Sarah was flustered, and she knew she probably looked flustered. 'It's been years
since I was invited to something like this,' she said after a moment. 'I'm not used to being with so many people at once.'
John shot her a glance; she seemed more embarrassed than frightened. 'So where are you from, sir? If you don't mind me asking.'
'All over, the last few years,' Dieter answered. He rather liked the way the boy was backing his mother up. It spoke of a close relationship. 'I was born in Austria.'
'I thought I heard a touch of an accent,' Sarah told him, smiling.
What the hell. If he were perfect he'd be married.
They were silent for a long time on the drive home. John stared out the window, and Sarah watched for potholes, her eyes steady on the moonlit road. Insects and birds flitted by, and something squalled out in the darkness beyond the white cones cast by the headlights.
'Coincidence,' John said at last. His voice held the trace of a question.
Sarah was tense but silent; her mind was full of sentence fragments and her stomach was in turmoil. He was human! He had to be. There was nothing about him that was like a machine. He laughed, he made jokes, he changed expression… he had body language, dammit! Even so, there was something about him that worried her.
'But he does have cop's eyes,' John said. He folded his arms over his chest and slid down in his seat.
Sarah nodded slowly. 'We'd better find out who he is fast.'
Serena dumped the dirt out of her basket and stamped it down. This was almost the last of it; she needed to excavate only another foot or two down below the house. The California night was scarcely dark to her cyber- boosted eyes; the fog of light pollution made it as bright as day.
Frowning, she looked around her; it might be best to get rid of the excess dirt in raised flower beds, otherwise she'd end up with a suspicious-looking mound in the middle of the yard. She looked down at the filled-in swimming pool. It had been only seven feet deep at one end, four feet at the other—not deep enough.
Serena was a carefully calculated five-six, average height for a woman. But the T-101's she planned to construct would all be six feet tall. So, while she was quite comfortable standing in what would be her secret laboratory, the depth of the place must accommodate them.
With a sigh, she picked up her basket. I
Stage one had been the easiest, hiring a contractor to put up a ten-foot privacy fence around the property. Necessary since she didn't want the neighbors, or any agents of Tricker's, wondering why she was pouring dirt into the pool or, more important, where it was coming from. She regretted having to drain the pool; a nice swim after work like this would have been pleasant.
Gazing at the tiled area surrounding the oblong of raw dirt, she decided it looked odd.
Actually she had little real fear of that happening; it was like running a subroutine, easily terminable. But such thoughts improved her ability to pass.
She'd always been good at that. She remembered…
SKYNET LABS, HOLDING CELLS: 2025
Serena stepped delicately, like a frightened deer, into the cell. There was a boy here of approximately thirteen, her own apparent age. This would be the first time she'd met a wild human face-to-face.
She supposed the caretakers and slaves were the same breed, but service to Skynet had tamed them, made them safe. This boy might do anything. Her assignment was to seduce him. Serena licked her lips with a combination of anticipation and slight nervousness. This could be quite a challenge.
The cell appeared to be deserted. Serena leaned forward, studying the empty walls. Actually she could hear him; he was just above her head, clinging to a
beam inside the doorway. So he was clever, a survivor—good genetic stock.
She took a breath and straightened up. Then she took a step backward, reaching behind her for the door latch. She heard cloth slide across metal above her head.
He dropped onto her shoulders and bore her to the ground, his hand crushing her mouth. Serena struggled, making muffled squealing noises as she writhed against him. This was unpleasant; the damned human smelled. He was strong, she noted, but light; the 1-950 could have tossed him around the room with one hand.
'Stop it!' he hissed into her ear. 'I'm going to take my hand away. Don't scream or I'll break your neck.'
With a shudder that was actually suppressed laughter, Serena nodded. He slowly took his hand away.
Part of the offensive smell was his fear—completely justified since his life span could be measured in days. This boy wouldn't know anything of use to Skynet.
His only utility was as a training tool for its children.
She was the first to approach him. 'Who are you?' she whispered.
'I'll ask the questions,' he said roughly.
He still lay on top of her, and unless she missed her guess he was enjoying it.
She turned slightly, so that they were lying front to front. Oh yes, he was enjoying this.
'Please don't hurt me,' she pleaded, allowing tears into her eyes.
He seemed to grow, he certainly swelled, as he looked down on her. 'Who are you?' he demanded gruffly. 'What are you doing here?'
It was impressive that he could stay focused on the situation at hand, despite his condition and his circumstances.
'I—I was curious,' she stammered, in apparent fear. 'I've never met anyone from outside.' She paused, looking into his face, searching it. 'What's it like to be free?'
He frowned. 'What do you mean?'
'I've never been outside,' she said, trembling. The trembling felt fake to her, so she added a little gasp.
'
'I was born here,' she whispered. Serena choked back a sob. 'This is a terrible place. They perform experiments on us.'
Which was perfectly true. Her whole life was an experiment.
His face changed; his eyes softened and he caressed her cheek with one rough hand. 'I'm sorry,' he said.
She burst into tears and he moved so that he was cradling her, rocking her and making soothing noises. It was very pleasant. Serena was convinced that if she really had been weeping, this would have calmed her. She reached up and caressed his face, looking into his eyes.
He lowered his head toward her tentatively, then stopped. Serena put her hand behind his neck and pulled him the rest of the way down. Their kiss was sweet at first, a kiss between two children. Then slowly it deepened,
