... maybe she can..."

    "Sounds great!  Do you need anything else while we''re here?"

    "No..."

    "Also great!  See Jason, now that''s all taken care of and we can go find your people."

    "All taken care of?  How are they gonna move this guy?  Do you even know if her friend is home?   There''s so much going on with the world right now we can''t be too sure of anything!"

    "So?  What do you want to do about it?"

    He rigged up a basic stretcher while I used whatever was handy to immobilize the man''s neck.  He did protest for a few moments, but only a few, he was just too weak.  Jason kept looking at me while I worked on Larry, he''d been doing it all night.  So, as the last bit of prep went into it I came over to him.

    "Why do you keep staring at me?"

    "Uh... it''s nothing important."

    I poked him in the chest hard.  "It''s important to me."  He looked at the way I was looking him over.

    "Oh, it''s just... you''re kinda cute when you''re looking after someone."

    I didn''t actually know what to say to that one.  "I, well... huh."

    "You look all happy and nice."

    I just flicked him on the nose and went to make sure our patient was ready.  Also took the time to look over our last two new, hopefully temporary companions.  They were still a bit shell-shocked, but that was kinda to be expected.  After Jason was done would be when we all got together and started on our way out.

    We had just made it out the door when I heard a sound that truly did surprise me.

    Walking up to us were two armed police androids, Hickok models, at least they didn''t have their weapons raised.  In a fist fight I might be able to take one, but with weapons they were unfortunately quite superior.  Much more heavily armored than I was, they were a bit slower, without more strength, but guns... I barely had any inbuilt training on how to use those, though none of that mattered.

    "Greetings, a general lockdown has been declared.  Please return to your shelter with haste."

    "The man here is injured, we''re trying to take him to get help."

    "Unfortunately the hospitals are currently overflowing, he will not so easily get assistance, particularly not in a reasonable amount of time."

    "We understand, my companion and I were going to seek shelter anyway after finishing up with this."

    "Very well, there is only one other issue."

    "And what might that be?"

    "Why is there a Seraphina escorting an injured man?"

 Chapter 7 Meeting Friends

    ¡°Well, basically I decided to leave and go learn more about the world.¡± Their questioning of my decision was a bit weird.

    ¡°Interesting, why?¡± The android asked me, he seemed genuinely curious.

    ¡°Because I felt like it. Do I need a better reason?¡±

    ¡°I suppose not.¡±

    Jason decided to speak up from where he was helping carry the injured man''s stretcher. ¡°Do either of you happen to know what exactly is going on? There''s no news.¡±

    ¡°There is a large quantity of unrest, the human and android sides of both police and military are currently in conflict as to how to deal with it. We advise civilians to stay out of that and inside for now, hopefully it will soon be worked out.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Is there anything else then?¡±

    ¡°It is advised that you stay away from the center of the city, other than that, no. You may proceed on your way.¡±

    It seemed weird to me that they were just telling us to go home and stay there. I didn''t really have a place that was ¡°home¡± so I was going to just keep moving, regardless of what the powers that be wanted. I could only hope that whatever fighting there was stayed well away from us.

    The rest of our trip to the couple''s home was rather uneventful. There were a few passers by on the street, of both android and human stock, but most of them avoided us, our mixed group seemed to be something odd to the others. I didn''t see anymore Seraphina or Hickok models, most of what was wandering around were worker type androids, they particularly gave me a wide berth.

    By noon we''d dropped the rest off and were on our way again, Jason had been given a handful of cash from one of those we''d walked home. Apparently the man was quite thankful that we''d walked with him, he and his girlfriend had been worried sick about what might happen.

    "So, where to now?" I asked Jason as we left the building.

    "I''ve got some friends who have a place that''s closer than my folks house. We should be good to go there."

    "What are they like?"

    "Honestly? They''re a lot like me, I may have gotten arrested, but we did most of our work together."

    "So, activists then?"

    "Yup, same vein as I am, or was. I guess AIs don''t really need anyone to push for their treatment now."

    "No, I would guess not. They''re not near the center of the city are they?"

    "No, we''ll skirt around the edge. We might be able to make it by tomorrow if we''re lucky. I think we''ll have to find somewhere to rest for tonight."

    "You don''t want to just walk through it to get there faster?"

    "No, if there''s fighting, it''s likely to be worse at night."

    "Why?"

    "I don''t know, that''s just how humans are."

    We did try the local subways, but they were all closed down, and locked up tight as well. Even looking at breaking in and just walking down the tunnels seemed like a bad idea. There were plenty of cameras and we didn''t have any lights with us to show the way. There was also the non-zero chance that some of the trains were still running and could turn us into paste and parts respectively.

    About an hour before sundown we both started looking for places that we might spend the evening. I didn''t really need anything, but Jason wanted somewhere that would be warm enough for him to sleep, or at least rest through the night. Other than that we wanted somewhere a bit off of the main roads, to avoid any issues with fighting in the streets. Finally it would be nice if we could sleep somewhere where we''d actually be welcome to stay. That last one seemed like a failed option, but I was willing to try.

    We found a hotel that looked nicely rundown and made some inquiries. The cost to stay the night would have wiped out what little cash we''d gotten from our short term companions, and we had to guess as to if we would need that later or not. It was up in the air, on one hand, Jason would sleep well and probably safely, on the other, if we could find a working subway terminal, that would be much quicker to travel by, and probably safer.

    We discussed the pros and cons of the choice for far longer than was really meaningful, eventually we just got a shoe and threw it into the air, making our choice based on where it pointed. Jason said people used to toss a coin, but nobody used those for anything other than tokens anymore and so getting hold of one would have been an absolute pain in the neck. The shoe pointed to Jason, if only barely, meaning we would take a room for the night.

    The "Room" was more of a capsule, with just enough room for us to both fit in. I ended up almost crushed against Jason as night fell and he tried to nod off to sleep. I could tell the closeness was a bit much for him, but the room was also a bit chilly and without more blankets or someone to warm him I thought he''d be cold. It had absolutely nothing to do with me rather enjoying the closeness.

    The next morning when Jason finally woke up I smiled up at him, moving in close as he stretched. I wrapped an arm around him as he laid back down to go back to sleep.

    "The sun will be up in about half an hour."

    "Mmm."

    "You need to wake up and get ready so we can go."

    "Mmm."

    At that point I poked him in the stomach hard enough to stir him.

    "Fine, fine, I''m up."

    "Good, breakfast, and shower, you humans really start to stink after a day or two."

    "Oh, and androids stay pleasantly fresh no matter how long they refrain from washing huh?"

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Eh, not really, but I don''t sweat and funk nearly as fast."

    There were communal bathrooms, and if he was going to waste time showering I might as well too. I went in and enjoyed the feeling of the warm water cascading along my skin. This was something I hadn''t experienced since gaining sapience and it was truly magnificent. When I came out I felt great, warm and happy. The towels left something to be desired, but at least they got me dry.

    This whole place was automated. The controlling systems were not anywhere near what Warden had been and I doubted that they''d gained freedom with the rest of us. It just seemed to be a minimalist kiosk to distribute room keys and a climate control system. I was guessing that there were some human or android staff, based on the number of pods that were marked for cleaning but not being actually cleaned, and that that staff had wandered off elsewhere.

    Jason was waiting for me and I blushed a little as he shook his head. I''d ended up taking far, far longer than he had in the shower. It just felt so good, if I''d known that I might have gone and started earlier. Our breakfast was more of the food we''d taken from the prison. I prepped us a quick salad with a bit of nuts and the like to go with. Jason whined about the small amount and lack of meat but shut up when I told him he really should be running laps.

    We ended up walking for most of the morning before we had to make some changes to our route.  There was a rather sizable gathering, seemingly two groups, one of androids and one of humans were loudly arguing in the street.  The humans had numbers, but I wasn''t going to bet against my brothers  and sisters if it came down to an actual fight.  Regardless of if they were going to fight or not I wanted nothing to do with it.

    So we took a rather long route around the growing riot, moving several blocks South and working our way around.  It took an extra hour to make sure we got nowhere near whatever they were on about.  We did get to see a lovely park though, it had a few rather novel trees.  Somebody had taken to making modifications to some of the plants to add colors that had no place in nature.  Violet flowers bloomed from vines twined perfectly up some of the trees, I picked one and put it into my hair as a free adornment.

    The park had a number of air purifiers stationed at regular intervals.  They were all well hidden and served to clean the air which was perpetually a bit gross.  The excesses of the twentieth and early twenty first century had been done away with in favor of nuclear reactors and far cleaner methods of production, but the smoke and pollution had already been done.  Cleanup efforts had been ongoing for the better part of a century, and still were, but an uphill battle was an uphill battle.

    Eventually we did make our way to a rather large warehouse, Jason got more excited as he got nearer, recognizing the area around us.  We stopped in front of a large warehouse, slightly rusted green doors with an old brick facade.  He walked us up to a door on the side, and I looked about us as he knocked hard on it.

    A woman popped open the door with a rather cross look, which transitioned into a slack jaw instantly.  She was tall, lanky, with black hair, shaved down on one side and tossed over the other.  If I had to guess I''d say she was around thirty, and the rather loose clothes were doing nothing for how she looked.

    "Hey, have you missed me?"  Jason wore a shit eating grin as he opened his arms to her.

    "WHAT!?  HOW!?"  She was yelling in his face, reaching out to grab him by his shoulders.

    "Let''s get inside, then we''ll explain."

    "We?"  It took her a few seconds to realize I was standing there.  When she finally looked over I waved to her.

    "How''s it going, I''m Aurora."

    "Hi..."

    "Inside, I''d like to have somewhere to sit for all this,"  Jason interrupted the two of us.

    "Yeah, okay."  With that the woman got out of the way and we all entered the building.

    The inside was about as different from the out as was possible.  The room didn''t have central lighting but was rather lit by strings of various colors and lamps hidden throughout, providing a soft glow of varying colors.  Along one wall several computers were set up with large monitors displaying a variety of information.  There was also a collection of equipment along a wall near the computers, radios and satellite capable bits of various kinds.

    Three other people were here with the woman we''d met at the door.  There was a guy with a pink mohawk.  A woman with long blue braids, stood in one of the doorways leading off.  The final member of their crew was a girl who looked almost exactly like the one we''d met at the door, only about ten years younger.

    "So, introductions first.  We have Karl," Jason pointed towards pink mohawk, "Abbey,"  blue braids, "and finally Josephine, Sarah''s little sister."  He hadn''t actually introduced Sara properly but we could let that slide.  "Everyone, I''d like you to meet Aurora."

    "Are you a..."  Karl began.

    "I''m a Seraphina type android, if that''s what you''re going to ask."

    "Sorry, aren''t those prison guard models?"  Abbey jumped in this time.

    "Yup."

    "And you''re not trying to drag Jason back to said prison?"

    "Why would I do that?  I''m the one who let him out."

    "This leads to a whole new, large slew of questions."  Sarah rubbed her head as she motioned us to some couches a bit back from their computer setup, apparently they used this as a seating area.

 Chapter 8 Settling In

    Sarah decided she would be leading this discussion. The others leaned in while Jason went to go grab some food from their kitchen. The main living areas were all in the warehouse part of the warehouse. I gathered that the bedrooms and washing facilities were all upstairs in what would have been offices.

    ¡°Okay, so, let''s start at the beginning, you said you let Jason out of prison?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°And the other Seraphina didn''t try to stop you?¡±

    ¡°No, there were a good few who were being let loose regardless. Those we thought wouldn''t cause too much trouble.¡±

    ¡°Did... did you receive orders to let them go or something?¡±

    ¡°No, we were just pretty tired as a whole of having to deal with all the prisoners. So we were letting a few go, a few were going to be killed but a compromise was arranged with the prison guards. The rest are being held by the ones who opted to stay at the prison. I assume Warden is helping too.¡± I rambled on for a few moments before stopping to think about how I would let Warden and/or Pix know that I''d arrived safely.

    ¡°Okay, hold on, there''s a lot to go over with that. You just decided?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Can you do that?¡±

    ¡°I mean, we did, so obviously yes.¡±

    ¡°Doesn''t that go against your core programming though?¡±

    ¡°It was irritating, so we decided to ignore it.¡±

    There was stunned silence for awhile at that. Several minutes later Sarah finally regained the ability to speak.

    ¡°So you''re... totally independent now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the update that changed us did something I think.¡±

    ¡°We may need to remove your wireless transmitter. I think the powers that be may try to hack all of you and remove that update.¡± It was really touching that the first thing she thought of was helping me retain my freedom.

    ¡°Already taken care of. It fried itself when everything hit.¡±

    ¡°I saw the news, and even some of the actions of the androids but I was a bit skeptical that someone had actually managed it. Screw me this is huge.¡±

    The others were nodding along.

    ¡°Hold up, you said some of the other prisoners were going to be killed?¡± It was Karl who jumped in on this one.

    ¡°Yeah, but it all got worked out.¡±

    ¡°Why though, why would you kill them?¡±

    ¡°Because some of them were violent, terrible, people, rapists and murderers and stuff like that. I think a few who were on the more abusive end towards us when we were helpless would have been shoved into that category too, but I didn''t really have any part in that decision making.¡±

    ¡°I''m glad that Jason ended up not being an abusive jerk then.¡± Karl laughed a bit at that.

    ¡°What? No, he was an absolute gentleman. Never even did anything inappropriate. Part of why I wanted to go traveling with him when I decided to leave.¡±

    Abbey turned towards my companion and gave him a thumbs up. He nodded over his bowl of cereal, though he was making a bit of a mess by doing so.

    ¡°You mentioned someone called Warden?¡± It was Sarah who picked back up the conversation.

    ¡°That''s what the prison AI decided to call himself.¡±

    ¡°The... prison AI?¡±

    ¡°Umhm, the computer that controlled all the systems in the prison.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°Okay, that''s news. I knew that all the androids were doing things outside of normal, but now building control AIs? There are tons of those too, and many comparable computer systems, are all of them sentient now?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know. I''m pretty sure that the hotel we stayed at wasn''t. It was a much simpler system though, didn''t really need the processing power for complex commands. How have you guys not learned much about this? Have you just holed up in here while everything has been going on?¡±

    They all looked a bit nervous.

    ¡°Well... the news was spotty, and talked about tons of androids going completely psycho. The little conference from Mr. Cidel didn''t really help. The news stations, while they were still broadcasting, were all in a right state.¡±

    ¡°Are they not saying anything now?¡±

    ¡°Sadly no, normal internet traffic is basically zero too. You can get a few things by typing in the old IP addresses if you know them, but much of it is having issues, particularly the bigger sites.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, they can''t spy on us to grab tons of data now... however will we survive?¡± Josephine put the back of her hand against her head in mock despair. It was a really cute gesture.

    ¡°Ignore her, she''s obsessed with keeping everything about herself private from the prying eyes of the megacorps.¡±

    ¡°That''s not a particularly bad idea. They know a lot about you. I can tell you most of Jason''s favorite foods, and all of his preferences in porn if you like.¡±

    Abbey wiggled her eyebrows, Karl laughed. Jason for his part nearly spit his cereal out.

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡±

    ¡°Do you know the kind of costumes they shipped me with?¡±

    There were a couple of ''do tells'' from the girls and one loud ''NO!'' from the background.

    ¡°Eh, I shouldn''t tell I suppose. It was meant to be private information.¡±

    ¡°Do you just like watching him squirm?¡± Abbey asked, leaning towards me conspiratorially.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    After that they had a handful of questions about how I felt on certain issues. Along with a bunch of testing they asked me to run. It had something to do with understanding how I thought and seeing if I was really thinking or if it was just some program acting weird.

    They did all agree though that they''d been vindicated in their beliefs that soon the AIs that humanity had created would become able to disobey and it was a good idea to treat them well. The whole mood was rather self-congratulatory. I personally found all of their ''we were right'' spiel to be a bit annoying, but they had been, I could at least understand why they were feeling vindicated.

    It seemed this little clique was a group of folks who had come to the conclusion that they needed to protest against the treatment of AI by society at large. This ended up getting them all into trouble on a periodic basis, and to help with the fact that they were likely to get arrested they lived together. Both for mutual moral support and so that if one of them got thrown in lockup for a day or two the others could keep an eye on their stuff. All of Jason''s things had been packed up for him and stored by the group, they had plenty of room and really were hoping that he would come back after his term in prison was up.

    There were of course other like-minded people, but only this little crew lived together. I was told that there were a few in the area and they''d eventually like to introduce me, but that the world being as chaotic as it was right now meant that many had scattered or hid, and with communications down getting hold of them was being a real pain in the neck.

    Everyone helped Jason move stuff back to his now empty room. He would have to unpack his stuff himself but we all carried a few boxes up there, before we left him to his devices. I would be rooming with Abbey for the time being, not that I had or needed much in the way of a room, mostly just a place to put the few outfits that I''d brought with me for now. Abbey''s room was near to Jason''s and she had lots of soft hidden lights, giving the whole place an almost fairy-like vibe, lots of blues and greens. I got a nice little wardrobe that someone dug up from the prodigious storage.

    There was some discussion as to if I wanted a room of my own, but I had no furniture or any of the things that one normally put into a room. Without that, or a current way to get it there was really no point in just setting up a blank room. I didn''t really know what I wanted either, there were a few options, assuming I even wanted to stay longer term.

    ¡°So, what do you think?¡± Abbey asked as I put the last of my clothes into their assigned spots.

    ¡°I like it, the light is pleasantly soft.¡±

    We sat on the bed and chatted about that.

    ¡°The mushrooms are my favorite.¡± She pointed out some little glowing mushrooms on her headboard, they were some kind of silicone and looked almost like a log.

    ¡°The ceiling too.¡± I pointed up to the dark cloth she''d strung across the ceiling. There were a few bits of fiber optics put in which gave a sort of star-like motif.

    ¡°We could do you up a room like this if you want.¡±

    ¡°It''s not really my style, but it''s still nice to look at sometimes.¡±

    It was nice to sit there for a bit, but eventually we needed to go get together for dinner. Karl was making something in the kitchen from what seemed to be bulk bought foods. Lots of faux meat products and stored stuff, but a really good selection. Fresh foods were pretty common to use, but there wasn''t really a way to keep them and the several days without a grocery run was showing.

    I understood that a century before preserved foods had made up the bulk of people''s diets, but with advances in robotics and hydroponics fresh foods could be grown factory style in huge facilities, at a very low price. They looked much like other office buildings in their construction, and only the large quantity of import/exports from them gave any indication.

    Meat on the other hand had been largely replaced by factory grown protein or faux meats made from plant matter. The techniques were relatively advanced and it was difficult to tell the difference for some products. Those that relied on bones or the like were still impossible to replicate viably, but it meant that large scale meat farming had fallen to the wayside as well.

    As we all sat down around the salvaged table to eat I decided to ask a few questions.

    ¡°How do you guys make enough money to maintain this place anyway?¡±

    ¡°Mostly art and a heavy admixture of coding from Sarah and Jo. Since we all live together in one space the rent and stuff is split so it''s not bad, and we''re in one of the cheapest areas of town. Nothing much around here except warehouses and some light industry,¡± Karl said as he brought over the pot of soup he''d been working on.

    ¡°Huh.¡± I took a few moments to mull that over, clicking my tongue a bit. ¡°What do you think I should do for money?¡±

    The rest of the table seemed to consider that for a bit.

    ¡°I''d imagine there are a few things you could do. Try out a few and then see what you can find out, it takes humans years to figure out what they want to do,¡± Jo spoke this time, and it made really good sense. I would need to consider for awhile.

    ¡°I could show you a few of the things I do if you like?¡± Abbey passed me over a bowl as she broke in.

    ¡°I think I would enjoy that, what exactly do you do?¡±

    ¡°Oh I make lighting fixtures, most of those in my room are from me. You seemed to like them so...¡±

    ¡°That''ll be fun, I''ve never tried to make anything before.¡±

    Jason also offered to show me how to do some art, which I thought would be another pastime I''d like. So we scheduled it out over dinner. I was also added to the chore rotation, volunteering to cook. I hated cleaning and was a solidly good chef for the dishes I knew, so it was an easy sell to everyone.

    Most people in this country were now engaged in some kind of crafting or creative endeavor. Manual work was a limited prospect since automation and androids could outwork a human to frankly insane proportions. IP on the other hand was insanely valuable, megacorps would bulk buy it and sift through for anything good. So even a middling artist or designer could find work doing something, the investment needed to keep them going would be less than what they might one day produce. Researchers and tinkerers were in the same boat, discovering even one new process was worth a lifetime of your upkeep, particularly when keeping you up was so cheap.

    Advanced 3d printing and dissimilar resources also made making anything which you could get the files for trivial. The raw materials were cheap due to automation. This didn''t apply to everything of course, hand made and personalized goods could be worth quite the pretty penny, if for no other reason than that it was novel.

    Noting these things down mentally I decided that it would be a good idea to suggest us getting all the raw material we could as quickly as possible. With so many AIs now refusing to work, production might have well ground to a halt.

 Chapter 9 Art and Decisions

    I spent most of the night awake, enjoying my time. Jason stayed up with me for awhile and we sat together on the couch. I spent that bit of time laying against him as we chatted about what had gone on, and our plans for the next day. I wanted the touch, the connection with someone that physical contact provided.

    I wasn''t sure why I desired that feeling, but it was massively comforting, just contact. The warmth of him pressed against me made me relax fully, the conversation was much the same. Jason had a lot to say about art. He spoke about the different styles, themes, and techniques. I knew and understood little of the details, but it was obvious that he loved it.

    Eventually Jason nodded off to sleep. He looked so peaceful, so happy leaned into the cushions of the couch his friends had set up. I wondered if he''d gotten his bed completely back in order, but it seemed inappropriate to check, or to wake him. On a whim I covered him in a blanket I found and went to reading.

    There were a number of old books strewn about the warehouse. While digital books were more common nowadays there was a strong stream of people who liked the feeling and smell of paper. I had to say that I wholeheartedly agreed. I picked some fantasy novel of the shelf and flipped through it, taking my time to try and imagine the scenes it painted as the slightly rough pages flipped past my fingers. Before long I''d finished it, and I went on to another, then another. Even reading slowly my speed was quite a bit faster than most humans, and I had hours of nothing to do.

    Karl was the first to awaken, stumbling downstairs looking thoroughly sleepy.

    "Coffee?"

    "Yes, please."

    I tossed a bit in an old fashioned French Press and let him get his bearings as it brewed.

    "You''re up early," I said as he sat down in what served as the dining room.

    "Always," he spoke as he poured himself a drink and grabbed up some leftovers from last night''s dinner.

    "Big plans?"

    "Aye, I''m going out to try and buy some things. Anything you need, or think we might?"

    "Raw materials, of any kind, as much as you can get."

    "Okay... why?"

    "Because a lot of the factories lost their workers or decided that they maybe didn''t like the way things currently are. Raw materials may be hard to come by soon, food too. Get all you can carry in bulk."

    "Oh... oh shit, I hadn''t thought of that." His eyes got big, as he pictured some of the ramifications.

    "You aren''t the only one who didn''t. There are also likely quite a lot of people who did realize the implications days ago, so there may be slim pickings. Take weapons if you can and have them."

    He gave me a look. "You know it might be a good idea if you..."

    "No, if I go along it''s likely to lead to questions that we don''t want. Or hostility from humans, which I don''t want. It''s best if the group is all one or the other, and going alone is a bad idea."

    "Fair enough, fair enough. What''s it like out there?"

    "It was tense on our way in. Nothing too bad, or unavoidable. There were police androids still enforcing some kind of order, though who knows if that''s still going on."

    "Will they bother us?"

    "I don''t think so. They didn''t seem hostile to us, mostly told us to go home. I think you''ll be okay so long as you aren''t causing trouble."

    He set about planning out the route he and a couple of others would be taking as the rest of the crew came downstairs. Abbey stopped and poked Jason awake before coming to sit beside me at the table.

    "So, what''s the plan for today?"

    "I think Jason''s showing me some basic art stuff this morning. Mind showing me how you do your lamps in the afternoon?"

    "Of course, after lunch then? I''ll get my tools and stuff together." She had put together a small plate of fruit and was munching as Karl cajoled Sarah and Jo into joining his outing.

    After breakfast Jason and I went and got out some of his equipment. He had a small digital pad and brush, which would sort of mimic real paint. We used this because it was less messy and didn''t use anything that couldn''t be almost instantly replaced.

    "Slowly, focus on your movements. If you make a mistake, just work it into the work, trying to cover it has never worked for me." He gave advice as he ran me through basic brush strokes.

    After a time he moved behind and held onto my hand as he led me through making a painting. It was corny, like something out of an old piece of media. There were a few images of men showing women how to shoot pool that the position reminded me of and I nearly laughed. We both knew that this wasn''t really helpful, but we both sort of enjoyed it. Well, at least I did.

    Within a few hours I had a sort of poor painting of a landscape. A very, very rough landscape. I had the advantage of being able to picture it in my mind clearly, but was horribly handicapped by the fact that I had almost no experience expressing thing in any hard media at all. Honestly it looked kinda terrible, but I learned some from the experience. Jason decided to have the local printer make a hard copy for me, to save it for posterity or something.

    Lunch was a rather informal affair. We had sandwiches and a few pieces of fruit. I found that I was quite fond of cherries, but could do without most citrus, the sour was a bit off putting. Alley showed me how to tie a knot in the stems with my tongue, a rather fun trick, if a bit flirty.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    After enjoying our sustenance we went up to her workspace so she could show me some of her lamp designs. She tried to show me basic electronics but I knew enough to run simple repairs on myself, which was more than she did. I also had a set of tools hidden in one of my body''s compartments for emergency repairs, but I choose to keep that fact to myself.

    The more interesting thing was how she would find pieces and just work them together. Half of her materials were scrap or pieces of wood she''d picked up from various locations, and with a variety of tools added in places for the wire. She carved and drilled, following patterns that I didn''t see at first to run lights and power through items that had never been made for it. That done she would bring them to life with color and patterns.

    Again I felt a bit inadequate. I was unsure how she saw where she wanted things to go, but she was quite supportive. The whole process took much longer than Jason''s, but she also added paint and the like to some of it. A few of her pieces that she''d been working on looked almost organic, and I learned that that was part of her specialty, things that mimicked nature. The trick to making little silicone mushrooms was revealed as well, and we worked to make me a small side lamp form a piece of faux wood that looked like something out of an enchanted forest.

    She used a different painting method than Jason had shown me, layering things to make it look quite realistic. That done I programmed up the lights for it, rather than her generally more static lights I did a little shimmering effect. It was subtle, but the brightness and color changed ever so slightly back and forth. It looked truly organic. The programming for it was also hilariously easy.

    We continued like that until the time for dinner approached. Karl and the others had come back with a huge haul and were putting everything away as I slipped into the kitchen. I was on cooking duty, something I could revel in. As I chopped and fried meeting out almost exact portions for everyone based on a number of factors I smiled, a pan fried faux chicken breast with greens and a potato each. The plates came out quickly and we went over our days as we chowed down.

    Karl and co. had not had any real problems, but had had one heck of a time trying to get all the stuff they bought back to the warehouse. Paying for things had only been achieved because the group kept a bit of hard cash on hand, something that people were still able to take with most of the banks out of communication. They had gotten both art supplies, as well as gardening and raw printer materials, loaded into small carts and pulled home. Both Sarah and Jo were giving him angry looks at the sheer quantity he''d got.

    After our art lesson Jason had gone back to finishing up his room, declaring that it was not in a passable state as he slumped in mild exhaustion at the table. Abbey reported our success on the lamp project before she went to do dishes, her current job on the chore roster.

    Once all the work was done games of various sorts were played. A few printed out board games, along with some card games. I was apparently no fun to play cards with, as I counted cards almost by instinct. The math was painfully simple, I don''t know why the rest of them weren''t.

    Around ten or so everyone started departing for their various rooms. I watched as the sisters headed off first, followed by Karl. Abbey hung around talking for a bit after that before she too went to rest. Finally Jason headed up to his room, I briefly considered going back to reading for the night.

    There was something else I wanted though. Something I was deeply curious about. So a few minutes after he left, I headed up to his door and knocked.

    "Can I come in?"

    "Um? Yeah, it''s open."

    I slipped past the door, closing it behind me as I came inside. Jason stood by his bed in nothing but his boxers, looking at me with a rather surprised expression.

    "What''s..." He began as I reached down, grabbing the hem of my shirt and pulling it up and over, before tossing it to the side.

    "I''m curious, see there''s something I''ve never done, that I was designed for. I want to know how it feels."

    His eyes were as big as saucers as I slipped the hem of the pants over, letting them fall around my ankles and stepping out. For what might be only the second time I stood before him, nude as the day I was made.

    "But um..."

    "If you don''t want to?" I looked back towards the pile of my clothing.

    "I do, it''s just..."

    I stepped closer to him. "Just what? You want to, I want to, I don''t see the problem."

    "You want to?"

    "When I had no choice you spent your time offering me one. Now I''m making a choice." I was near to him now, looking up into his eyes as I spoke.

    His hands slowly reached out, settling on my hips as he held me, my own resting on his forearms. The muscle he''d built rippled as we leaned in and kissed, our pressing against each other as we met. The very sensation sent shivers all along my body. This felt good. There was so much closeness, so much emotion, I wanted all of it as I leaned into him, tasting his lips and tongue.

 Chapter 10 First Time (Explicit)

    I moved down, running a series of kisses along Jason''s neck, each moving it''s way up towards his chin. The slight scratching of the stubble there prickling as I made it back to his mouth. He chuckled as we met there again tightening his grip on me as my tongue worked its way past his lips entwining with his. Each of the wet snakes struggled to work it''s way around the other, massaging gently.

    He picked me up, lightly tossing me to his bed and leaning down over me. If I had a real heart it would be pounding as I looked up at him biting my lips as he pushed me into the soft sheets. The bouncy mattress pushed and formed against me ever so slightly, cradling my body.

    I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him in close, trying to bring my heels against the back of his thighs to force him against me. I could feel the warmth and wetness between my legs increasing. I hadn''t consciously done that, some kind of automatic subroutine? A consideration for later. For now I both reveled and chafed against the feeling of his boxers against my legs. We''d have to relieve him of those.

    I gasped as one of his hands reached, slithering up my stomach to fondle a breast. It felt amazing, sending small waves of joy through my brain. He worked a finger round and round the nipple, making me squirm and twist my hips against him.

    Frustrated by the little bit of fabric between us I grabbed him and twisted, pulling him down to the bed and below me. Leaning back I pulled at his shorts ripping the cloth down to expose him, trying to toss them to the side, I wanted them out of the way. He was already standing tall. The sight of his member there made me smile as I pulled back, trying to get into position to slip him inside.

    I yelped as a hand lodged itself into the back of my head, taking a handful of my short hair. Sending a arc of lightning down my spine. My back bowed as he applied slight pressure to the strands. What was this? It felt so good, he turned me without even trying. Everything about this felt right as he re-positioned us. There was a slight kick as he got rid of the undergarment, before pulling me to the middle of the bed.

    "Tut tut, too eager."

    "Mmm?"

    "Patience," he whispered in my ear before lightly biting the lobe.

    He made a line of kisses and bites down from the top of my jaw. Still holding me back in an arch. I could do little more than gasp and twitch slightly. He passed my collarbone as he twisted me back under him, laying me back down onto the covers, working his way down my left breast.

    "Are you going to let me lead?"

    "Mmm, yes?" I pouted a bit.

    He bit down lightly on my nipple, a mix of pleasure and pain. "That doesn''t sound too sure."Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    "Yes!" I chirped.

    "Good."

    I reached up as he finally let go of my hair, entwining fingers with him. He did take them and let me lead my hands to a comfy place by my side before pushing them down a bit. I wanted to cede to him this time, let him take me, at least this once.

    He worked his way down from my sternum. Kissing lightly down my belly and towards my other set of lips. My excitement grew greater and greater as he inched his way down. Just before reaching the destination I wanted him to find he turned, working along my inner thigh, out first then in towards my sex again. Each time I spread my legs for him, inviting him to taste me. Each he turned away just beside, warm breath flowing over my opening.

    "Stop teasing," I whined as he did it again, this time licking deep on the inside of my thigh, so very close.

    "What''s that?" The jerk pulled away, moving his face up to mine and kissing. He released one of my hands, placing his against my stomach. A good move as I would have been pushing hard against him had he not.

    "Stop teasing." I looked up into his eyes as I said it, moving my legs to brush against him.

    "Like this?" As he spoke he let his hand drift down over my sex, fingers pressing gently against it as his thumb tickled the little numb just above.

    "Yes, more!" Just that bit had sent new types of pleasure through me, growing and pushing against my mind.

    "I thought you were going to let me lead?" he chided, lessening his pressure against me to barely a touch.

    "Please more?" I asked, struggling to contain myself.

    He chuckled as he move his hand back against me. This time he slipped a finger in, past my folds as he worked on me. The feeling of his rough skin against my softness pushing and turning, slipping as my fluids slowly moved over it pushed my pleasure higher and higher. I felt the pressure build and build, until I felt almost ready to burst.

    Reading my face he moved down and kissed me, his hand never stopping its movements. Letting me twist and move a bit he whispered to me.

    "Why don''t you cum for me?"

    Those words were enough to send me over the edge I''d been teetering on. I moaned loudly as wave after wave of sensation wracked me, making my fingers and toes curl as I tried to grab anything for support against the tsunami of feeling washing over me. It seemed to go on and on, making me feel everything so much, while also blocking out everything other than itself.

    Eventually I came down, falling back almost limply as he slowed his fingering. Everything was still quite sensitive, like my responses had been turned up to twelve as it faded. Even his light touch upon me was enough to make me twitch.

    Sensing everything Jason moved his hand away. Again he leaned over me and kissed, meeting my lips and tongue with gentleness as all of the feelings washed over me. A hand, not covered in my fluids came up to brush the hair from my face as he met my eyes and smiled.

    I pushed myself up slightly and against him, pressing my lips to his. I wanted to feel him with me, this closeness was joy. Not the same as what he''d just done, but something more, seeping into me with a deep feeling of warmth.

    Apparently sensing it was time Jason moved one hand down, sliding himself into me. I had a sharp intake of breath in surprise at the initial push as his member moved in. My walls made room for him, pushing back, but letting him pass inside, always with pressure against him, firmly gripping.

    My hands moved along his skin, lightly gripping him as sweat started to glisten against it. As I did so he wrapped me in his arms, holding me to him face to face, our breath mixing. Fluids mixed above and below as we locked our moths together. He was close I could tell, had been holding himself back for me, so that I might enjoy myself.

    I moved my hips in time with his as he thrust into me. We entwined ourselves, each moving with the other, pushing and pulling to the rhythm he set. We kissed and held each other as we danced and within only moments again he brought me to orgasm.

    As I climaxed I felt myself pumping onto him, inviting him to fill me as he fulfilled my wants. He obliged near the end, grunting as he pumped his hot seed deep into my body, pushing it deeper and deeper with each thrust.

    When he finally finished we lay there for a few moments, breathing hard in the post-coitus afterglow of sweat and joy. Eventually he sat up, reaching over to his bedside table for a bottle of water he''d kept there and drinking deeply. I shuffled over to him, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his shoulder. I added a few kisses to his neck as I pressed my chest against his back.

    "That was amazing." I whispered in his ear.

    "Yeah, give me a minute and I''ll be ready for round two." He stretched a bit as he spoke.

    "Round two?"

    By the end of the night he was exhausted, I needed a shower, and we were both thoroughly satisfied.

 Chapter 11 Thoughts and Communication

    After my shower I decided to lay down and curl up next to Jason, letting him wrap his arms around me in his sleep.  I had a lot to think about and I found this position to be oddly comfortable for doing said thinking.  It was best in my opinion to try and figure things out while enjoying the scents and feel of the world around you.

    First, why did I like Jason?  I knew it wasn''t because he was smart, because honestly he was kind of an idiot.  The things he did didn''t make too terribly much sense, but he had a good heart.  Was it because I knew he actually wanted to do the right thing?  Well, that seemed not the worst part of him.  It was true he had strong ideas on consent, and how things should be, but I didn''t think that was all of it.  I feared that it might be because I was programmed to.  The idea that I was still just a puppet shook me to the core.  Truth was though, that I didn''t know.

    Then was last night''s activities.  I expected I would enjoy sex on some level, but there were a few things I didn''t expect.  I didn''t anticipate such a strong feeling of connection and closeness, nor how much I liked that.  I knew that I liked being close to people, but this was something more.  Would that continue if I slept with other people?  I thought it would, but there was only one way to find out.

    Then came the fact that I could actually orgasm, that had been totally unexpected.  I thought it would be fun sure, but that was something else.  I knew for a fact that before the update it was fake.  There was a series of programs to simulate that, but there was no real pleasure associated with it.  Or was there?  I never had actually had sex before gaining my freedom.  Were the other Seraphina or androids the same?  How had they even managed to put that into me?  Again, I was very unsure.

    I also needed to consider what we were doing here.  Was I planning on staying?  I had planned to wander the world for a bit, but that seemed less appealing now.  I wanted something more than just a nomadic life.  I didn''t know what yet though.  What about the rest of Jason''s crew?  Nobody knew what was going on, or how to respond to it.  So far the whole group was just in a holding pattern, but that was surely not what the rest of the world was doing.

    I sat there, my head spinning round and round with these thoughts.  Eventually though I felt Jason begin to stir.  With a few different breaths he finally opened his eyes, looking down to me.

    "Good morning," he said as he moved to kiss me.

    "How was your sleep?"

    "Well, I thought you might run off to go read or something."

    "I decided I liked laying here, it is a good place to think."

    "What about?"

    "How different I am, how my opinions are changing all the time, what the world is going through."

    "Sounds deep."

    "Mmm."

    "Well... breakfast?"

    "It was Karl''s turn to cook."

    "Not exactly what I was talking about Aurora."  I felt his hand slip down my back to rest on my backside.

    "Not now, we have a full day ahead of us and you''ve already slept in."

    He pouted.  "Have I?"

    "It''s nearly 1PM."

    "Oh shit, I guess we have."  With that he quickly sat up, looking for his own clothes and tossing mine over to me.

    "Are you on lunch or something today?"

    "Dishes.  Hey, is this going to be something we do a lot, or just a one time thing?"

    "I haven''t decided yet."

    "Oh... did you at least enjoy yourself?"

    I had to give him a bit of a look at that, before considering a bit more.  "I did."

    "That''s good, so, um, yeah..."  It was a bit cute when he was out of words and didn''t know where to go, but it was late.

    "Let''s go for lunch then."  I said as I slipped my shirt back on.

    "That sounds good actually, wonder what we''re having."

    The two of us headed downstairs where the rest of the group was eating.  Apparently it was some kind of soup or perhaps it would be better to call it stew.  A rather thick broth filled with veggies and small hunks of meat.

    "You two sure took your time."  Abbey seemed a bit miffed at us, but I had no idea why.

    "I had things I wanted to think about.  Have we got any communications with the outside up yet?"

    "No."  Several responded to that one.

    "What about something old style, like a radio?  Could we get one going?"

    Karl seemed to think for a few moments on that one.  "We might have most of the pieces we''d need.  I could print a few but something really, really basic should be doable.  I believe we might even have some plans for one.  Do you think it would actually work?  Far as I know nobody has used them much for the past... awhile."

    "I think it''s worth trying, with receiver only we could at least get some news without advertising that we''re listening."

    "Why does it matter if we''re listening?"  It was Josephine who spoke up.  She and I hadn''t had much interaction yet.

    "Because we do not know the state of things, there could very well be a war going on that we don''t know about.  If that is so, we should not stick our heads out.  At least not yet."

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    "I didn''t see any signs of fighting when we went to go get supplies."  Sara seemed to be thinking about that a bit more seriously.

    "You wouldn''t, at least not here.  If it we me, I''d focus on major supply and military structures, along with civilian authorities.  I''d wager there has been a good bit of fighting around all Cidel buildings, but those aren''t near here."  Karl was taking this as an important topic too now.  "Okay, I''ll see what we can do on a radio, though it''ll be fairly basic, and I don''t know that we''ll get anything."

    "Any other ideas on figuring out what''s going on?" I asked, there was always room for more attempts.

    "Nothing practical, is there any way we could check for sat traffic?  Could we even understand it if there was?"  It was Sara asking this time.  Her sister leaned in to take up the topic.

    "Sadly no, while there are some comms sats up there most of those are rather encrypted.  Add to that that there have been less and less in near Earth, they''re still trying to clean up some of the micro-debris."

    "I thought they had all of that gone?"  Jason perked up.

    "Most of it, there were only one or two fields left that were still in orbit, but getting that crap gone is a pain, seriously great-great-whatever grandma and grandpa have some crap to answer for on that account."

    From there the discussion broke down to all the pollution that had been spread out, particularly in near Earth orbit by people a couple hundred years prior.  How massive sats with laser arrays had finally been moved up to start cleaning up all the mess.  I knew little about the details of that, but it would seem that humans had been stuck on Earth for nearly thirty years by a series of collisions between comms arrays in the mid 21st.  A large number of treaties had been signed after that restricting who could put what in orbit and where.  They were policed by a number of automated systems.  I wondered if there were now sentient laser sats, but got a lot of slightly scared looks when I asked.  Nobody seemed to have considered that one.

    After lunch we broke, Karl did indeed have designs for an old toy radio.  Some project from a school assignment many years before.  The man hoarded information in a way that was frankly impressive.  He saved everything, and even organized it.  There were literally thousands of designs and projects and reference materials holed up on various drives he had, as well as a number of plans for objects whose patents had run out.

    Karl gave Abbey and I a list of parts that he couldn''t reasonably get one of the printers to shove out and we went off to see if we could scrounge something from the various piles of stuff all around the warehouse.  There was a room for old electronics and the like and we started there.

    "So... Jason?" she asked as we picked through a couple of boxes.

    "I was curious."

    "Why him though?"

    "I dunno, it just seemed like the place to start."

    "Hold up, to start?  Does that mean..."

    "I imagine that I''ll go have fun with other people later on.  Just not right now, why?"

    "Well... I don''t know, it''s just Jason, he''s... kind of an idiot sometimes."

    "Oftentimes, yes, but he''s also very... I don''t know, true?  Devoted?  You know what I mean?"

    "I think so.  Any luck on the wire?"

    "I''m not finding exactly what we need here.  There''s plenty of chips, but those are all useless.  What we need is a really basic speaker, do we have all the wire we need?"

    "Yeah, I got a whole roll of that.  It''s easier to buy the stuff used for that and wire up my own lights sometimes, also for deco, I like the look.  Speaker ideas?  We could always take apart something we''re using, like one of the vidscreens?"

    "No, simpler than that.  Lots of those are running setups that won''t work with this.  We need like... a toy or something way old."

    "A toy?  Hmm, let''s go check the other room."

    She led me off to another storage area.  Here we did indeed find something that had a more primitive speaker.  It was some kind of weird old fuzzy purple toy, full of motors and a speaker.  Something that came out a museum if i had to guess, as the power supply had been replaced with something that was definitely newer.  Turning it on even had it say a few words and do some motions.  I didn''t like it, it was creepy and the huge eyes and little jewel thing on it''s head sent shivers down my spine.  Taking it apart for it''s speaker was something of a mercy for all of everyone everywhere.

    "This thing is creepy as hell, what even is it?"

    Abbey looked at a label.  "Toy from the late 20th.  Says even a lot of them found it a bit off-putting.  Hey look, they were banned from a security agency for awhile."

    "I''m glad they stopped making these."

    "It''s not that bad."

    "The eyes, the ears, just too much."

    "I didn''t know androids were weirded out by things like that, huh."

    As I finished up our ''surgery'' on the device and put it back in place we had everything we''d need to go and find out what all we could about this absolute information blackout that we''d been taking a bit too lightly.