Chapter 4 – Enemy Territory #6
Basking in the raucous applause and attention of the clamouring public, MacIntyre then brought a huge robot wrestler – bald with enormous muscles and wearing a small loincloth – onto the stage. The audience clearly wanted one thing: action.
MacIntyre made it very clear who was in charge, ordering the future combat robot to pose for the public like a bodybuilder, bend some steel bars as if they were blades of grass and then rip apart some chains.
A holographic presentation appeared on the screen, providing an impressive demonstration of how the robot’s laser-powered automatic rifle could hit a target up to three miles away.
After the thunderous applause had died down and the robot had disappeared off stage, back into its container, MacIntyre delivered a rousing speech on the significance of the three-day event, intended to highlight once again the need to deploy combat robots.
Essentially, the intention was to squeeze the last bit of taxpayers’ money out of those in charge, including Atkinson, so that they would continue to supply their armies with MacIntyre’s robots.
Marci watched Jack following the events carefully, his already hard expression growing even stonier. He didn’t like MacIntyre making a spectacle of his kind and was probably wondering how long it would be before this generation of robots woke up, too.
Meanwhile, MacIntyre was delivering a few special words of thanks to his clients, clearly hinting that the war against the PanAsian Front could go on for years and that he, Montgomery MacIntyre, loyal citizen and supporter of the President, would offer everything at his disposal to help secure victory.
The President, who was subsequently brought onto the stage, grinned jovially as the blinding spotlights drew attention to his suave features.
Accompanied by the flash of hundreds of cameras, the audience welcomed him with rapturous applause.
His wife, a slim brunette with shoulder-length hair and a sleek smile and wearing a tight-fitting blue satin dress, clapped wildly, seemingly trying to outshine the spotlights as MacIntyre invited her husband to speak.
She was clearly Jill Ambush’s sister as the two women were like peas in a pod, apart from their hair colour; Jill’s was dyed light blonde.
As the President – a vain old man with black hair – talked at length about the triumphs of their robot armies against the PanAsian Front, comprising the Chinese and Russians, Marci felt the eyes of Atkinson and the two women upon her and worried about applauding in the right place.
The President also praised the positive collaboration between MacIntyre and the Department of Defence and the significant savings this had produced over the last few years due to the use of artificial intelligence.
He called Senator Ashton Ambush – Jill’s ex-husband, who’d been seated a good distance away from her – onto the stage and thanked him with a specially-made medal for his new and innovative ideas that had helped to reduce troop costs even further.
Marci knew straight away who, or rather what, he was referring to.
Hybrid soldiers like Will who, unnoticed by the general public, had lost their lives because of the government’s cost-saving measures.
She wanted to leap up, spit on the ground in front of him and rail against inhumane greed and the atrocities that lay behind these strategies, but she knew that it would take a hundred Jacks to protect her from the likely consequences.
Jack sensed her agitation and gave her knee a firm squeeze, immediately calming her down.
Marci’s pulse was still not steady a few minutes later when Montgomery MacIntyre suddenly appeared at their table, accompanied by a very young Asian woman whose flawless appearance suggested that she was a robot.
Dressed in a whisper of silver fabric that emphasised her boyish figure, her black, waist-length hair covered up her virtually flat chest.
Whereas Jack stood up and politely offered his seat to the robot girl, treating her with the same respect as a human, MacIntyre completely ignored both robots.
He seemed far more interested in Marci, greeting her so effusively that she felt totally unsettled, fearful for a moment that he might have recognised her.
But that was impossible. If he had, she would have been marched off by his robot soldiers who were keeping an eagle-eyed watch on everything.
Marci couldn’t help but remember that Rochelle had always referred to him behind his back as “the pig”; even during their marriage, he’d preferred to take his pleasure with submissive female robots with whom he played perverse games that were so hideous that even Rochelle had never talked about them.
Fortunately, MacIntyre couldn’t tell what was going on in her head.
“Ms Rosebud,” he purred, putting his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of peculiar intimacy as the frowning Governor and the two other women looked on.
“How lovely to finally meet you,” he added with a honeyed smile, taking her hands in his without asking.
“I hope it’s OK if I call you Skyla? Your management team said you’d be the surprise of the evening.
If I’ve understood correctly, you’re looking for a strong financial partner for your new company.
Your balance sheets certainly look promising; my ex-wife worked on a similar idea that I initially thought was completely ridiculous. ”
He spoke without pausing and Marci was astonished that he didn’t once mention Rochelle’s death.
With a mixture of fascination and repulsion, she stared at his expressionless face.
It was neither handsome nor ugly but his brown eyes were so empty that it sent a chill down her spine.
She glanced sideways at Jack, needing the reassurance of his presence but knowing that the feeling of safety it gave her was only imaginary – Jack wouldn’t be able to help her if MacIntyre found out who they were.
She nodded smoothly as her contact in the rebel headquarters prompted her with more information that MacIntyre wouldn’t be able to verify.
“It’s not about financial support,” she stated confidently.
“Once word of our escort robots starts to spread, we won’t have sufficient capacity to ensure a rapid supply to the market.
” She hoped the bold prediction would arouse his interest and added some casual flattery.
“We’ve therefore been advised to seek out a collaboration with a large company like MacIntyre LLC.
I’ve heard how quickly and efficiently you produce your fighting machines and that there’s barely any difference in terms of their appearance and design with a real human.
There’s also the fact that your robots’ size and proportions match those of an ideal man for ninety-five per cent of our clients.
Our newly developed software is easy to integrate into any existing processor and transforms an aggressive fighter into a smart, courteous gentleman in the blink of an eye. ”
“Are you certain that it works?” interrupted Atkinson. “Where did you get your prototypes from? The army’s scrap heap?”
He cast an appraising look at Jack that didn’t escape MacIntyre’s notice and Marci could have done with some assistance from the rebel base, but the connection to her implanted chip had been interrupted again.
“He’s one of a kind,” he replied hastily.
“He’s based on a decommissioned combat robot and I designed him with the help of my chief engineer once she’d analysed potential clients’ requirements.
That’s why we want to use professionally recycled combat robots in the future, not only to make the whole thing more affordable but also so that we can speed up production when we need to.
That’s why I’m here looking for suitable business partners. ”
“What makes you so certain that you can trust a robot like that?” asked MacIntyre curiously.
“My own experiences and the fact that I’ve been making use of his abilities for quite some time now.
I value my own life. Or do you think I’d happily sit at this table with a killing machine?
” She directed a glowing smile at Jack that wasn’t difficult to put on.
He smiled back, albeit slightly more reticently.
“This man does everything I demand of him and I can state without a doubt that I’ve never had a flesh-and-blood guy who’s acquitted himself quite so well.”
Jack tried not to let it show how he felt hearing this praise from her lips, but her enthusiasm about her product – possessing the appearance and charm of an action hero – visibly fuelled Jill Ambush’s fantasies.
“I would happily put myself forward as a tester,” the sister of the President’s wife announced enigmatically, to everyone’s surprise, looking at Jack with a wolfish expression.
“Just imagine, Lorna, I’d finally have someone to accompany and protect me on all my business trips.
And I’d get to have a bit of fun when we got back to the hotel room in the evening. ”
“That’s sick,” declared Atkinson. “He’s a machine, remember? He was created to kill, not fuck.”
“For God’s sake, Doug, why should we women miss out on all the pleasure?
” Jill Ambush shot back huffily. “Especially as you men don’t pass up this kind of opportunity.
It’s high time there was an alternative on the market to all the submissive robotic pussies.
A product that’s designed for women’s needs, that brings more sex and romance into their lives.
Regardless of whether they’re married, what they look like, how old they are, and whether their guy still does anything with them or not. ”
Everyone was momentarily silent. Lorna shot her an anxious glance but Jill seemed to have just got started.