Page 5

CORINNE

The minute she got back to her rooms, K -lx set her down on her feet, much to Corinne’s relief.

She wasn’t sure what she would do if he had refused to put her down.

She directed the big K - Unit to sit on her bed—which he did—and began composing a quick communication to the Chairman of the Company .

In reality, it would doubtless go through countless channels before it got to him— if it got to him.

But she had to detail what had gone on in the lab and give him her professional opinion on why K -lx must be allowed to continue to exist.

She honestly wasn’t too worried about the big Cyborg .

She knew how the Company thought—how it functioned.

Everything was about profit, profit, and more profit.

There was no way they would junk a valuable piece of antique Cybernetic property just because it had run amok and killed a few people.

Human lives were nothing compared to credits—at least to the ones who owned the station and all the people inside it.

Corinne herself had another year left to go on her contract. She’d been planning to stay on at the station and sign another contract after it elapsed…but that was before she’d been demoted. Now she wasn’t sure what she’d do.

For all intents and purposes, she was now a Handler . The Neural Link she had with K -lx already felt deeper than any she’d ever experienced and she knew it wouldn’t be possible to break it. Once a Handler linked with a Cyborg , the linking was generally for life unless one of them died.

She’d had another Cyborg , a long time ago, before she was promoted to Director of Cybernetics .

But L -5 had died on a rescue mission, through no fault of hers.

Corinne still mourned him. He had been a simple soul but gentle and dependable.

After his death and decommission, she’d chosen to climb the corporate ladder rather than taking on another Unit .

In fact, she’d believed she would never be a Handler again.

Guess I was wrong about that, she thought, cutting her eyes to the side to study K -lx.

The huge K - Unit was taking up most of her bed and it occurred to her to wonder where she was going to put him tonight.

Most Cyborgs “slept” in their charging stations but she had no station for K -lx—hell, she didn’t even know if he needed one.

She’d read once that the old Units had a self-recharging power source located inside their torso—somewhere near the solar plexus.

The secret of that had been lost to modern Cybertronics .

But if it was true, he might not need to dock and charge at all.

Curious to see what she could find, she did a more comprehensive search.

After a few tries at narrowing her search results and adding in his full Unit name and number, she came up with something surprising—it appeared to be a Handler’s manual specifically for dealing with Kindred Cyborgs .

It was hundreds of years old but her computer was able to translate it into Standard .

Intrigued , she pulled it up and began to read.

Many mistake the new K - Unit Cyborg for the Dark Kindred —which are a branch of the Kindred family tree which have sworn to forego emotions and augment themselves with mechanical “enhancements,” one section read.

And though we did work with the same Tolleg surgeons who help to grow and build the Dark Kindred , the K - Units are altogether different.

K- Units are built from Kindred soldiers who were wounded in battle too badly to live without intervention.

They still have emotions, even though their memories have—from necessity—been wiped, the manual went on.

They have very specific mental, emotional, and physical needs which can only be met by the right Handler .

It is recommended that the Handler be an unmarried and unattached female as the K - Unit Cyborg can become extremely possessive and protective of his Handler and will feel extreme jealousy if she is in a romantic relationship with another male.

Corinne frowned. Huh —well, it was a good thing she was single, she supposed.

She hadn’t had a romantic relationship in the past three years.

Not since her ex, Artie , had moved from the station and taken a post on Iepetus .

He’d wanted her to come along, but that would have meant a demotion and Corrine had refused to follow him.

Why should his career be more important than hers?

She had never regretted the decision, though she had spent some lonely nights, wishing she had someone to warm her bed.

Artie hadn’t been the best lover, but at least he’d been a warm body and that was worth a lot in the chilly station.

The Company didn’t like to pay to heat it to a comfortable temperature and it got even colder at night.

Corinne cast another sidelong glance at K -lx and found, to her surprise and unease, that the big K - Unit was studying her. When she met his eyes, he held her gaze as if to say, What ?

Well, at least he wasn’t probing at their Link , she thought uneasily.

“Just give me another minute or two and I’ll be with you,” she said aloud, though she had never felt the need to explain herself to a Cyborg before. Mostly they just stood or sat like a living piece of meat until you activated them. She’d never had one stare at her and study her like K -lx was.

“I will wait until you are ready to interact,” he rumbled.

“All right. Er …why are you staring at me?” Corinne asked him.

He shrugged, his broad, bare shoulders rolling with the motion.

“I like looking at you, Mistress . You are beautiful—an Elite .”

It was the second time he’d called her beautiful and ‘an Elite ’ whatever that meant. Again , she was disconcerted by how different he was from other Units she’d worked with.

“Thank you, K -lx, but you don’t have to say that,” she said, thinking maybe he had a flattery protocol somewhere in his programming.

He shrugged again.

“I speak only the truth.”

“Okay, well…” Corinne wasn’t sure what to say to that. With a last look at him, she turned back to the manual. It was too long for her to read it all through right now, but she tried to at least skim the intro and the “ Getting to Know Your New Cyborg ” section.

The first thing you must do when you Link with your new Cyborg is to get him used to your dominance by handling his body, the manual advised.

He needs to feel your hands on him everywhere—this will help to meet his extensive physical, sexual and emotional needs.

Also , the more you handle him, the closer he will grow to you and the more willing he will be to follow commands.

Corinne frowned. What ? Was K -lx really that different from a modern Cyborg ?

The Units she had worked with in the past hadn’t required much physical handling at all.

In fact, a Handler getting too physical with his or her Cyborg was frowned upon and could be sanctioned if anything sexual was suspected.

But apparently, it was different with the old K - Units .

The next paragraph she read seemed to emphasize that point.

The best way to get your Cyborg used to you is by bathing him nightly, the manual advised. Take him into the shower unit with you and scrub him thoroughly, handling every part of his body to show him your ownership of him.

During this time, a sexual release will generally be in order—if the male parts are engorged, be sure to ease his tension.

Most Units are sexually intact and will welcome your touch.

Do NOT neglect this step—giving a sexual release is a VERY important part of establishing your dominance.

Nightly bathing time together will help deepen your link with your new Cyborg .

He will come to crave your touch, which will make him much more compliant.

There was more, but Corinne needed time to digest what she’d already read.

A sexual release? Really ? Was she supposed to jerk the big K - Unit off in the shower?

But that was against the Handler code of conduct in every way!

Sexual interaction with a Cybernetic Unit was grounds for dismissal—it was considered dangerous and unethical in the extreme.

She cut her eyes towards K -lx and saw that he was still staring at her.

Was she really going to have to shower with him and touch him every night?

It was so odd—she’d never had to have such intimate interaction with any other Unit she worked with before.

She wondered if that part could be skipped.

But another glance at the manual disabused her of that idea quickly.

Some Handlers may object to these practices, but they are fully necessary in order to keep your new K - Unit Cyborg emotionally, physically, and sexually content.

In fact, they are the bare minimum . If you do not follow the instructions in this manual to keep your Link with your new Cyborg strong, there is a high likelihood of depressive or aggressive episodes.

The scene at the lab with the dead techs and the trashed equipment leaped to Corinne’s mind. Depressive and aggressive episodes indeed.

Remember, these Units are new and still unstable, she read.

Though we are working with experts and Tolleg surgeons to perfect the interface and we hope to come up with a patch to help with emotional stability in the near future, for now the best way to keep control of your Unit is to meet his physical, emotional, and sexual needs and keep him content.

There was of course, much more to the manual, but Corinne couldn’t deal with it right now. It was already late and she was tired. The adrenaline rush of talking K -lx down and Linking with him was wearing off.

She supposed she ought to do as the manual suggested and give him a shower. Or no—it had recommended that she shower with him. That was certainly going to be interesting. But she wasn’t one to ignore the instructions and she knew how dangerous an unhappy Cyborg could be.

As awkward as it was, she intended to follow the manual.