“No,” Serpint agrees. “This is the only one made by ALCOR.”
“What’s his deal, anyway?”
“What do you mean?” Serpint says, leading me into an opening in the side of the wall that turns out to be a restaurant.
“Where did you get him?”
“He came with the place.” Serpint laughs.
“So how did you guys happen to become partners?”
He shrugs, holding up two fingers at a hostess. She’s very tall. Like way taller than Serpint. And super-thin. Like she was born in zero gravity, maybe. And she has long, black hair and silver skin. Which alone would make her look really special and exotic, but she’s wearing a black bodysuit and has the biggest rifle I’ve ever seen strapped to her back.
I stare at her. Gawk at her, actually. Because I’ve never seen her kind before. This whole station is filled with humanoids I’ve never seen before.
Both Serpint and the bot must notice my fascination as we follow her to the back of the restaurant, because Serpint says, “Never seen a Centurian before, I take it,” just as the bot starts spouting off useless facts about Centurians. Where they’re located in the galaxy, how they live in the atmosphere of gas giants in huge rotating habitats, and other such things that no one who sees this woman for the first time would give any fucks about whatsoever.
You just want to look at her. The way I’m looking at her. Equal parts awe and fear.
I hope, if I’m ever in danger and she’s with me, she’s on my side. That’s all I’m thinking about.
“Thanks,” Serpint says to the silver woman, then pulls out a chair for me to sit.
“Oh,” I say, surprised at his manners. “Thank you.”
He takes the chair across from me and then the hostess hands us menus. I look at mine while the bot hovers at my shoulder and starts chirping about what’s good.
“How would you even know?” I ask him. “You don’t even eat.”
He deflates a little. And by that I mean loses a little altitude, then takes off and says something about playing games in the arcade next door.
I roll my eyes.
“So… what’s that all about?” Serpint says.
“What?”
“You and that bot. How do you know what he’s saying? You have a translator implant? Crux has one of those. Not me, I don’t give a fuck what they say. My bot—” But then he stops. “Well, the bot I used to have. Ceres. He spoke our language just fine. He was a damn good bot.”
I remember that the bot was killed with his brother yesterday. I think that’s one of the most surprising things about this station. They seem to think bots, and ships, and cyborgs all have the same rights as humanoids.
Which is new to me. Because that’s not how it was back in Cygnia. Not at all.
Bots, and ships, and cyborgs were all just… things.
“Lyra?”
“What?” I say. “Oh. Your question. Well, I had nanny bots all growing up. I had that model for a while. And I was always interested in learning new languages. So I’m fluent in 700 Series.”
“Interesting.”
“Why is it interesting?”
“Just…” He shrugs. “Because you don’t seem to mind him, even though he pierced you yesterday without my permission, and yet you hate the cyborg master. I kinda feel the other way around. That nanny bot is useless to me but the harem master, I’d make sure he was on my team if shit ever went down, that’s for sure.”
“Hmmm,” I say. “Well, he did stick his vibrating fingers between my legs. In front of everyone. Twice,” I add, for emphasis. “So I don’t feel the same.”
“And the bot pierced your pussy,” he whispers, covering his face with the menu so people around us can’t hear. “And your nipples. So… three times.” He holds his hands up like, I rest my case.
“Yeah, but the bot is really harmless. He doesn’t have emotions. He wasn’t doing it to teach me a lesson. He really did think you wanted him to do that. In fact, he said it was part of your routine.” Serpint smiles, but wisely decides not to defend himself. “And that master…” I shudder. “I know their kind and they are not harmless.”
“How do you know their kind?” he asks, just as the hostess returns with two glasses of water. He nods thank you to her, which again surprises me. Because he’s very polite to the people here. Like everyone is family, instead of just his inner circle.
“I just… do,” I say, not wanting to get into the past too much. It’s over. I’m gone and I’m never going back. Ever.
“Hmmm,” Serpint says. “Well, the bots here do have emotions. So you’re giving that 700 too much credit. We take off their restrictors whenever we liberate them from their former masters.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, scrunching up my face. “You… don’t have regulators on them?”