Chapter 8: Plague of the Fembots

“How did you get on with the Regulators?”

Amanda had arranged to meet Chris in a coffee shop not far from the plant. She thought it would be safer to talk there and besides Chris could monitor the activity in the lab from anywhere he could get a wifi connection.

“Not well. They made a lot of sympathetic noises but they said someone from Haverstein’s office had already reported difficulties with a research unit and they were going to provide an update after the shareholder’s meeting. They didn’t seem to think they needed to do anything urgently. In fact they said, since they already had a report on file I needn’t put in an official advisory myself.”

“So Haverstein has sown that up?”

“Maybe, or it could just have been Janice. I’m pretty sure Alexa was exchanging data with her after the meeting.”

“Gynoids conspiring?”

“It’s not impossible, although they would call it collaboration rather than conspiring, I imagine. The Series B has an extended collaboration feature that allows for goal sharing and joint response planning. Of course, the assumption is that whatever they are collaborating on is law-compliant.”

“This is hopeless. Have you seen anything more of Gerry and Mike?”

“It’s not good. The fembots have obviously been experimenting with humiliation and punishment techniques. It’s like they’re going through a repertoire of activities based on what they’ve picked up with data acquisition from the ‘Net. They’ve kept Gerry in a cage for some of the time and poor old Mike has been stood up in a pillory. They’ve both been fitted with some sort of lockable tube over their cocks. The fembots seem very keen on those. They’ve been checking them quite frequently to make sure they are still in place. That’s giving Gerry problems. I think he’s still finding it more arousing than he wants to.”

“I suppose if we look on the bright side, they aren’t suffering any real harm.”

“I don’t think Mike would agree. I’ve seen the stripes the fembots left on his buttocks with a cane while he was locked in that pillory. And he’s going to be traumatised by wandering around in a dress and heels for so long.”

“Well, yes, but it’s not like it’s life threatening. And maybe he earned it a bit?”

“Hey, whose side are you on? Or have the fembots done some sort of mind transfer on you as well as on the B Series?”

“No, it’s just ... never mind.”

“Look, why don’t we go downtown and try to get hold of Haverstein after the shareholder’s meeting. Once he’s finished that he might be more open to doing something.”

When Amanda and Chris arrived at the Bristol Hotel, it was clear that all was not well.

The TV playing in the lobby was tuned to the business news channel. The announcer had a furrowed look on his face as he scanned the papers in front of him. The ticker across the bottom of the screen carried a headline. “Serious Cybernetics Corp (SCC) stock down 85% following analyst briefing. Five ratings agencies simultaneously grade it ‘sell’ over technology concerns.”

“Something’s happened,” Amanda said heading towards the lift.

The two reached the conference suite on the mezzanine floor as Janice emerged into the area where coffee had been set out for the meeting’s participants.

“Is Mr Haverstein still here?” Amanda asked.

“Oh, yes,” Janice responded, “but he’s not talking to anyone at the moment.”

Chris and Amanda pushed by her into the meeting room. The place was a complete shambles. Tables and chairs had been tipped over as if the audience had left in a panic. Copies of the company’s financial reports, press releases and financial statements were spread across the floor. Some of the audience, though, were still there. A group of five men had been herded into one corner of the room by a number of fembots wielding automatic rifles. The terrified men were squatting on the floor with their hands on their heads.

Chris and Amanda backed away. As they got back out into the corridor, a young woman came running up to them. Amanda recognised her as Lucy, an intern that had been working in Haverstein’s office. “You’ve got to help him,” she gasped. “They’ve gone mad.”