A Mermaid's Tale

"Yeah. The same guy that designed the tactical condom, great name by the way, he just sent us his 6G Cyber Toy. They are still working on a better name for it. There is test footage if you are interested." Brendan offered and saw the gleam in Bob's eyes. With a few gestures he called up the video. It was filmed from four different angles. The edited version took the best from them into a seamless product. "Her name is Cinta, she is from Indonesia. She was given a scenario to play out and well, I'll let it speak for itself."

One of the walls the room the girl is in was a two-way mirror. Portions of the video were shot from the other side of that mirror. She was naked and leaning against the mirror with her hands planted firmly against the glass, her back flat, and her ass aimed at the rest of the room. Her only cue was that she could not remove her hands from the glass. Action!

The box on the bed suddenly pops open. Cinta cries out for help. "Help me, my hands are stuck to the mirror! I can't move." She cried out as something thick and serpentine rose from the box. It looked like a great black snake without eyes or mouth or any features. She wiggled her ass as she struggled to free herself but with no success. The shadowy thing slithered from the box and to the floor. While it did not seem to be able to see her it did sense her movements and presence. "Help me, what is that thing?" The girl whimpered quite convincingly as the things slithered towards her. "Is anybody there? Are you seeing this? Help..." She stopped when the 'head' of the serpent reached her. It rubbed against her soaked sex and between her amazing ass cheeks. "Hey... cut that out... this isn't funny." She gasped when the end of the serpent popped open. A good eight inches of exterior opened like a flower's bloom. The interior was revealed, and she stared at the three tongue like tentacles. They seemed to taste the air before moving in.

The camera zoomed in from above to get the best attack angle. The three petals slid back and into the body of the snake. One of the tentacles, glistening with a clear wet substance slid slowly into Cinta's ass. The second worked its way into her pussy while the third brushed against her clit. All three were slick with the unknown substance.

"Hey, cut that out! I am not that kind of... unnnn... why do I feel so hot? What is that stuff? UNNN... my ass... my pussy is on fire!" That was the command phrase the thing was waiting for to initialize phase two. The two tentacles inside of her suddenly swelled up to a generous thickness and began thrusting in and out of her while the 'tongue' tentacle began pulsating and continuing to work her clit with great efficiency. Cinta lost the power of speech at this point and thrust her hips backward to improve the penetration depth. Her grunts grew louder and more insistent as the toy monitored her breathing, body temperature, and heartrate. When she was satisfactorily stimulated it went in for the kill.

"Aw shit!" Cintra cursed as her head came up, she looked at the mirror and beyond just before her body spasmed and she climaxed so hard she nearly fainted. The toy followed its programming and continued thrusting and teasing for a full thirty seconds. Her second climax surprised even her. The toy withdrew and she slid to the floor gasping and covered in sweat. The video ended and Bob's smile was profound.

"Oh, she looks like fun." Bob declared and hid his alarm that an independent inventor created a device scarily like the one he himself had brought into this facility. "Buy it. Send everything to Nick. I see a moneymaker and I am sure he will agree."

"At first I thought you meant the girl." Brendan laughed.

"Where is she?" Bob queried.

"She has an apartment here on site. She is immensely popular with the researchers." He replied.

"I can see why." Bob said before Surfer interrupted.

"I will see if she is free for dinner." The gleaming A.I. said in a lilting voice. "To eat not to be eaten." She added and the two men burst out into laughter. "You are so juvenile."

"But uh, before I go can I ask a question?" Brendan requested.

"Fire away," Bob said his eyes crinkled at the edges and a warm smile on his lips.

"Why... I mean... you and Nick. What is the connection. Why not come himself?" Brendan asked.

"I will answer the second question first. Why send a Queen when a Knight will do?" Bob explained. But before he could answer the first question Gogo spoke up.

"Ooh, I know. May I tell him Sir?" She purred and her eyes were lit with a nigh on demonic red light displaying her Yubari aspect. They practically glittered with barely restrained malice. Bob nodded and observed his creation as she moved with a sensuousness that made him proud of his long hours of work in her crafting. Gogo removed the gum from her mouth, walked over to Brendan, leaned close to him, and whispered in his ear. She pulled back and observed, as did Bob, all the micro changes in the other man's face. They were purely subconscious, but they still registered to one trained to see them. Brendan was terrified and rightly so. Even as he reacted the cybernetic serpent slithered its way through the air ducts towards its destination. The level holding the isolated server farm and the secrets of Jason Rainwater the lead geneticist for Erotech. While microseconds passed between Bob and Brendan the hour of waiting proved invaluable to the construct.

'Initiating security protocol Green and Go.' The serpent sent to the A.I. that lorded over the tower complex.

'Compliance.' Overlord replied to the data stream built into it by Nick Shaw on its birth. 'Pass in safety.'

No hint or data log would show the route of the snake and its endeavors. It was more than invisible it never existed as far as the security system was concerned. As Brendan left the shared digital space and returned to his duties the serpent had reached level seven. The armored mesh covering the air exchange system just outside the server room was a physical barrier, but it would not stop the mission it had been sent to perform. The snake opened its mouth and emitted a cloud of nanites. The microscopic machines floated in the air and directed by the sensors in the snake's eyes formed around one of the many access ports available. The cloud recombined into a relay device. If anyone were watching the air would appear to glitter and the mechanism appear as if by magic from thin air.

'Connectivity established,' Quetzalcoatl sent via a pulse transmission to Surfer.

Once the connection was created the serpent dove into the array analyzing the data and seeing what needed to be returned to its master. The bulk of the data was DNA samples of millions of humans. They were numerically stored but rarely accessed. The most active material on the server were three unusual DNA profiles. Two were nigh on identical and belonged to twin sisters Ivy and Iris Inkpen. Iris Inkpen was in fact Iris Inkpen-Rainwater, the wife of Jason Rainwater. The third profile belonged to Ivory Inkpen mother of Iris and Ivy. The file had isolated strands of DNA that were unique and expressed nowhere else in the whole of humanity. These strands were codified and attached to something called Project Oberon. That folder was encrypted behind a 36-digit cypher.

'I will not be denied.' The serpent's A.I. stated as it linked to Overlord. 'Unlock it. Now.'

The other machine intelligence sent back one word, compliance. It sent the cypher and opened the files for Project Oberon. The files were copied and stored within Quetzalcoatl's data crystal. 'Footprints on the beach.' The serpent sent and Overlord wiped any sign that the project had ever been accessed. The snake smiled and disengaged itself from the server. It turned and made its way back to where its journey had begun. The nanites that had formed the uplink device lost cohesion and fell to the floor as so much dust.

Meanwhile in the clean room. Jason Rainwater stood before the holographic display which relayed the voice and image of the General. The elderly man represented several allied nations bent on benefiting from legalized genetic engineering. They were behind its passing in other key countries.

"How is Ares faring?" Jason asked the General.

"He was sent out into the Empty Quarter, one of the most desolate places on the planet. He has been without food or water for nearly six months." The old man replied. "He has placed himself into a state of hibernation. I have sent a team to collect him and see if he has suffered either physically or mentally from this experience."

"Excellent, better than I could have hope for!" Jason exclaimed. "If he checks out physically where are you going to reintroduce him into society to reacclimate?"

"I was thinking about London. Afterall I have heard a new gentleman's club opening with exotic dancers." The General chuckled. "He will be among his own kind."

"Perfect choice." Jason agreed and ended the call. "How much of the hour is left?"

"Forty-five minutes," Overlord replied.

"Remind me when the time has elapsed." Jason ordered and looked over the several projects he was currently working on. "Project Ariel is ready for a test run." He muttered to one of his technicians.

"True, all the simulations look promising, but no one wants to volunteer for so extreme a transformation." The technician replied.

"I have a candidate in mind." Jason said. "Let us run one more simulation and see if any negative permutations arise."

"The reactive element is tight and holding perfectly." He stated. "The blend of Cephalopod and Chondrichthyes DNA triggered the unforeseen adaption mechanism."

"The shark's regenerative properties are most likely the reason for that. Let us knock this one out and then I can see this most impressive guest." Jason grumbled.

Bob let Surfer digest the data acquired by Quetzalcoatl. In the meantime, he lightly delved into social media surrounding the cute security officer who had blushed so innocently. Melissa Davenport had a large and varied life. She kept work, family, and her hobbies separate. Bob knew there was something he liked about her.

'She cosplays.' He informed Surfer.

'I know. Her well balanced bilateral symmetry is perfect for modeling, athletics, and of course the cosplay community.' She replied smugly. 'Her posterior is quite profoundly Brazilian. Am I being sexist?'

"Yes, but I won't tell Nick. For what it is worth, I was just about to say that. Okay, I was going to say she had a nice ass, but a profoundly Brazilian posterior rolls off the tongue well enough I suppose.' A short pause later and he found her video game character galleries. He giddily dove into the images and videos. Her Lara Croft was mouthwatering. Her Princess Zelda was nearly naughty. He whimpered when he saw her version of Tifa. 'Damn girl, you did some serious shaving for that one.' He growled happily. 'Hey, why is that folder pixelated?'

'Your ego would be unstoppable. Move on.' Surfer laughed. 'No... don't... please...' He double tapped the icon, and she was right. His ego hit a rush of adrenaline and his smile was nigh on feral. 'Katria Forgemaster! She did Katria! She even made her version of the Darksaber.'

'Remember, she is an employee. It would be improper to copulate with her.' Surfer strongly urged. 'Besides. You did not come here to get your dick wet. Stay on mission. Though, she does look nearly as good as the original.'

'I know right!' Bob wrote a critique for every image of Katria and replayed the two videos repeatedly. 'For a flesh and blood person, she did one hell of a job recreating form eight.'

'You could invite her to the christening.' Surfer suggested.

'She would not want to put up with all of those execs and shit. But damn she would be a breath of fresh air though.' Bob muttered. 'You think they would come?'

'Like gangbusters," Surfer giggled. 'I mean... they are here in London.'

'Place a reminder in my HUD and we will see how things play out.' Bob said his lower lip trembling. 'I miss them.'

'Things were pretty damn hot and heavy between the three of you for a while.' Surfer said with a grin. 'Let me help you finish Honey Kiddo. That will put a smile on your face.' They did and it did. Gogo and Honey were perfect long before he needed to return to flesh and blood reality.

Fifty minutes of meat time later.

The last simulation concluded and the initial catalyst for Project Ariel was being synthesized. Jason left the lab to deal with Mr. Anderson. He was in an ill mood preferring work to having someone interrupting painstaking research. He left the clean room, showered, dressed in civilian garb, and went to the lecture hall to get the full measure of this upstart. He strode in and found the man sitting in one of the chairs with his eyes closed. Jason cleared his throat to get the other's attention. The man did not respond immediately. Was he asleep? He made a rude noise and the man's hand came up in a silencing gesture. Jason's mood went from pissy to downright irate.

"Nearly done old chap," Bob informed Jason. His lips forming a gentle smile which just added fuel to the emotional fire. "Done." He opened his eyes and Jason's rage evaporated. His eyes could not be natural. He wanted this man's DNA to hunt down the gene expression that made those gorgeous eyes. "You are staring. Now... let us go see the lab, shall we?"

"No. I do not think so." Jason instinctively reacted. Then it all changed. Jason felt the bile rise in his throat when she suddenly manifested. That is what that fool Brendan tried to tell him. She is with him he kept repeating. "Aw well fuck." He cursed. "Who are you?"

"Bob. Just Bob." He replied with that smug smile on his lips and that twinkle in those dreamy eyes of his. Bob did not miss the subtle blush from the upset researcher. Was that anger or something else?

"My work is at a critical stage and I do not need someone..." Jason tried but Surfer cocked her head to one side and killed the argument with one word.

"Contract."

"Nick would never terminate me." Jason snapped at the hologram. "He could never replace me!"

"Arthur James Hyde-White." Surfer fired across his brow. "All your research. Your apartment. Your wife. The press would chew you up and spit you out again. No reputable institution would touch you again ever." She paused. "Well... Jason?"

"Who is this Arthur chap?" Bob asked.

"An absolutely brilliant nineteen-year-old. He just graduated from Oxford at the top of his class." Surfer said. "When he was interviewed, he said he fancied going into genetics. Nick snapped him up and has given him a lab to make his wet dreams come true. Now, Jason where do we stand?" This time her eyes shone with black flame and her aura was frighteningly dark. "Well?"

"Right this way." Jason growled. Surfer's aspect returned to normal. It took longer to get into the clean room than leaving it. Jason's temperament slowly warmed as he showed off his life's work. Bob did not miss the almost fanatical way that every test tube, beaker, or implement was laid out in precise order of form and function. It was the kind of order you would see in a machine intelligence. Jason had a serious case of OCD. His obsessive-compulsive nature is what fueled his previous anger. He hated change as much as did chaos.

"I am sorry. I did not know." Bob said genuinely upset for inflicting unwanted anxiety.

"I am sorry too," Jason replied but his words rang hollow to Bob. Add a sprinkling of narcissism to the blend Bob thought.

"Impressive work you are doing here." Bob continued not wanting to reignite an unnecessary situation. "Oh, this is for you." He said holding up a data crystal. "Do not fret it has been sterilized."

"What is on it?" Jason asked as he accepted it.

"New DNA sampling that Nick wanted to see realized. Cloud leopard, Margay, Jaguar both black and tan. Several canines as well as rabbit and hare varieties. One or two bear and wolf breeds. A smattering of life from North and South America." Bob said seeing the last of the rage evaporate. "I have seen all that I need to and delivered the crystal."

Bob left the lab with barely a look back from Jason. Bob was soon back in his suit and Brendan waiting to escort him back to the gate room. Bob however had other plans. He knew a resident of the tower and planned on visiting her. The cute female security officer led Bob to the room where his possessions were held.

"Here is your hat," she said as she handed it to him, and he settled it atop his head. "Your jacket." She stated as she held it for him, and he turned and slid his arms into it. "And your walking stick, huh, I leaned it against the corner there. Oh, there it is, huh it must have fallen down, and someone set it up here to make sure it was safe." She picked up the stick and noticed the expression on the cobra's head was different. The mouth was closed, its eyes narrowed, and just a hint of a smile on the mouth of the serpent. "Weird."

"He gets that a lot," Bob laughed. "Where is the elevator?"

"Follow me." She said. Was it her imagination or was he checking out her ass?

'Ask her...' Surfer whispered in his thoughts.

'Don't rush me!' He fired back.

"Well, we are here." Melissa said as the elevator opened. "What? I just got a notice... oh... my... god...!" She said the volume of her voice increasing with each word. "It is you!"

"Yes." Bob replied.

"You invited me to the opening of the Black Crystal Tower." She said blushing furiously.

"Yes." Bob said and she fidgeted in place.

"You were so checking out my ass." Melissa blurted out.

"Oh yeah." Bob said and told her he was taking the penthouse for the next week or so.

"I cannot afford to lose this job." She said. "Mr. Shaw really frowns on that kind of thing." Surfer manifested and she almost broke and ran.

"I have spoken with Master Nick. Quote. If this is short term fling and you just need to get this out of your system. Just do it and get it over with. End quote."

"I get off at eleven." Melissa said.

"I will fix something nice for the both of us." Bob stated. "You are in no way obligated to cross any lines you are not comfortable with."

He stepped into the elevator and took it to the floor two below the penthouse. The security office knew that only the most important executives lived up there. Melissa smiled and returned to her duties. Bob knocked on the door to apartment 4000. He heard a voice behind the door.

"I know of only one guy that knocks instead of ringing the damn bell," the woman laughed. The door slid open and into the hollow recess within the wall. Nick was a huge sci fi fan and designed the doors himself. Iris Inkpen-Rainwater greeted Bob like an old friend. "It has been three years. Where the hell have you been?" Iris stood nearly six feet in height. Her dark red hair had grown out since the last time he had seen her. She looked good. The dusting of freckles decorated her nose, cheeks, and tantalizing cleavage.

"I missed you too." Bob replied and she threw herself into his arms. He hugged her and the flood of memories struck him. He lowered his head and sniffed her hair.

"Did you just sniff me?" Iris giggled. "I got married you know."

"I just left your husband's lab." He replied.

"Oh." She looked up and her expression was a blend of curiosity and concern. "Is this a social call Bob?"

"It is. I smell coffee brewing." He said and they entered the kitchen where a manifested Silver Surfer pretended to be making coffee.

"Oh shit," Iris cursed her color fading from her face. "If she is here this is fucking serious."

"Remember Tokyo?" Bob ignored her panic and plunged into the time they had spent together. "You were both modeling then."

"I still do when I can." She added her mood darkening for a whole different reason. "Have you seen Ivy yet?"