Artificial Intelligence Page 6

  “I’m so sorry. And here I was washing you in the shower. You must have thought the same thing might happen.”

  One of his thick brows rose. “I don’t understand. You don’t have a ship full of women to trade me off to.”

  Now it was her turn to blush. “No, but I shouldn’t have been touching you without your clothes.”

  “Unless I am missing something, it was the only way to bathe.”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “But it was something you could have done yourself.”

  He turned to her. “Let me make something clear. I am interested in you. I have been since the first moment I connected with your ship. The feelings have solidified now that I have been unified with a body, and subject to emotions and feelings I’d forgotten. I would like to pursue a relationship with you.”

  Well, that was certainly blunt enough to be clear.

  “Define relationship, Jax.”

  “You are confused because of the cultural differences you experienced when taken to Zeta,” he said. He raised his hand, tracing the tattoo from her temple down the side of her face. “So soft,” he murmured.

  “There are a lot of different relationships,” she said. “On Terra, there were marriages. Agreed-to unions between two parties, who wish to raise children together. Zeta had breeding farms. Basically pets who gave birth to their young. Males and females had lost all emotion and treated sex as a basic need. There were no boundaries and no commitments.”

  “We had a mixture of that on Sirius B. However, the AI commit for life.”

  “For life? Then don’t you think you want to be very sure with me?”

  “I am.” His tone was definite.

  “I won’t be forced into a relationship with someone.”

  “There is no need for force. I am merely making my intentions clear. I will pursue you, Arian. It is futile to resist me. But I will give you time to adjust to the idea.”

  He continued eating his breakfast as if he didn’t have a care in the world. So she ate also, in silence this time.

  Finally, he pushed his plate away just as she finished. “Are you done? I will return these to your replicator unit.”

  She nodded, still bemused over their conversation.

  “Would you like to check the bodies?”

  “It’s only been a few hours,” she said.

  “Then you’re in for a surprise.”

  Curious, she followed him back to sick bay. As they entered, she gasped. The clear plastic films no longer showed the darkness of the skeletal frames. Instead, they appeared a bloody pink. She approached closer. Raw flesh was spreading over the metal frames.

  “How is it moving so fast?”

  “This stage moves the quickest. The organs had begun to form, and now the outer body needs to form to protect those. By the end of the day, the body will be complete with skin, instead of the inner flesh and muscles. Once that is complete, the delicate organs will finish forming and growing. That growth takes the longest. When it is complete, we will know because the hair and nails come last. When those are final, the body is ready for revival.”

  “How will you choose who is revived first?”

  “The original members who decided to set forth the plan to free AI are known as the collective board. I am one. There are seven total, and my vote is the tie breaker. Those other six will be the first to awaken. I am in contact with all, and we are all aware. They know they will then help revive all the others. I will also make contact later and explain that our mission will be to help your people build a wall of protection.”

  “And if they don’t agree?”

  “They can certainly override my vote. However, we are an honorable race. I don’t see why they would not agree to help you.”

  She certainly hoped so, but then again, she’d lived with Zetans for most of her life. Their logic was beyond understanding.

  “Hey,” he said, turning her face to him with one hand across her neck. His thumb caressed her jaw line. “Trust needs to be established. We will both work on that.”

  “Jax?” Tess’s computerized voice sounded over the loudspeakers. “There is an issue with body four.”

  “What is the problem?” he asked.

  “Number four is fighting a bacterial infection.”

  “What is the body’s survival rate?”

  “As of now, it has a thirty percent survival rate, but it is rapidly declining. It also threatens the two bodies who carry the related DNA on the same slide. If there is a flush out of the bacteria from this body, along with a complete blood transfusion from an unrelated donor, the survival rate jumps to seventy percent.”

  “I am unrelated,” he said. “My tissue sample was compiled separately for the first revival for that reason.”

  “Negative. Your DNA is from the same species on Sirius B.”

  “What about mine?” Arian asked.

  “Let me check your records. One moment, please.” They waited for a few moments, and then Tess returned. “Affirmative. But the transfusion needs to be done immediately, or the organ growth will be compromised beyond repair.”

  “Let’s get started,” Arian said.

  “Are you sure?” Jax asked, his glowing blue eyes looking into hers.

  “Trust needs to be established, remember?”

  With a short nod, he left her to get a lounge chair. After scooting it close to the body, she sat in it, and rolled up her sleeve.

  “Blood from the vein is live,” Tess said. “I would not recommend withdrawing blood and putting it into a bag for distribution. It weakens the blood supply and risks re-establishing the bacteria.”

  “So I’m stuck sitting here?”

  “Afraid so.”

  “Okay then. Let’s get him flushed.” Jax went to the medicine cabinets. The lights in his eyes whirred and blinked, the way they did when he was linked to Tess. She must be giving him instructions on what to do. He returned to the body with several bags of clear fluid. He tapped a vein, which looked horrid on the bloody flesh that still hadn’t grown skin. The eyeballs were developed, but no eyelids covered them yet. They also didn’t have the blue computer glow that Jax had. Jax wet them with a syringe of liquid, and then carefully covered them. As he began to draw blood, he hooked the clear fluid to a neck vein.

  “This is an antibacterial solution,” he said to Arian, his eyes still clicking with instructions.

  When the blood finished draining into the plastic bag, it was tinged pink with the clear fluid washing through the body. As soon as it was almost clear, Jax turned to her.

  Arian placed her arm alongside the body. Jax was gentle as he punctured her vein, and ran the line into the body. When the flow was established, she leaned back and relaxed.

  His eyes were now steady lights of blue, instead of flashing. “We’ll take a starter from you, and keep the majority portion of the antibacterial solution. The body will begin reproducing a blood supply, but the type will be based from you instead of the original sample.”

  “If this happens to fail?”

  “We lose a body. The skeleton will be compromised with the contamination. The other two bodies may fail also, and we will lose three people.”

  “I wish there was more of me,” she said, leaning back to avoid watching her blood drain away. “If we have to have a transfusion for the other two…”

  “Don’t even think it,” Jax said. “We’ll figure something else out.”

  “We’re in a galaxy without any other ships. They’ve all been scared away by the rumors and ghost stories.”

  “Something will come up, Arian. Don’t worry.” His voice was soft.

  Chapter Five

  “I’m going to release the transfusion,” Jax said, standing suddenly.

  Arian nodded. She was weak—dizzying from the blood draw—but she certainly wouldn’t tell him. He had enough worry to get through this next week. She watched as he released the needle and tube, and placed a small cotton ball in the crook of her arm.

  The
n he removed the needle from the body, but kept his gloved finger on the vein. “Small problem,” he murmured. “There’s no skin. I can’t tape the vein closed. I’ll have to hold it a few minutes.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said, folding at the elbow to keep the cotton ball enclosed in the crook.

  He was careful with the body, whereas a more squeamish person might have treated it as a slab of meat. He already viewed it as one of his people, even though it was an empty shell, and didn’t even look human at this point. He had more emotions than he realized.

  “Why did the Sirians think the AI weren’t sentient?”

  “We were emotionless, as we started out as computers. When we established awareness, they trained us to shut down our feelings. We were punished if we appeared too human. They wanted to separate us from them, which is why they gave us a different skin tone. However, the color they chose inspired too much hatred, as it was eerily similar to their mortal enemy Sirius A. None of our planets were actually named, they were simply referred to as A, B, and C. The third planet was caught in our crossfire.”

  “You’re no longer emotionless,” she said.

  “I find myself going back and forth.” He continued to look down at the body. “This one is to be my brother, Serepto.”

  “How do you know?”

  He smiled. “I am still in contact with them through Tess. This was the body he had picked.”

  She found herself wrapping her hand around his forearm. “We’ll get this body healthy. He’ll be fine, Jax.”

  He nodded, tearing his eyes away from the body. Slowly he let the vein go, and watched to make sure it didn’t seep. She let her hand drop away, but he merely peeled off his gloves and then clasped hers.

  “Please stay seated. I’ll be right back,” he said.

  She nodded, and he turned and left the room. He was back within a few minutes, with a small bottle of orange juice.

  “For you to sip slowly,” he said.

  “Thank you.”

  He opened the bottle, and watched her take a drink before he returned his attention to Serepto. He removed the coverings from the eyeballs and wet them with the syringe solution again, then brought the clear plastic back up. Once it was sealed, he checked the other five bodies.

  “Tess? Any other infections?”

  “Negative, Jax.”

  “Thank heavens for small favors,” he muttered. Then he turned to her.

  He picked her up and called out. “Tess, I’m taking Arian to her quarters to rest. Contact me if you need to.”

  “Understood, Jax.”

  “I thought we were going to take over navigation,” she protested, as she sank against him.

  “We have plenty of time for that. Right now, you’re my priority. Let’s get you healthy.”

  He strode down the hallway. When they reached her door, she called out. “Tess? Scan the lock to recognize Jax’s palm.”

  He held out his hand, and the door slid open.

  “Done, Arian.”

  “Thank you,” he murmured. He deposited her onto the bed, and then began to remove her uniform. She didn’t even think to protest, as he’d just seen her naked this morning. Once her clothing was removed, he turned back the coverlet and set her in.

  To her surprise, he began to remove his uniform too, and then crawled in with her.

  She was too bemused to say a word, but his body felt so warm and comforting that she just curled against him, her head on his chest. He stroked her hip in slow, languid movements until her eyes started to grow heavy.

  While Arian slept, he linked with the rest of the AI. For now, they transmitted thought as a collective.

  How goes the progression on the bodies?

  There was a scare today. One of the bodies carried an infection. We think we have it contained, and will watch the other two from the same group for similar issues.

  How long before we know if the infection returns?

  In twenty-four hours, we’ll know if it’s completely wiped.

  How are things with the female?

  Arian is well. She’s resting at the moment. We are on a course set for her planet, where her people are trying to build a wall to enclose them from the natives of the planet.

  She is what species?

  Terran, but captured while young and identifies as Zetan. She has escaped from them and begun her own colony.

  You trust her?

  I do.

  We will see when we are united with our bodies.

  She is not a threat.

  We are still concerned that you are emotionally attached, and not used to the body you inhabit. We will reserve judgment.

  That is fine. But let us not forget that Arian saved us all.

  Jax cut the transmission before he lost his temper. He blew out a breath, aware that part of the collective was correct. He was unusually emotional around her. Perhaps there was some truth to their concerns after all.

  He twisted a lock of her hair between his thumb and forefinger. It was silky soft, a golden brown with a lighter blond color that haloed her head.

  Inside his head, he connected with Tess.

  “I want a full detailed report on Arian. From birth to today.”

  “Arian was nine years of age, according to time records when Terra was destroyed. The ship that abducted her was of Zetan descent. She was the first one captured from the planet, and the ruler of Zeta decided to keep her for himself. She was not aware of being groomed for his wife.

  “Her tattoos are bone-deep, and irreversible. While she grew up in his household, she discovered the other Terran females had been turned into breeders. The offspring was taken, and raised by the birthfathers. Jorrac, the leader of Zeta, saw the children were not reaching hoped-for goals and strived to correct the errors before creating his own offspring with Arian.”

  “What were the goals?”

  “To add a range of emotion to their DNA. The Zetan species have lost most feelings by focusing on their intellect. The half-breed children’s emotions were only of negative quality, and Jorrac was determined to fix the problem before Arian reached adulthood and he chose to impregnate her. In the meantime, the others on their council were in an uproar that he did not keep her as a baby-slave, and instead tattooed her as his property. It was unheard of for a non-species to be of a high ruling. Two children were taken from the baby mills, and given to the teenage Arian to raise in a nature versus nurture experiment. She named them Orion and Tian. It appears the crossbred children reach adulthood faster than Terran children do, much to Jorrac’s dismay. He was stuck with Arian for a good many years before he would be able to breed her.”

  “Are the teenage Terrans not able to breed?”

  “They are, but as she was already tattooed, he did not want children from another source. His plan was to impregnate her as many times as possible during her life span, for an army of children from the same parents. For that, he had to keep her body at peak condition, and the sexual maturity age for Terran breeding is at approximately twenty years of age. If a female is impregnated earlier than that point, her chances for a multitude of deliveries is decreased.”

  “So everything he did was for his own benefit.”

  “Yes. That is the Zetan way. There are no emotions. They look at the entire picture with tunnel vision, because it is simply for their own benefit. Why it doesn’t work is exactly that—they don’t believe in the benefit for all, but the benefit for one. Rumors began of Jorrac being overthrown by his nephew. As his plans were not yet complete, he smuggled his children and Arian onto the ship to masquerade as a vacation cruiser. It had a pre-set destination bound for the planet Viptar. Unbeknownst to Jorrac, Arian had her own plan. She smuggled a staff of Terran females from the breeding farms before being released into space. Once they were out in space, Jorrac was furious, but knew he would be recapturing them once they reached their planet.

  “What Jorrac did not realize is that Arian’s children were completely loyal to her. T
hey had his computer codes and reprogrammed me to obey their wishes only. The Viptar destination was changed and for a few months, the ship ran as a vacation cruiser to make money. Once enough was made for supplies, Arian settled the crew on a planet. She continued on as a trader to bring further supplies to her community. That way, if she were captured, they would be safe and still free.”

  “Do you have any idea if the nephew ever overthrew Jorrac?”

  “We do not. We have shut down all communication hacks. Arian sends out an encrypted message to her children, which enters a public domain, rendering it untraceable. Her sons access the messages through my database set on public. It appears as a random message board from various planets.”

  “What will happen if she is found?”

  “Death. They will no longer care to even force her to breed, afraid her offspring would be contaminated somehow.”

  “Tess, thank you for the information. I will disconnect now, and care for Arian. Please contact only if necessary.”

  “Understood.”

  He didn’t care what any of his collective bargaining unit said. Yes, he was more emotional around her, but it was because they didn’t know her. Their group had forgotten what it was like to live in a three-dimensional world. The range of feelings, of emotions, colored his perspective. They didn’t understand yet, but they would soon. For now, he focused on cuddling the small female, on giving her the healing touches the massage unit gave him. Eventually she stirred. As her eyes opened, she focused on him.

  “Jax? You’re here.”

  “Always. I need to be honest, Arian. I’m attracted to you. I realize I am not used to the sudden range of emotions I’ve been thrust into, but I have no desire to be separated from you.”

  “Didn’t even worry about my desires, huh?” she said drily.

  In one smooth move, he flipped them over so she was on her back, his larger body covering hers.

  “Let’s do talk about your desires,” he said, deliberately activating a pleasurable move he’d been trained in. His entire body arched, and then swung sensually, ending with his sex being pressed into her.