Chapter 8

He remembered telling Jade not to cover up unless he told her to. Maybe that explained her behavior, possibly her sisters, too. He had, after all, voiced it as an order. But his lab mates... ? He would definitely have to choose his words carefully. Or not. They seemed to hear what they wanted to hear anyway. It might even be fun to see what they heard if he simply stared and said nothing. Maybe he was becoming the Patriarch by acclamation. It was a tough job but somebody had to do it.

Who was he fooling? It was a great job. He would lie like a dog on his résumé to get this job. With the replicator, he would do it for free. The benefits package made it a slam-dunk.

-Alice, is the satellite observation post ready? I know you started as soon as it was mentioned.-

-You know it is, as are the view screens. They are like oversized watches, attached around the wrist and forearm. The necklaces would have interfered with the bandoleros and the belt version would be inconvenient to use.-

-Too bad you don’t have a solid body. You deserve a huge hug.-

-I do, don’t I? Why the sudden interest in the spy sat?-

-I feel the need for a little night flying. A night launch is a security measure, plus who knows what might happen in merged shields 500 feet up in the dark?- Kevin sent humor vibes. -I really do want to know what technology survived, evolved, or influenced the hangers-on. Hell, Alice, for all we know now, holding on to failing tech may have prevented people from learning how to live without it. Or worse. Can you imagine a nuke in King George III’s hands? Or Alexander the Great with battle tanks?-

-Glad to see you embracing the job enthusiastically. Tell the girls the night vision feature is automatic. There could be monsters in the dark. Think owls and giant birds. Pterodactyls are out of period. The mixmaster didn’t go that far back.-

-Thanks. I try. You watch for flying monsters and I’ll keep an eye out for night crawlers and campfires. Go ahead and send the data feeds to the viewers. I’ll round up the explorers.-

“Ladies, strap on your weapons and anti-gravity belts. We are going exploring tonight. The data screens are ready to wear on your forearms and the satellite observer is space worthy. Alice will feed pictures from overhead and we will see what slinks about in the darkness.” He ordered, “Please take the triplets out to the cave and help them get familiar with the commands. Alice will restrict the range so they cannot bash the ceiling.” The girls looked very nervous. “Not to worry, the door is secured by a force field. It mimics the rocks outside and is transparent from our side. Besides, you have your own shield.”

He had to admit it. The ladies looked sexy as hell in the bandoleros and belts. He considered shoes briefly, but decided the force fields would provide sufficient protection. Thinking of protection, he queried Alice again.

-Will the personal shields, as they are now, do the same opaque from the outside trick the door does?-

-Yes. Why?-

-I don’t want strangers being tempted by seven naked babes nor do I want to introduce the idea of clothing just yet. I don’t share well with others. Unless it creates an unsafe situation, I want to have override control on all the shields. Please install the mental command ‘Egg’. The ‘eggs’ should then meet the following conditions:

1-every personal shield would take an egg shape,

2-a silver mirror finish on the outside,

3-transparent from the inside,

4-invisible when viewed from another ‘egg’,

5-larger than the full extension of the occupant’s arms and legs,

6-clean air permeable on command like the ‘skin tight’ shield’s mode before,

7-on contact, combines with other ‘eggs’,

8-individual motion control as before, unless overridden,

9-this is not something the girls need to know about.-

-You are going for the mysterious alien look. Faceless. Featureless. Frightening. Not bad. If nothing else, strangers will be startled and confused. Primitives will be terrified. Your girls will be excitedly embarrassed as usual, thinking of the total naked exposure. Only you will know better.-

-And I would hate to miss the reaction when they think their nakedness is on public display. Or when I decide to have my evil way with one or more of them with an audience.-

-That’s quite the list. How ‘bout I just make more equipment? I’ll simply install the additional tech on the bandoleros near the holster. Internal environmental control included. No muss, no fuss and no extra covering that nakedness you love so much. Soft suede, no chafing. What’s not to like?-

-You are sooo my kind of girl. Do it. Design theirs so they can be worn bandolero-style only. We’ll recycle the old stuff. I still want a belt, though. And cotton cargo shorts. A Colt Commander in .45 ACP would be nice. Don’t know if I’ll need it, but a projectile weapon just feels right. Make three loaded refill magazines.-

-On it, My Master, oh, Benevolent Patriarch, sir.-

-Such insolence! I got your Benevolent Patriarch right here. If you were real, I would shove my dick up your ass and wear you like a hood ornament, Ms Disembodied Smartass.- Kevin laughed at the AI’s silliness.

-Promises, promises. That would not be the horrible punishment you think. The organic part of my creator was not unlike your current playthings. I’ll get right on becoming real enough to be even more insolent. Get back to me later on that. The sexy new tech is ready, by the way.-

“OK, girls. Back to the replicator. Toss your holsters and belts in the hopper. Alice made slightly different versions of the holster-shield-AG combo. Switch up and out we go. Our little cyber friend will follow with the spy platform.”

“Just like this? Not even shoes?” René asked, very aware of her nudity. Oddly, awareness of her nakedness did not translate into thinking of clothes.

“Your body shield is all-over protection.” He brushed any other questions off. “I would give you shoes if you needed them. Get a move on. We have people to find.”

He ushered the suddenly timid, rigid nippled, girls out the door. A quick mental survey revealed the four lab mates to be embarrassed to be going outside naked again, but quite excited at the prospect of their bodies being exhibited in public against their will. The triplets felt submissively compelled to do as the Master commanded and were attempting to reconcile the totally humiliating public nakedness with the strange feelings the idea awakened in the pits of their stomachs.

It’s good to be king, Kevin thought and tweaked their arousal centers just a touch, just enough to keep the heat on. “Shields on, night vision active. Lift and move slowly. Stay in visual range at all times. Do not wander off. Follow me.”

He elevated and asked Alice audibly, “See anything we should check out first? IR traces, hot spots?”

“There is a large, smoky fire fifty miles to the north. A few crawly things much closer.” The AI replied, all business-like.

“To the north it is.” The girls followed closely behind as he accelerated generally northward. The crawly things were feline and mustelid sorts of animals, much larger than back in the Twenty First Century. No way to tell if they were a carryover from the previous present or time travelers from the past.