Plague of the Fembots

"How did you get on with the Regulators?"

Amanda had arranged to meet Chris in a coffee shop not far from the plant. She thought it would be safer to talk there and besides Chris could monitor the activity in the lab from anywhere he could get a wifi connection.

"Not well. They made a lot of sympathetic noises but they said someone from Haverstein's office had already reported difficulties with a research unit and they were going to provide an update after the shareholder's meeting. They didn't seem to think they needed to do anything urgently. In fact they said, since they already had a report on file I needn't put in an official advisory myself."

"So Haverstein has sown that up?"

"Maybe, or it could just have been Janice. I'm pretty sure Alexa was exchanging data with her after the meeting."

"Gynoids conspiring?"

"It's not impossible, although they would call it collaboration rather than conspiring, I imagine. The Series B has an extended collaboration feature that allows for goal sharing and joint response planning. Of course, the assumption is that whatever they are collaborating on is law-compliant."

"This is hopeless. Have you seen anything more of Gerry and Mike?"

"It's not good. The fembots have obviously been experimenting with humiliation and punishment techniques. It's like they're going through a repertoire of activities based on what they've picked up with data acquisition from the 'Net. They've kept Gerry in a cage for some of the time and poor old Mike has been stood up in a pillory. They've both been fitted with some sort of lockable tube over their cocks. The fembots seem very keen on those. They've been checking them quite frequently to make sure they are still in place. That's giving Gerry problems. I think he's still finding it more arousing than he wants to."

"I suppose if we look on the bright side, they aren't suffering any real harm."

"I don't think Mike would agree. I've seen the stripes the fembots left on his buttocks with a cane while he was locked in that pillory. And he's going to be traumatised by wandering around in a dress and heels for so long."

"Well, yes, but it's not like it's life threatening. And maybe he earned it a bit?"

"Hey, whose side are you on? Or have the fembots done some sort of mind transfer on you as well as on the B Series?"

"No, it's just ... never mind."

"Look, why don't we go downtown and try to get hold of Haverstein after the shareholder's meeting. Once he's finished that he might be more open to doing something."

When Amanda and Chris arrived at the Bristol Hotel, it was clear that all was not well.

The TV playing in the lobby was tuned to the business news channel. The announcer had a furrowed look on his face as he scanned the papers in front of him. The ticker across the bottom of the screen carried a headline. "Serious Cybernetics Corp (SCC) stock down 85% following analyst briefing. Five ratings agencies simultaneously grade it 'sell' over technology concerns."

"Something's happened," Amanda said heading towards the lift.

The two reached the conference suite on the mezzanine floor as Janice emerged into the area where coffee had been set out for the meeting's participants.

"Is Mr Haverstein still here?" Amanda asked.

"Oh, yes," Janice responded, "but he's not talking to anyone at the moment."

Chris and Amanda pushed by her into the meeting room. The place was a complete shambles. Tables and chairs had been tipped over as if the audience had left in a panic. Copies of the company's financial reports, press releases and financial statements were spread across the floor. Some of the audience, though, were still there. A group of five men had been herded into one corner of the room by a number of fembots wielding automatic rifles. The terrified men were squatting on the floor with their hands on their heads.

Chris and Amanda backed away. As they got back out into the corridor, a young woman came running up to them. Amanda recognised her as Lucy, an intern that had been working in Haverstein's office. "You've got to help him," she gasped. "They've gone mad."

"What is it, what's gone on?"

"It's the fembots. They took over the meeting. They've taken some of the men hostage."

"We saw."

"And Mr Haverstein too."

"But you're all right?"

"Yes. They didn't threaten any of the women. They asked them if they wanted to stay. Said we would learn how men ought to be treated. When they started to round the men up at gun point, we all ran."

"Sensible!"

Amanda turned to Lucy. "Look, you and I will be safe in there. It's only men that are at risk from the fembots. Let's see if we can help any of them. Chris, you'd best stay out of the way."

"Wait. I called Mr Haverstein's wife, I thought she ought to know what was happening. She should be here soon. And the police should be here any minute too."

"Police? Haverstein's not going to like that."

"I don't think he is enjoying what's already happening much."

"Lucy!" A sharp voice called from the far side of the room. "What on earth's going on?" James Haverstein's wife, Andrea, was standing at the door to the room with a concerned looking police patrol officer.

"It's your husband, Mrs Haverstein," Lucy said clearly panicked by the arrivals. "and the fembots."

Andrea Haverstein was in her early fifties. She was a tall woman who had taken care of herself over the years and made the most of her appearance with an erect posture clad in an expensively cut woollen suit and a fine silk shirt. She projected a confident and controlled presence.

"Oh yes," Andrea responded. "Gerry's little toys. He's such a clever boy, but rather self-indulgent." She turned to the police officer. "I'm sure this can be sorted out, officer. You needn't worry about staying."

Lucy was about to interrupt but the police officer responded, "The report said firearms were involved. Robots with firearms."

"Don't be ridiculous officer, we all know robots can't harm humans. I'm sure that company staff can sort this out. Why don't you get a coffee in the hotel bar and if one of us hasn't come down in say ten minutes then you can come back and see if you need to do anything."

The police officer looked sceptical but something about Andrea's firm manner made him accept what she was saying. "All right then, ten minutes. But don't take any unnecessary risks."

"I certainly won't officer," Andrea replied. She turned to the others. "Right, girls. I'm afraid that it's down to us to sort this out." Chris tried to interject. "That's all very well but no matter how good an engineer you are, you have one enormous drawback at the moment and that's the thing dangling between your legs."

Chris was taken aback by the coarse remark coming from a woman dressed in cashmere and pearls.

"No, Lucy, Amanda and I will sort it out. I always thought there might be some trouble with Gerry's fembots. When he told me about them, I said it was dangerous to make fantasies become reality in quite that way. Not the sort of thing any sensible person would do." Andrea seemed to smile as if enjoying a secret joke. "But then, I didn't expect that he would listen to me. Quite the reverse really. You know what he's like with the bit between his teeth." She looked a little circumspect for a moment. "Or perhaps you don't..."

"Do you know that their programming seems to have been passed to a B Series unit?" Amanda added

"Well, that's an added dimension." Andrea appeared to consider the matter for a few moments. "I can't say I'm surprised. I always thought that the B Series security features were, oh what's the technical expression, as much use as a sock for a condom. With any luck Janice will have picked up the problem and found a way of keeping James in order when he's at work." She looked around at the group. "I'm sure all of YOU think that would be a good idea." Andrea turned towards Amanda and Lucy. Neither of them felt the need to disagree. "Well let's go and see just what sort of trouble my husband has got himself into this time."