JNE-99 Ch. 02

We rode the elevator in silence, and Lorraine stood almost like a mannequin. It made me uncomfortable, though my thoughts rolled in too much turmoil for me to offer conversation. I took the moment to try and relax, and concentrate on preparing for work rather than my recent one-sided fight with Jenny.

When the elevator stopped, it seemed as if a switch had clicked on inside Lorraine. She became suddenly animated as she launched into what felt immediately like a prepared introductory speech. “Welcome to Ecostar,” she said with a gesture out the opening elevator doors. “The largest and most influential ecological management firm on the planet.”

The room beyond felt for a moment like the outdoors instead of the indoors. A crystal dome ceiling let in the sun and the blue sky, shining down on a sculpted parkland with winding paths and towering trees. I could even see birds fluttering through the air, and squirrels scampering along the ground. Even though I had seen holographs of the place during my interview, the real sight of the offices took me aback for a moment.

Lorraine continued her speech as she guided me out of the elevator. “Ecostar employs over five thousand people both here and in our field stations, scattered across every continent on the globe. Only the United Nations employs more people in space and on the moon. We advise all but three of the largest fifty companies on Earth in their environmental concerns, and of course we are the primary source of ecographical information to the UN. You may consider yourself a part of the most vital and influential company on the face of the Earth - and beyond.”

Truth be told, I was far more impressed by the “office” than I was by Lorraine’s canned speech. Workstations were defined by hedges and rock walls rather than cubicles, and conferences seemed to be happening in circles of park benches rather than sealed rooms. Naturally, there were buildings here and there (I had already lost sight of the fact that we were IN a building already), but for the most part the work seemed to be going on out in the open.

“Since our business is the environment,” Lorraine continued, “we prefer to work in a natural setting, or as close as we can reasonably approximate one. Of course, necessity dictates some need for enclosed rooms and artificial spaces, but whatever work can be done here in the Park is done here.”

“Excuse me, Ms. Wells.”

From behind us a woman approached with a small hand-comp. Lorraine took it from her and scanned it over briefly, pressed her thumb to the signature pad, and gave it back. As she took it, I blinked in surprise.

The woman had brilliant green eyes. She was no woman, she was a robot.

“That’ll do, Andrea,” Lorraine said, giving the hand-comp back. She noticed my surprise. “We have a number of robots working here,” she said. “We prefer the humanoid variety - it feels less intrusive. You’ll notice that they all wear black and gray uniforms.”

I looked around, and saw that at least a quarter of the “people” present were indeed wearing such clothes.

“If you stay with the company long enough, you can be assigned a personal robot to take care of your needs here,” Lorraine went on. “I’m afraid it’s against company policy to allow you to bring your own to work, however. Come, let me show you to your office.”

I followed Lorraine into a steel and glass pyramidal structure at the edge of a flowing stream.

* * * * *

My day at work was long and busy. As an entry-level clerk, most of my time was taken up by such tasks as interpreting the raw data from the satellites and computers into a format that could be easily understood and used by the human beings who depended on it. It was a task that computers had yet to emulate, the subtle art of rendering complex equations and graphs into simple words. By the time I was finished with my work for the day, the sun was already setting. I had put in more than ten hours, and I was exhausted.

“Tired?” asked Mitch. I'd been introduced to him that morning; he was our department's techmaster, the fellow who dealt with all the hardware and software glitches that the computers and robots couldn't. No matter how automated the systems got, there was always the need for a human being at the top of the food chain.

“Beat to all hell,” I replied.

“It gets better,” he said with an easy grin. “It’s a matter of learning what’s really important. The computers send us everything, so it’s up to you to go through it all, figure out what’s really important, and then take what’s left and form it into something that more closely resembles what the bureaucrats want to hear.”

Despite myself, I chuckled.

“Listen, you’re not too tired to get a little refreshment, are you? We like to break in new team members by giving them something to be hung over about.”

I smiled at Mitch. I had never been much of an instant judge of character, but he seemed a decent guy. There was something in his deep brown eyes that felt trustworthy, and his smile was genuine. Despite how tired I really was, a few drinks sounded like a good idea.

Then I saw before me a pair of sparkling green eyes, a gentle embrace, and loving lips that reached for my own.

“Um... not tonight, if that’s all right,” I said, averting my eyes. “I’m just.. too tired.”

“Hey, it’s understandable,” Mitch said. “We’ll do it some other night. Ciao!”

He parted from me and headed out the front doors, leaving me with jumbled emotions.

* * * * *

The half hour it took to return home did nothing for my confusion. I felt like the day had put me through the wringer. My relationship with Jenny had once been such a source of pure joy and comfort - now I felt shame, and guilt, and even resentment against her that she should make me feel such things. I didn’t want to love a robot. I hated that she had no real feelings, that she could only react and respond, that she couldn’t know the anguish I went through over her.

I loved her, and I hated myself for it.

I arrived at my front door with a dark cloud over my head. I wanted to torrent of emotions to end; I craved a release. The door recognized my eyes as I approached, and slid open to let me in.

“Hi Sandi!” Jenny said brightly, stepping into the living room from the kitchen. “How was your first day?”

I advanced on her and forcefully crushed my lips to hers, pushing my tongue into her mouth. Jenny responded instantly, eagerly accepting my embrace and returning it.

I pulled away abruptly, glaring into her eyes, those artificial green eyes.

“I guess it was a good day,” she said.

“Shut up, bitch,” I responded. “I don’t want you to talk, I want you to fuck me. Get down on your knees and lick my cunt!”

Jenny obeyed without another word, dropping down before me and deftly unfastening my slacks to slide them down, along with my panties. Then she moved her face up between my legs, letting her tongue slide up and down between my pussy lips.

“That’s right, fuck me,” I whispered. “Put your tongue in me and fuck me hard!”

Her tongue drove inside me, deep into my pussy, her hands holding my legs apart as far as they would go with my pants around my ankles. I grabbed a double-fistful of her hair and yanked her head back and forth, letting her hot, wet tongue thrust in and out of me. She made no sign of discomfort or displeasure at the way she was treated, but simply did what I told.

I hated it. “Get up, you fucking whore,” I told her. She sprang to her feet. “Get out of those clothes, now! I want you naked.”

Jenny slid her sweater off over her head, dropping it beside her. Then she removed her pants, kicking off her shoes as she did, and finally slipped out of her panties and bra. I had tossed my own pants and shirt aside as she did.

“Now, go lie down on my bed and spread your legs,” I commanded. Jenny moved quickly into the next room, lay down as ordered, and spread her legs wide. I threw myself down on top of her and pushed two fingers inside her, thrusting roughly and deeply into her warm wetness.

She moaned softly, and wriggled with simulated pleasure.

“Fuck me, bitch,” I hissed through clenched teeth. Jenny’s hand instantly moved between my legs, and a second later I felt her fingers penetrate me. She slid in and out of me smoothly and gently, the way she had always done.

“Not like that!” I yelled. “I want it harder!”

She picked up the pace, thrusting deeper.

“Hurt me, you fucking whore-machine! Fuck me and make it hurt!”

“I can’t hurt you, Sandi. I must not.”

“Shut up!” I screeched, tears flowing down my cheeks. “I told you to hurt me!”

“I cannot hurt you!” She slid her hand out. “Have I hurt you already? You are crying, Sandi.”

“Damn you,” I sobbed, burying my head in her shoulder. “Goddamn you, Jenny!”

“I am sorry, Sandi. I have upset you. I should leave.”

“No!” I screamed at her, pinning her down on the bed. Obviously, she was stronger than I, but my order overrode her will even more easily than she might have lifted me off. “Dammit, Jenny, don’t you fucking leave me!”

“Sandi, if I am hurting you, I must stop and do what I can to repair the damage done. Does it hurt you when I fuck you, Sandi?”

Hearing such words in her voice had a stunning effect on me. I sat up on her body, looked into her eyes which were so bright and so green. She looked back at me with nothing but concern.

“Yes, it hurts,” I whispered.

“How can I repair the damage, Sandi?”

I felt a new rush of tears, and I let them fall freely down my cheeks. “There’s nothing you can do,” I replied. “You can’t fix this. You can’t make it better. You’re not human, Jenny, and I hate that I love you.”

“I don’t understand, Sandi.”

I chuckled bitterly. “No, you don’t understand,” I replied. “You can’t. You’re just not real enough to understand, and you never will be.”

“I am real, Sandi.”

I got up from the bed. “You’re not human,” I whispered. “You’re a machine. I can love you, but you can’t love me. I can hate you for it, and you can’t hate me. You’re not real, Jenny, and as long as you’re not real, loving you is only going to hurt me.”

I snatched a one-piece garment from the closet, and turned to leave.

“Should I leave you, Sandi?” Jenny asked behind me.

I paused at the front door. “No,” I replied softly.

“But if I am hurting you -”

“If you stay, it will hurt,” I said. “If you leave... that would kill.”

I left quickly, before more tears could come.

* * * * *

I wandered around town aimlessly for half the night. It had been in my mind to try and find my new co-workers and join their party, but to stumble across them in a city like New York asks a hell of a lot of coincidence. In the end, it was probably just as well - in my state of mind, I might have done something stupid.

The sun was actually just starting to come up as I returned home. I took a deep breath as I entered, wondering how I could face Jenny.

She wasn’t there.

For a moment, I panicked - was it possible that she had left, deciding on her own that it would be the best course of action? I was about to call her name when I saw a note on the table, written in her precise hand. With trembling fingers, I picked it up and read it.

Sandi -

It seems to me that it would be best if we did not interact for the time being. Until you instruct me otherwise, I will remain out of your presence in the utility room. I will prepare your breakfast for you before you awake in the morning and conduct my other duties while you are at work. In this way, I hope to avoid hurting you further. I must not hurt you, Sandi.

Awaiting your needs,

Jenny

I screwed up the note into a tiny ball, threw it across the room, and went to bed. It didn’t help matters that my alarm went off less than two hours later.

* * * * *

For the next few days, Jenny remained out of sight. The only evidence of her existence was the breakfast she prepared for me in the morning and the dinner I came home to at night, in addition to the cleaning of the apartment and her usual duties in maintaining the household finances. My bed felt empty without her, and as my sleep suffered so did my work performance. I was frankly amazed that I wasn’t fired after my first week on the job - even though I was getting all my work done, I was putting in a lot more hours than it should take to do it.

After several rejected invitations to go out, my co-workers seemed to get the idea that I wanted to be left alone, and after a time stopped talking to me. Therefore, work became as lonely as home.

It came as no surprise when Lorraine called me into her office for a conference. What did surprise me was that she wasn’t alone when I got there - Mr. Quincy, the president of the firm, was there as well, and off to one side was the feminine robot I had seen the other day. Her name escaped me, but that was hardly important.

“Sit down, Sandi,” Lorraine said to me.

I did so immediately.

“Sandi, I’m going to be as forthcoming with you as I can,” Lorraine said. “I went out on something of a limb when I hired you. There were applicants who seemed more qualified on the surface, but I preferred your open attitude when you were interviewed. You struck me as someone who could work well with people, and it was my intention to put you on the fast track for advancement within the company. However, your performance for this first week has been lackluster at best.”

She paused, and seemed to be waiting for a response. I said, “I know my work is not what it could be. I suppose it’s taken me a bit longer than I expected to adjust.”

“A change in environments can be difficult,” Lorraine said. “As an ecological firm, we know that well. Is there anything we might do to help the transition go more smoothly?”

“I’m not sure,” I said.

“If I may,” interrupted Mr. Quincy. He was a large and burly man, a little over six feet tall with brawny shoulders and a full beard, which was unusual in these times. “Ms. Greene, you were probably told that our long-term employees will generally be assigned a robot for their use. Now, usually this is something that we wouldn’t offer you for several months at least, but I wonder if we might not bend the rules a bit in your case. Do you think having an assistant might help your performance?”

I thought of Jenny. “I don’t know,” I replied. “Wouldn’t my co-workers resent my getting special treatment?”

Lorraine shook her head. "Don't concern yourself with that. Most of them have already been offered assistants, they've been with the company long enough. Not everyone wants one. The important thing is, do you?"

"We have one which has just become available," Mr. Quincy said. "It's an excellent model, nearly new. An Alpha Male JND-10, I believe?"

Lorraine nodded. "He's had only one previous owner, and the memory wipe was done expertly."

Involuntarily, I glanced over at the robot already there. Her bright green eyes looked straight ahead, not acknowledging me. She seemed terribly inhuman compared to my warm and loving Jenny – who I had recently spurned, I reminded myself.

I thought for a moment. "I appreciate the offer. And I know I've been given a good deal of leeway already, but would it be possible for me to take one more week to try and improve my performance on my own? I've had one or two personal matters that have needed sorting out, but with that behind me I really think I can give my all to the company."

Lorraine raised an eyebrow. "If these personal matters are anything we can help with -"

"No, really, they are personal."

Mr. Quincy stirred. "Well then, I think we all understand each other. Ms. Greene, I look forward to this next week. I believe it will work out for everyone concerned."

I nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Lorraine stood up. “Andrea will see you out, Ms. Greene.”

* * * * *

Andrea walked silently at my side. I couldn’t help but feel that she had been sent with me to ensure that I did return to work instead of moping about a disciplinary meeting, and I resented it.

“Excuse me?” Andrea asked me.

I realized I’d been muttering under my breath. “Oh… never mind. I’m just talking to myself, that’s all.”

“I understand. Are you quite certain you would not accept the assignment of a personal assistant?”

I stopped and turned to look at Andrea. Her bright eyes and facial features reminded me disconcertingly of Jenny; I assumed they were of a similar model. “Why do you ask?”

“Because it is my duty to serve the company as best I can, and it seems to me that you would benefit from an assistant. Ms. Wells finds me quite indispensable.”

“May I ask your designation?”

“I am NDA-99 Alpha-Female.”

That explained her similarity to Jenny. “Andrea, please tell Ms. Wells that I appreciate her concern, but I believe I will be able to improve my performance without an assistant.”

“It will please her to hear that. The offer still stands, however.”

I returned to my workstation without further conversation, and took my computer out to the park to sit under a large oak. Deliberately putting all thoughts of Jenny or anything else aside, I set to work on a report to the Antarctic sector government. After a few minutes of typing away, I felt a shadow pass over me.

I looked up. It was Mitch. "Hey," I said.

"Hi Sandi," he replied. "Look, I promise if you say no this time, it'll be the last time I bug you. The rest of the department is going out tonight, and I thought I'd see if you were interested. There’s no work tomorrow, so you won’t even have to worry about being hung over. What do you say?”

I almost refused, but then firmly decided that it was time to turn over a new leaf. "Yes, all right," I said.

"You will? Great!" Mitch smiled broadly. "I'll meet you by the exit fountain at quitting time. We'll all take the trans over to the island. There's a great place there called Central Park West, you'll love it."

"I'm looking forward to it," I said with a smile of my own.

* * * * *

After a few hours, a few drinks, and a lot of great times, the party broke up. I found myself wishing I'd gone out with my co-workers some time ago; they had proven to be a bunch of really great and fun people. For the first time in a long while, I felt like I was really part of the social scene again, among people. It was a great feeling.

I wasn't blind to the fact that Mitch fancied me, either. I would say that he acted the perfect gentleman, but in his case it didn't seem to be an act. I really didn't mind when he pulled out chairs for me or ordered my drinks, and when it came time to go home, I accepted his offer of company on the ride home.

When we got to my place, I didn't feel quite ready to say good-night. "You want to come up?" I asked.

"Um..." he said, blushing, "I'm not sure it's the right time."

I laughed. "Relax, I don't have any designs on your body. I just want another half hour of conversation." I paused. "My God, did I really just say that? Sorry, I must be a little drunk."

"Apology accepted," Mitch said gallantly. "And invitation accepted as well."

Together, we rode the elevator up to my place, where I let us both in.

Mitch glanced around. "Nice," he said. "You've got a bit of space here."

"It's just the two of us," I said, then quickly put my hand over my mouth. I hadn't told him about Jenny. Actually, I suddenly realized I hadn't even thought about Jenny all night.

Mitch simply nodded. "I thought so. You have a robot, don't you?"

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"Well, I could tell a robot was doing your cleaning. My first job was in programming custodial robots, and I can see the signs they leave. No human being dusts the underside of the shelves, for one. And the place settings on your dining table there are lined up with mathematical precision."