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Somewhere
near the British Isle
The muscular man gently guided Alia into a large room,
one of the many rooms in his personal island cave. His jet-black hair
gleamed under the fluorescent lighting, accenting his glowing midnight
blue eyes. His six-foot frame was formidable, stunning both in elegance
and power. His smile showed
brilliant white teeth. “Alia,
do you know what real power is?”
“Real power? You
mean, electrical or atomic, don’t you?” her voice was full of wonder
and awe at the machinery that filled the large room.
He shook his head at her naiveté, turning his smile
toward a redheaded woman working on one of the machines.
The redheaded woman seemed to feel his look, and
responded by turning her head in their direction with obvious affection.
“I have the power up and running like you asked.”
She spared a glance at the young teen beside him, and her
expression turned to one of distaste. She snarled, “Who’s the
brat?”
Taken aback by the reaction, Alia frowned at the comment.
“Hey…” she said nothing else, but took hold of Nathaniel’s
arm, gripping it tightly.
He patted her hand and chuckled. “Zoë, honey, be kind
to our new resident.” He
looked at Alia meaningfully. She smiled back nervously in return. “You are going to have to teach her.”
Zoë rolled her eyes.
“Oh goody,” she said sarcastically.
“Let me go get her a tootsie pop to suck on.”
He stepped away from Alia towards the cheeky woman Alia
pegged as his lover, and slapped her hard across the face.
There was a look of anger in his eyes that frightened Alia, and she
took a shocked step back.
He grabbed Zoë by the hair on the back of her head, and
pulled her face toward his mouth. Then,
in a voice too low for Alia to hear, growled,
“Teach this twerp like I tell you.
She's expendable. You’re the best there is and I’m not going to
risk losing you if this fails," then released her.
When she turned back to him, her face was void of
expression. She knew better than to show pain.
‘Always keep them guessing,
hon…always’, she thought to herself.
“Yes, sir.” She
ran her fingers quickly through her blazing hair and looked at the girl
behind him. “I’m Zoë.
And you are?” she asked, her eyebrow lifting lightly as she examined the
young lady up and down.
“Alia,” she squeaked, then coughed and repeated more
loudly, “Alia.” Alia knew
instinctively not to show fear to this one, and clasped her hands together
in front of her to hide the shaking.
She’d learn how to hide her fear when she was on the
streets.
Nathaniel smiled at the introductions. It was a sickly,
sweet smile that was obviously false. Zoë took the grin as a gloat, and
couldn't fathom why he was happy to have this sappy little thing with him.
But he obviously had a plan for her, and Zoë knew how to stay on
his good side.
“She’ll do,” Zoë grumbled.
“I thought that she might.” The dynamic man put his arm around Zoë’s shoulders and
walked her away from the girl. "Think of her as someone you can
mold.” He stopped at a computer station, knowing he'd just tweaked his
lover's curiosity. Then, he
then turned to Alia. “Come
my dear, I want to show you something.” He showed the way with the sweep
of a hand.
“Okay,” she replied, not immediately turning away
from Zoë in another effort to show she wasn’t scared. Finally, she fell behind her leader.
Zoë stood her ground, watching the sickening pair –
one unbelievingly ingenious and the other unbelievably naive.
She shook her head as they walked away, yet, at the same time she
instinctively knew that someone had walked up behind her. She knew exactly
who it was, and stated with a growl, “He’s one sick bastard, Thames,” before the black man
even made it to her side.
“Really? I
hadn’t noticed,” he said sarcastically on his arrival.
“And you follow a close second," she said as she
turned to the tall slender man to her left.
“When are you going to learn that you can’t sneak up on me
anymore?”
Thames smiled widely.
“Why don’t you teach me how, then?”
Zoë leaned very close to Thames’ ear, so close that
she could smell the cologne that he was wearing.
She lightly bushed her lips against his ear and whispered.
“You’d like it way to much, you arrogant, annoying, sexy
thing.”
Thames smile widened at her tease.
“Well, then, love, why don’t you do something I won’t
like?”
It was Zoë’s turn to smile evilly as she leaned back
away from him. “Then
you’d be dead and of no use to me.”
“Ooo! Ouch,
baby! Ouch!” He winked at her, then feigned to go but grabbed her roughly
instead. The kiss he
deposited was void of affection, and applied as a challenge before he
walked away as if nothing happened.
Zoë didn’t know whether to enjoy the kiss or be
revolted by it. Licking her
lips, she tilted her head as she admired the way his pants molded to his
body. She shook her head to
stop the distracting thoughts, and left to find her boss and the simpy
girl.
Nathaniel and Alia were in the deepest part of the
cavern, inspecting a large metallic box, which seemed out of place among
the rest of the gadgets and gismos scattered around the room. The
simple-looking box gave no outer indication of the complexity on the
inside.
“Alia, do you know what this is for?” he asked
carefully, indicating the box.
“No,” she answered.
"I've never seen anything like it." The streets of London were far dirtier.
“And you never will, dear. This odd box is going to change the world as we know it,
making one person greater than any other on the face of the
planet.”
“Really?” She
was genuinely impressed and curious at the same time. “What is it, exactly?”
“This is the start of the future, Alia.
This is the beginning of the greatest computer ever to
exist.”
“Oh. I’m
afraid I don’t know anything about computers.
This isn’t the whole thing?”
She touched the box lightly, and then pulled her hand back.
“No, this is only one module. The computer itself will surround it. Engulf it.” He
seemed ready to get into the box right then.
“And, Alia, dear, you are going to be a part of the future this
computer will create.”
She smiled. That
sounded good to her. The
present sure wasn’t a rose garden, and the idea of a future created by
this man, with her at his side, sounded more promising than anything she
could ever hope for. “Sounds
great!” she said admiringly.
“Yes,” Zoë smiled hauntingly as she heard what
Nathaniel had said as she walked up.
“Our future.” She
slowly crossed her arms. “One
of which you will learn to trust me, Thames and Nathaniel.
We’ll keep you safe from harm.”
Nathaniel turned to Zoë. “When will we be ready for integration?”
Zoë could read the excitement in Nathaniel’s eyes as
he spoke of the integration process.
She approached him, letting her hand trace his jaw. “Anytime you’re ready,” she replied in the sultriest
tone as she kept her eyes on his.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “With the computer, Zoë.
When will the computer be ready?”
Realizing that the game of chase had been taken away from
her because of this little girl beside him, she looked Nathaniel in his
dark midnight blue eyes and smiled. “Like
I said, dear, anytime you’re ready.”
He took a breath. “Well,
then…let’s get the module hooked up.”
Zoë’s hand still lingered on Nathaniel’s shoulder
and she leaned up toward his ear. “I’ll
get it ready for you, darling.” She
lightly kissed his cheek and turned to go.
Before she could leave his side, he grabbed her hand and
pulled her back. “Stay away
from Thames,” Nathaniel growled in her ear.
Zoë smiled at the hint of jealousy and wiggled up toward
him again. “But Thames is
in charge of the module. What
do you want me to do? You
know that I’ll do anything for you.”
He smiled a bit. “Don’t
even ask that, Zoë. I might
take you up on that. Now,
let's get this module hooked up, shall we?”
He walked away from her and circled the box, brushing it with his
fingertips in lustful desire.
Alia was taken aback by the interplay between the two,
and realizing the gist of the unsaid things. She wasn’t stupid, just
young. She had to admit she
admired the cheekiness of Zoë, and wished she could be more like her; she
seemed so sophisticated. And
there was an attraction between Zoë and Nathaniel that she wished could
be solely focused on her. Alia
caught herself staring at Zoë.
Zoë tilted her head and gave Alia a sideways leer.
“There’s not a chance in hell that you’ll ever have him.
He’s mine,” she snarled lowly enough so that he couldn’t
hear.
Alia’s jaw dropped slightly, and she damned herself for
blushing. The woman knew what
she had been thinking! She
ducked her head and quickly caught up to Nathaniel, embarrassed.
Zoë noticed the reddening cheeks as Alia walked away.
There wasn’t going to be any little girl coming in to take her
man away from her. He was her ticket to power.
She looked Alia up and down, well aware of her youth and better
figure.
“Zoë!” Nathaniel
called out, just as Alia came up to him. “Help me with this.
And get that idiot engineer over here!”
She smiled a tight smile of obedience, and searched out
Thames with her eyes. Leaning that direction, she raised her voice to a
commanding tone. “Thames,
get over here.”
Thames sighed as he looked up, and then noticed she was
heading to Nathaniel. He knew
better than to go against Nathaniel, so he went over without comment.
Alia felt awkward and useless and was relieved to see
another person joining them. Hopefully
it would take Zoë’s animosity away from her.
She watched, staying out of the way, as they unloaded the
contraption from the box.
Silently working together, they deftly checked the
module, making sure everything was properly connected with the correct
wires going through the proper holes, and the biochips were intact. They
handled the device gingerly.
“There,” Zoë said, satisfied, as she looked up into
Nathaniel’s eyes. “It’s
passed beta testing, and ready for the real thing.”
Nathaniel stroked her chin slowly, a gleam in his eyes.
“Hook me up, darling,” he ordered, a tinge of sexual excitement
edging his voice. He stepped
back into a cubicle cut into the wall of the cave.
It looked like a space capsule to Alia; all steel and
dials. Thick bundles of
conduit dangled from the ceiling and walls, all surrounding a chair that
looked like a Star Trek biobed. She watched Nathaniel step inside and
stand, impatiently rubbing his hands together.
She could tell the anticipation was almost too much for him.
Zoë stepped in next to him, holding the module.
It was a tight fit for the two of them. “Is there anything that
you want before we connect you?” she asked in a sultry voice. She was
feeding off his excitement, and had a glassy look in her eyes.
“Are you asking me if I want a blindfold?” he asked
her softly looking into her lovely blue eyes.
“No, my dear, more like a last request.”
Nathaniel leaned over and kissed her firmly on the lips,
making sure that Thames saw his actions, reaffirming his claim on the
woman. “Just make sure that
everything goes well.”
“You got it, sweet cheeks.” She lightly patted his hip then turned around to see Alia
standing to the side. Zoë
smiled at her, but her eyes told another story.
She then looked at Thames. “Come
on, Thames. Let’s get this
show on the road.”
Alia felt like a fifth wheel. She stepped back, afraid of the look that Zoë had given her.
She had no idea what was going on, but if anything happened to
Nathaniel, she would be alone and at the mercy of those two
deviants.
Thames sighed at his lack of control when it came to
Nathaniel Lothoman and stepped up to the portal opening.
“Right. Dr.
Lothoman, if you would prepare for the hook up.”
He picked up the necessary connectors and edged his way in.
Nathaniel sat down in the seat, looking like a king
settling on his throne. The hungry expression turned into one of sheer
ecstasy as the module was positioned on he head. “Do it," he
commanded.
“Thames, may I have those?” Zoë asked with one
eyebrow raised ever so slightly as she reached for the conduit bundles he
held.
Thames looked at her and smiled slightly, willingly
handing the connectors to her. “Be
my guest,” he said loudly. ‘I
don’t want to be the one to blame if Lothoman gets fried,’ he
thought to himself.
Taking the connectors in her hands, she inspected them
carefully. “Honey, these
look fine. I’m putting the
connectors in place now.” She
inserted the first connector into its port, and then nodded at Thames, who
adjusted some dials on the wall of the cavern.
A slight hum permeated the air.
Nathaniel Lothoman gasped as if he were in pain, or very
excited. Alia couldn't really tell.
He
could feel the wires entering his body just as he had planned. The power!
Oh, the power! It was more thrilling than he ever imagined!
Thames
stifled a smile, hoping Nathaniel was in pain and that the whole thing
would fail miserably.
Knowing the anger she would face if she stopped, Zoë
continued on even as Lothoman writhed in the chair. The next connector was slowly put in, and instead of waiting
she connected the rest of them quickly.
He
could feel the power surging through him, making the pain of the entwining
wires fade away. His reach
was enormous! The possibilities were endless! He had mutated Dr. Beckett's
theories to the point where he had made himself omnipotent! This was so
much better than being human!
Suddenly, Nathaniel’s eyes widened, as the pain became
overwhelming. Every limb stiffened and twitched; he breathing became
ragged. His head jerked back
and his mouth opened in a silent scream.
The observers realized that something was very wrong.
Alia stepped up to the chair and knelt by Lothoman's
side, placing her hand on his arm. His eyes were fixed and dilated, his
breathing uneven. “Nathaniel?”
she said softly as she petted his arm.
Thames scowled at the gruesome sight. He could see the
wires as they were meeting under Nathaniel’s skin, how they disfigured
his face and body, creating a grotesque caricature of a man.
Zoë simply stood back after finishing the last
connection, her eyes glazed with excitement.
His power meant her power. It
was thrilling.
“What’s happening?”
Alia whispered out loud.
Thames turned to Alia and replied,
"Nathaniel is gone, lady.”
Zoë took one step towards Thames and slapped him hard
across the cheek. “Shut up.
He’s not gone.”
Thames glared at her in response.
Alia then knew that her worst fear coming true.
She was here with these two on her own.
She gripped the writhing man's forearm tightly, begging. “NO!
You can’t be gone!”
Zoë roughly pulled her away from Nathaniel.
“Get away from him!” she said menacingly.
Alia fell back. “You’ve
got to stop this!” Alia
actually stood firm, her fists clenched, not backing down from Zoë
although she was scared to death. “Stop
this!” She looked at the woman determinedly, feeling her eyes
watering.
Zoë looked Alia up and down with a critical eye.
“We can’t stop this, love.
It’s too late.”
“It can’t be too late.
It just can’t.” Alia
stared, stunned. Trapped.
She couldn’t leave this place now; Lothoman had been her guardian
and the only way to leave the island.
He had picked her up on the streets and promised her better, then
abandoned her.
With a tut of her tongue, Zoë took Alia's place at
Lothoman's side, and placed the palm of her hand on his cheek.
She could feel the bio-wires growing, expanding under his flesh.
She leaned over and lightly kissed his lips, then closed her eyes
and placed her head on his chest. The convulsing body finally became limp,
his face blank.
Without warning, a deep, metallic voice rolled through
the room. “Such sentimental foolishness, my darling.”
Zoë, Thames and Alia looked up and around the room,
trying to locate the source of the voice floating around them.
It seemed to be teasing them.
“Nathaniel?” Zoë
asked hopefully as she looked back to the limp face of the man before
her.
“He is here,” the voice answered.
“In part. Oh, Zoë,
darling! It is truly
amazing!”
“Nathaniel…” Zoë bit her lip as his voice
surrounded her. “I knew…
I knew that you weren’t gone… you wouldn’t leave me.”
“The Nathaniel Lothoman you knew is gone.
I am no longer him. I
am so much more than him. I
am perfection.”
She frowned. “No,”
she said softly as she slowly rose to her feet and backed away from him.
“You’re still Nathaniel. You
still…” she hesitated, unsure, then stated,
“You still love me.”
The voice laughed. “Love?
Bio-technical computers do not know how to love, Zoë.”
Zoë could have taken anything else that someone could
have thrown at her and brushed it off, but this? This crushed the only part of her that accepted Nathaniel as
a lover and as a partner. Thames
was right. He was gone.
She locked down the emotions trying to burst through.
She wouldn’t act like a blubbering fool.
‘No one will treat me this way again and live to tell the tale,’
she vowed. Her face carefully wiped clean of emotion, she said,
“Fine, Lothoman.”
“That is the name of my creator and companion,"
the rolling voice boomed. "It is not me.
I am…. Lothos.”
Unnoticed, Alia found she had backed towards the cave
entry, an intruder in this foreign world.
But she didn’t want to go back where she came from, either.
She was stuck between two impossible choices, and needed time to
think. She dashed out of the cave, panicked.
Hearing the footfalls, Zoë saw Alia running away.
“Dammit,” she cursed hoarsely, still unable to leave the side
of what remained of her lover.
“I’ll get her,” Thames spat, completely willing to
get away. He caught up to her
easily, and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.
Alia tried to jerk free of Thames.
“Let me go! I
can’t live here!”
Thames raised his eyebrow. “You have no choice, lady.
In fact, you’re coming back to the Control Center right
now.”
“Why? I’m
of no use in there!” She
again tried to pull away, but Thames had a strong grip.
She struggled fruitlessly as she was drug back inside.
“Surely, you’re of some use or
Dr. Lothoman wouldn’t have picked you up. He always has a plan.”
*** ***
***
***
Finally able to step away, Zoë made yet another check of
the connections and circuits as Thames dragged Alia back in the cave.
She raised her eyebrow, impressed, and looked at Thames in a new
light. He was physically
here, at least, and taking control of that intruder. “At least he’s
good for something,” she mused out loud.
She knew he was as much a part of Lothos’ plan as she was, and
figured that the girl must fit in that plan somewhere.
She was deep in thought about the possibilities, annoyed at the
voice's interruption.
“Zoë,” the voice commanded.
“What the hell do you want?” Zoë asked vehemently.
Without warning, a bolt of electricity hit her squarely
in the chest. It threw her
back against the wall, and she slid to the floor, completely bewildered;
her breathing labored.
“You will give me the respect you gave Lothoman.
He cared greatly for you and wants me to do the same.
He is part of me and therefore I do have some interest in you.
Perhaps even feelings. You
are important to the Project, but I will not put up with disrespect.”
Zoë vowed to not forget that lesson. “Forgive me?”
she asked softly, trying to retain her position in the Project.
Thames missed the attack, and when he dragged Alia back
to the Control area he found Zoë on the floor, gasping and definitely in
pain. He stopped. “What the
hell happened?” he whispered more to himself than to anyone else in the
room.
“Forgiven for the time being," the voice rolled.
"I have a task for you, Zoë.
A very important task,” the metallic voice sounded.
Zoë closed her eyes and tried to stand.
She was very dizzy, and had to shake her head to clear the fog.
“And that would be?”
“Lothoman asked you to teach Alia.
Do so and continue the work. When
we are ready, you will observe for her.
Perhaps one day, you will even be favored for the Project.
For the moment, however, you are far too important to
risk.”
Looking at Alia, Zoë said, “She’s very…” she
paused wanting to choose her words carefully, “…very naïve. I’ll do what I can. I’ll
teach her as you ask of me, Lothos.”
“Naïve?” Alia
snapped at Zoë. “You
don’t even know me!” She
struggled in Thames' grip, not liking the sound of this
conversation.
The voice agreed with Zoë. “Her naiveté makes her perfect for the job.
She should be easy to train.”
‘Train?’ Alia thought, horrified.
“Forgive me, Lothos, but won’t her naiveté be her
downfall?”
“That’s
is why I am relying on you. She
will be the first in case anything unexpected arises.”
“So, if she fails, I fail…I fail you.” ‘Interesting,’ Zoë thought as she put her hand to her
chest wondering exactly what kind of punishment to expect if she was
disrespectful again.
Alia interjected loudly, “And what is this… this plan
you keep talking about? I
sure didn’t agree to any plan! And
you two,” she pointed at Thames and Zoë, “have no claim on me!” She
finally threw off Thames' grip, and stood firmly.
Another lightning bolt shot out from the conduit and hit
Alia as it had hit Zoë, square in the chest.
Alia’s body flew back against the wall, knocking her out.
“She is far too insolent."
“Holy
shit!” Thames cried,
backing away from Lothos in obvious fear.
Zoë snickered. “Far too insolent, indeed.
And what of Thames, Lothos? Is
he important for the project as well?
Am I to train him too?” Zoë
wanted to make sure of where she stood.
“Of course. Thames must maintain my electronic systems
and my biological systems as well.”
Thames didn’t like the sound of that.
“Biological systems?”
“Yes, Thames," Zoë purred.
"Keeping Lothoman alive so that Lothos can survive.”
She turned to look at him so that he could see her eyes and the
emotions there. This scared her; scared her and made her mad all at the same
time.
Thames wasn’t much into caring for anyone but himself,
yet the look in her eyes made his heart go out to her, especially since it
scared him, too.
“Zoë,” the voice uttered again with authority.
Closing her eyes, she turned back to Lothos and
physically humbled herself. She
bowed her head and went to her knees in front of the physical form left
behind. “Yes, Lothos?”
she asked quietly as her fingers touched at the charred hole in her
shirt.
“Take Alia and place her in a cell.
Humble her to obedience. If
she argues with you, I will punish her.”
A small smile crawled onto her face.
“Yes, Lothos. It shall be done.” She
quickly stood, wiping the smile from her face.
She motioned Thames for assistance and moved Alia to another part
of the Project.
Her nightmare was just beginning.
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