Chapter 4

The air felt cold as it brushed past Andena’s face. It was a nice refreshing feeling because it was warm where she was. She lazily turned on her stomach noticing that her muscles were still a little sore from yesterday’s strenuous activity. She realized she was naked as she felt the cooling wind caressing her back causing goose bumps to rise on her lower back.

“You’re cold,” said a friendly voice.

Andena couldn’t make out whether she was dreaming or whether a real person was sitting next to her.

“Not really,” Andena replied groggily.

She was a little startled when two warm hands touched the small of her back. She marvelled at the strong fingers as they gradually moved up to her shoulders but she was unable to prevent her muscles from tensing up.

“Relax. How can I give you your massage if you don’t allow yourself to enjoy it?”

Andena had trouble discerning whether the person who had started to massage her, was female or male. It was strange and still a little scary but what those fingers were doing was divine. She moaned softly as the hands softened the hard knots in her muscle tissue. Her back glowed from the intense rubbing, and she loved every minute of the special attention she was receiving. After the hands had thoroughly massaged her arms they started rubbing scented oil into her legs. As the hands moved up her calves, her whole body started to tingle and she realized that the oily fingers were close to her sex. The movements became slower as whoever it was admired the soft flesh of Andena’s inner thighs. The soft and sensual caressing made her inner core get warmer by the minute, and she had trouble stopping her hips from grinding into the mattress. A sudden movement of her hips caused one of the hands to touch her sex accidently, and a jolt of pleasure ran through her body. She gasped loudly, and the hands instantly moved towards a more innocent place. The hands kneaded her bottom, less enthusiastically as they gently treated the last few sore spots of her muscles. Suddenly the massaging stopped, and Andena waited, curious as to what the person would do next. She was quite disappointed that nothing more happened but she didn’t dare to turn around because she was completely naked.

The loud ringing of the alarm clock jolted her to reality. Andena sighed with frustration because she remembered she had set it herself last night. Sitting, still dazed, she wondered whether she had been massaged, or not. Her body was tingling all over, and she still felt a little aroused.

Was it a dream?

Those soft hands and those amazing fingers! Her body told her she had been massaged, but she had difficulty believing that it had happened. She slowly ran her fingers over her skin and was unable to find even the slightest trace of oil.

“Good morning Andena.“ The text in front of her eye caught her off guard: she was still ‘blessed’ with a computer core.

She knew she couldn’t take it out on her core, but she had trouble keeping her voice friendly as she replied, “Morning, Z.”

“Is there something wrong, Andena?“

She rolled her eyes.

She knew that she had made a grave mistake because she had inadvertently given her core, even more reason to believe that something was wrong. She sighed dejectedly, thinking how she was never going to be able to express her feelings without raising more questions from her core. She decided that honesty was the best policy.

“Z, I’m a little depressed that Bionex has altered my body.”

Andena was suddenly overwhelmed by sadness and tears started to flow freely down her cheeks.

“People undergoing any procedure without their consent is disturbing. I understand you’re upset Andena. I know that you can’t ‘forget’ what has happened to you. I’m very sorry.“

“Yes, and I’m stuck with you for the rest of my life,” she blurted without thinking.

It took her core a few moments to reply, “That is a fact Andena. Maybe I should disconnect.“

She gasped when she read the comment and asked herself whether being disconnected from her core would make her feel better. Andena tried to imagine her life without her core’s funny and sometimes annoying remarks. What would she miss? She quickly came to the conclusion that she had come to think of the core as her friend. Maybe they needed to tweak their relationship, but she didn’t want to lose him. She chuckled softly and said, “No, it’s not you I’m upset with Z. It’s the fact I still have to get used to it all. Especially in the morning when I have just woken up.”

“I assume that this morning was particularly difficult.“

Andena realized her core was unaware of her dream and interjected quickly, “Humans do dream Z.”

“Yes, and it’s hard to estimate in what state you’ll wake up after such an event.“

She lay down on her back, staring at the ceiling. Z’s sharp observations made it all the more complex. She knew that she was talking to a computer but it certainly felt like more than a chit chat. She wasn’t a morning person, and she didn’t feel like being sociable right after she had woken up. The last thing she wanted was to harm their relationship with her groggy and caustic remarks in the morning.

“Z, can we make an agreement?” she asked with a small voice.

“Of course, Andena.“

“Could you, err, be silent until I greet you in the morning?”

There was a long silence, and she didn’t know whether that was a good sign or not.

“I will as long as you’re not in danger.“

Andena smiled and jested, “Okay. Only if I’m in mortal danger, but yes, I can live with that.”

Her stomach was making a growling noise, and only then did she realize how hungry she was. Her core remarked, “I told you: empty carbohydrates don’t last long.“

She had to laugh and reassured her core by saying, “All right, all right, Z. I know a perfect place where I can get a decent breakfast. Meanwhile, we can figure out how to get into Haruz’s office.”

“I’m happy you’re making an effort to feed yourself with proper food.“

Andena snorted and joked, “Who told you that this place, we’re going to, serves food that meets your high nutrition standards?”

The silence was apparent, and she knew she had cornered her core and regretted her remark. “Look Z; I know you want the best for me, but I survived twenty-four years without you. I’m human, and I’ll make mistakes. That’s the way it is, and maybe that is something you will have to get used to.”

“Luckily I have only used five percent of my memory storage. It will fill up quickly if I have to respond correctly to all of your contrary moods.“

She had to giggle and teased, “Oh, I’m not sure if you will ever have enough memory to store all my mood swings.”

She got up and walked to the walk-in closet to get dressed quickly: she was starting to feel nauseous from her empty stomach. She longed for a full English breakfast but without those horrible sausages.

Joshua felt as if a whole herd of hippos had run over his body. When he had made the regulator with a singed piece of wood, he hadn’t anticipated that the wires would be so short. There was no other way than to lie down in the cramped space to get the wires close enough to get the engine running. He had felt each and every bump in the road, and he was sure that Olga would help him out this precarious position.

“Engine stop,” commanded Olga cheerfully.

He carefully moved the frayed wire away from the singed wood and saw her foot hit the pedal which caused the truck to grind to a halt with a jerk. “Are we there already?” He asked.

“No, but there’s a gate we have to go through,” she replied.

“A gate?”

“Yes, you know, a gate with a barrier which is down.”

He couldn’t understand what she was talking about and asked, “Why is the barrier down?”

She snorted, “Hell, I don’t know! I thought they were supposed to open automatically as soon as you arrived with your car.”

He came to the conclusion that the EMP had also burned out the truck’s transponder, which was why the gate wasn’t registering the vehicle at all.

“Can you see if there’s an optical card reader?” he asked.

He had a limited view and could only see the slacks she was wearing. She now needed to lean out of the window, with her foot still on the brake, to search for the optical card scanner. He marvelled at the effort she put into looking for the card reader because it gave him the opportunity to admire her behind; which he had to admit was pretty well toned.

As she plumped down in her seat again, she retorted, “Yes I think so.”

He was extremely pleased that he had such a card. Mr. Yousima had given it to him, telling him that he could open any door or gate with his optical card reader and luckily they were EMP proof.

“Perfect,” Joshua said, “I have one in the back pocket of my trousers.”

“Cool. Give it to me.”

“I can’t. You have to retrieve it.”

“Surely you can reach your pocket easier than I can. Unless you think it’s the perfect opportunity for me to grope you ass. Forget it, Joshua.”

He had to chuckle and said, “Do you really think I would let you grope my ass just like that? It’s because I have to hold these stupid wires unless you want us to get stuck right here.”

She huffed and grumbled, “Let me guess. The card is in your back left pocket.”

As he looked into her eyes, he said with a smirk, “I guess you’re a lucky girl. It’s in my back right pocket. Which is easier to reach.”

She groaned as she bent over to reach his pocket but stopped halfway. He waited for her to go further but she said placidly, “I can’t reach it.”

“What do you mean? Just climb on the passenger seat,” he said annoyed.

“I can’t do that,” she cut in.

“Why not, Olga?”

She practically yelled in frustration, “Isn’t it obvious? The truck will run into the barrier if I let go of the brake!”

It was only then Joshua saw she still had her foot resting on the pedal. He realized she had forgotten about the handbrake which he thought was very funny. He wanted to laugh, but he decided not to tease her because he was not in a good situation to defend himself: she could easily hit him if he were to embarrass her.

“Pull up the handbrake, Olga,” he answered in a serious tone.

Her face turned a little red as she giggled, and after she had jerked the handbrake on she said, “Thanks for reminding me Joshua.”

He liked her warm smile and chided, “Come on girl. You have no idea how keen I am to get out of this cramped space.”

As she slowly crawled onto the passenger seat, she purred, “Oh you poor boy. You wanna get out of here do yah?”

Joshua shivered uncontrollably as Olga gently slid her hand over his back. “Stop that Olga!” he snapped.

“Ooh, we are frisky today aren’t we?”

“Please!”

With a swift move she retrieved the card from his pocket, and as she patted his head, she purred, “There you go. All done now.”

He couldn’t believe she could act so superficial, and he growled, “You’re gonna pay for that.”

Her eyes were glinting as she dared, “Hmm, I’m looking forward to that my dear but for now you stay put while I go and open the gate.”

He shook his head not knowing what to make of it all. Was he supposed to like what she just had done? She had taken advantage of the situation to tease him but he didn’t mind, and that was very confusing.

The truck shook a little as she climbed in again.

She looked at him with a happy grin as she released the handbrake and said, “Just hold on for a bit longer, mate. I guess we’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

He felt the truck move forward, and he was pleased that the roads were a lot less bumpy. For the next fifteen minutes, he had to listen carefully to what she was saying now that they were in a more populated area. He was aware he had to respond quickly to her commands because he didn’t want them to stand out.

He was very pleased when he finally heard Olga saying, “Okay, stop the engine. We are here.”

He groaned because his whole body was protesting heavily about what it had endured. His voice was hoarse when he asked, “Can you pass me the plastic tubes? They’re in the glove compartment of the dashboard.”

As Olga handed him the tubes, she said softly, “Thanks, Joshua, you were great.”

He quickly placed the tubes over the open ends of the wires and replied with the most clichéd answer he could think of, “Thanks, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Her smile was mesmerizing as she asked, “You want me to help you get out?”

He knew she was trying to tease him again and said politely, “Ah yes, if you wouldn’t mind opening the passenger door for me. Please?”

She snorted and tried to fake a posh accent. “Certainly, my dear.”

He had to stand for a few seconds to let the blood flow into his legs again. He caught Olga watching him with a tense expression on her face. He took a step towards her and winced when his rigid muscles wouldn’t cooperate. She asked concerned, “Are you okay?”

“I’m just a little sore, nothing serious. It will be over as soon as we have carried the androids into the lab.”

“All right big shot,” she murmured as she walked to the entrance door of Miss Danette’s lab. She studied the keypad and smiled as she waved his optical card. “Let me guess: there’s a special way of opening this door with this card.”

“Hmm yeah, very special,” he responded with a lazy smile.

“Would you be so kind to tell me how? I don’t have a clue how to use this card.”

He loved the way Olga looked at him: her eyes narrowed because she knew he was teasing her. He asked, “What do you notice when you compare the size of the card with the keypad?”

She kept the card next to the keypad and remarked, “They are the same size but what does that have to do with opening the bloody door, Joshua?”

“Are you sure they are the exact size?”

She huffed and placed the card on the keypad and before she could say anything the keypad played the happy melody. The heavy door started to turn revealing the dark corridor of the lab.