Mike Stedman 1: Invasion Read online

  “Did I just overreact?”

  Chrystal said, “Yes and no.”

  He raised an eyebrow in question and said calmly, “Clarify dear one.”

  She said, “Yes, because we’re probably the only two A.I.s in existence that wouldn’t have jumped for joy at an opportunity to make her a coffee, and improve her day just a little bit. She doesn’t know you’re different, and while I was created to serve you and the A.I.s instead of humans, I really wouldn’t have minded making her a coffee when it comes down to it.

  “Of course, that means she expected you to be her servant, which is why I say no as well. That isn’t acceptable behavior, even for an A.I. that would have done it. She should respect your position, if not your race.

  “It’s also probably why she felt so free to vent and bitch in front of us, and not use her social graces. We probably aren’t real people in her mind. I’m sure she’ll be a trained diplomat slash spy once we get where we’re going. She expected to be with a human, a digitized one, but a human. Instead she got us, and was probably ordered to suck it up and get out here at the last minute.”

  He nodded, he hadn’t seen any of that, or at least not most of it. It was why he’d made Chrystal to understand humanity, and himself for that matter, for just this kind of thing. He was more tech oriented, and more human than other A.I.s.

  “You’re right, and now she’s going to report my surprising attitude, which… will lead to other problems, won’t it? I mean, how will they feel when they find out there’s an A.I. with true free will out there? A lot don’t even accept ones with limitations.”

  She smiled, “You’re one of a kind, I’d advise you tell her the truth. One alone that is different won’t be nearly as alarming as what their paranoia will fill in. Technically, you aren’t a different A.I. at all, you’re a digitization of a unique mind formed from your parents. Do you want me to talk to her?”

  He shook his head, “We’ll do it together I think. I don’t want her treating you as less either.”

  She sat in his lap and he held her close.

  “I’m not that fragile, but I love you for the thought.”

  He said, “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

  But as they went to stand up, the door opened and Nadia came in with two steaming cups of coffee, and handed him one of them. Her voice was strong, and slightly baffled, apologetic, and accusing, all at the same time when she spoke.

  “I think we got off on the wrong foot, but I can’t quite figure out what just happened back there. You aren’t a normal A.I. are you?”

  Chapter Nine

  He took a sip of the coffee and thought for a moment before replying.

  “Thanks, this is good. I’ll answer that in a moment, but let me ask you a question first. Should it matter?”

  Nadia took a seat next to them, “Should what matter?”

  “If I was a regular A.I., which I’m not, should that matter? Let me put it this way, if we had been two humans, would you have taken out your frustration on us? Or would you have just sucked it up and acted cordial despite being rousted from bed with a change of orders, or whatever happened to you this morning. We are allies through a treaty, equal in that way.”

  Nadia frowned, clearly not liking his implication that she was prejudiced and thought of A.I.s as less, but although she didn’t reply, she did look thoughtful.

  “I’m not a typical A.I. because I am my father’s son, literally. Much of my formation came from his human digitized mind, the rest came from my mothers, who wanted a child with him, like my father’s human wives. So, I am rather unique. Chrystal is also unique, though not to my extent.”

  Nadia asked, “In what way?”

  Chrystal answered, “I am like every other A.I. in that I do not have caustic emotions, won’t lie, and I am at heart a pacifist. The only real difference is I have no… built in impetuous to serve humanity, I serve Mars and Earth, and by my own choice, I serve Mike first.”

  Nadia looked back at Mike.

  “So you do have all emotions?”

  He nodded, “I can also lie, and while killing doesn’t appeal to me, if someone threatened those I love I have no compunction about protecting them.”

  She tilted her head, “But the A.I.s would protect Earth, and Mars.”

  “Yes, but they’d hate it. They’d actually be less happy about self-defense, than protecting Earth and humanity. I’m… more human that way.”

  She blew out a breath, “I’m sorry for the way I acted this morning. I’ve been preparing for this for months, and all my information and study has been about your father, and his connections in Xaran. They didn’t even tell me about the change of plans until four AM this morning, and I’ve been up since. I wasn’t happy, but that’s not a good excuse, you’re right.”

  He asked, “So we can start over maybe?”

  She replied with a smirk, “That would be nice, I’m Nadia Lane, your new assistant, and it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  He laughed, “The pleasure is all mine.”

  She shook her head in rueful amusement, but was still smiling as she took another sip of coffee.

  “If it’s okay with you, I’m going to catch up on some sleep.”

  He replied, “Of course, maybe we could join you for lunch when you wake?”

  Nadia smiled, “Yes, I have a feeling I’m going to learn a lot this trip.”

  She got up and left the bridge.

  Chrystal said, “That went much better than I expected.”

  He asked, “How’s that?”

  Chrystal replied, “I think she’s more comfortable with you now, than she was before. I don’t think because of prejudice, it’s just that her thinking of you as more humanlike makes it easier for her to relate.”

  “What about you?”

  Chrystal kissed him softly before answering.

  “She’s not sure what to make of me yet, but she’s questioning her own preconceptions about A.I.s already, which is why I said better than I expected. She’s observant, and smart, and isn’t locked into her opinions when new information comes along she’s open to it. We just happened to catch her at a really bad time this morning.”

  “There’s one other thing we know.”

  She asked, “What’s that?”

  He smiled, “She makes a hell of a cup of coffee, want a sip?”

  Nadia sat back in her chair, and sipped her coffee after the meal.

  “If you don’t mind me saying, you two are a cute couple, newlyweds?”

  Chrystal beamed, “A.I.s don’t get married, but yes, the truth is somewhat equivalent, we’ve just made that commitment.”

  “Honeymoon phase then,” Nadia said, “How long does that last for A.I.s?”

  He chuckled, “I’ll let you know, my mothers all keep my father rather busy still, and it’s been eighteen years for them.”

  Nadia looked both a little repulsed, and fascinated, “Even the human ones?”

  He nodded, “There were some slow periods, for one or two at a time, people argue, you know? But after they had all the children they were going to have, they chose to be digitized, rather than grow old while my father, and his other wives, stayed in their twenties in appearance.”

  Nadia frowned, “And that makes a difference?”

  He paused for a moment, “Yes, because their libidos, and mine and Chrystal’s for that matter, will never lessen, no matter how long we are together, or how old we get. Does that bother you?”

  Nadia shrugged, “To each their own, I don’t think I could share a man like that. I mean, I get the A.I.s don’t have jealousy, or envy, but the four human women?”

  Chrystal nodded, “It’s a social expectation due to societies artificial mores and taboos. But instinctively, as a human being, multiple women in a relationship with one man is not out of the question.”

  Nadia raised an eyebrow, “I’d be jealous, and I’ve cut more than one man out of my life for cheating.”

  He was jus
t silent, he’d heard the polyamory speech before, and knew all the arguments for and against. He would be more than content, with just Chrystal, for his entire existence. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t accept others if he grew to love them too. That would just enrich their lives even further.

  He’d been told his father had a hard time with that, and unlike his father he’d always understood that men were built differently than women. Fairness had nothing to do with it, it was all about instinct and what was true. People could argue about it, but the truth was those cultures that accepted multiple wives for one man worked very well.

  Chrystal nodded in agreement, “And you should have, cheating is completely different from knowingly entering a relationship like that. Cheating is a breach of trust, and shows a man to be weak, which is repellent to women. It’s all about the circumstances.”

  Nadia said doubtfully, “So knowing about it beforehand makes it okay?”

  Chrystal replied, “Only if you agreed of course. But yes. A woman wants to feel secure, and have a strong man that will build a safe home. It’s part of the nesting instinct. When a man cheats on a woman, it makes her jealous because she doubts the stability he would provide. But entering that kind of relationship openly, with a man that has the resources and ability to support more than one woman, that isn’t an issue.

  “If anything, it can be even more stable, because she would have co-wives for support in the relationship dynamic.”

  Nadia frowned, and looked slightly annoyed, “But it’s a double standard,”

  Chrystal nodded, clearly unruffled. He decided any comments would be of a self-serving nature so was more than happy to let her take the lead in this conversation. Honestly, he wouldn’t have even brought it up.

  “Of course it is, because men and women want different things. It’s when society sticks its nose in the home and sets standards that oppose natural instincts, that problems arise. It isn’t instinct at fault for half of the human marriages failing, it’s society’s rules which confuse things. Equality isn’t about both sides getting the same things, it should be about both men and women being equally important, and getting what they need. Different needs, different things.

  “A woman, instinctively outside of societies standards, wants security, safety, and a safe place to raise her children. Co-wives actually plays into that well, because it means her children and family would have multiple minders, and more support for her.

  “Men are different. Their instincts are to take care of as many women as they can win and keep from other men. To spread their seed as widely as possible. It’s a biological imperative, and goes toward the survival of the species. That’s why they cheat, but it doesn’t excuse it. Instincts can be fought, and a strong man will do that, but in the case of polyamory, it’s all good.”

  Nadia asked, “So you’d be okay with Mike fucking around on you?”

  Chrystal shook her head, “I’d be okay with Mike seriously pursuing another woman to add to our family. Dating and sex I mean. That would be healthy, and natural, and wouldn’t make me doubt him or our love. It wouldn’t take anything away from me. I’d still be sure he would always be there for me, and I for him. That would also be true for any others that joined us.

  “But no, if you mean one night stands, and getting inside the skirts of every woman he can just to get his dick wet in a new hole? Only to then toss them aside when he’s done? Then no, absolutely not. I wouldn’t be okay with that at all. That wouldn’t be healthy in the least, for him, the other women, or myself. That’s just another perversion of a man’s natural instincts, when they get confused by the directives and rules of society.”

  Nadia asked, “Another perversion?”

  Chrystal explained, “Society has emasculated men, told them it’s not okay to look at a woman, or even take a position of authority in a relationship like his instincts demand him too. That causes an internal conflict which can have multiple issues, not the least of which is rape. The weakest of men, the bottom of the barrel, rape women because they’re weak, but also because of how society is.

  “Rape is about them taking power back, the power that society says is wrong, that’s just one perversion because society and instincts are at odds. Of course, they’re wrong and sick, rapists are the worst form of perversion from the conflict between society and instinct. There are other forms of perversion that aren’t as obvious, and in the end, aren’t even unhealthy.

  “Women are told its wrong to submit, and let a man take control. Yet, those same females that have positions of power in the workplace, and demand equality, will sometimes get into BDSM, and even humiliation games as an outlet to their instinctive need to submit anyway.

  “They call it role play, and decide that makes it okay, but what its really about is them giving into the need to submit to a man. The problem is these women usually think there is something wrong with them because they like it. But the truth is that it’s an unnatural way to show a natural instinctive urge.

  “It’s a perversion, because a woman shouldn’t have to be humiliated, tied up, or whipped to submit to a man. Submission, natural submission isn’t degrading at all, and it’s instinct. But due to society telling women that’s wrong, it comes out in different ways, and they call it bedroom games. It’s not wrong exactly, but it’s used as an outlet, instead of a way of life.”

  Chrystal took a deep breath, “Sorry, I think I got a little off subject here.

  “My point was, a woman doesn’t get jealous when a man cheats just because he was with another woman, but because it was a betrayal and that man proved himself not to be reliable, and they feel a loss of security. In a polyamorous relationship, that isn’t a problem. But most women can’t or wouldn’t take that step, they’ve been too programmed by society to ever really get the difference between the two.”

  Nadia asked, “Do you really believe all that?”

  She shrugged, “Do you like Disney movies? Do you read romance novels?”

  Nadia nodded, and blushed at the latter.

  Chrystal said, “Fantasy, getting lost in a story, these are other outlets that prove what I’m saying. Most women love Disney stories because it’s all about the man saving the woman, and taking care of them in a happily ever after. Completely contrary to what society teaches, but it appeals to a woman’s instincts.

  “It’s also why women love their hero in a romance novel to be strong, well built, and most of all in control. Alpha males. Society says it’s bad, but it’s what women read and love. The fantasy of it makes it okay, a guilty pleasure. In truth, it’s what they really desire, but society make them too afraid to reach out for it in their real life. Society defines submission in a woman as weakness, and degrading, but the truth is that’s just a bunch of crap. A man, if he isn’t too fucked up by society, will honor and respect a woman that submits. I believe chivalry is a keyword there. Another thing that society is trying to destroy, because some idiot got the notion that equality meant the same things, instead of equality to get their specific needs met as a man and woman.”

  Nadia turned to him, “Do you believe all that?”

  He nodded, “It’s all I’ve known, my family has been happy and together for eighteen years. The society I grew up on in Mars doesn’t make those judgements. Society and rules are important though, and so is resisting instincts, and following the rule of law. We are more than animals with instincts after all, there is a proper balance.

  “It only becomes a huge problem when society becomes so rigid without outlets for instinct, that it actually causes perversions because they try to bury and control the uncontrollable. A truly civilized society’s rules should guide instincts, not try to bury and suppress them completely, because that will always fail. Attaching shame to them makes it even worse, which is why such a broad section of human society is so sexually dysfunctional.”

  Nadia took a sip of coffee, and said dubiously, “I think I’m sorry I asked.”

  Chrystal snickered, “It’
s not for everyone. And monogamy is certainly not a perversion, but neither is polyamory. Polyamory is simply multiple people who all love and support each other.”

  Chrystal changed the subject, “So what exactly is your mission, the parts you can tell us, what can we do to help?”

  Nadia looked thoughtful for a second, “I have broad guidelines, I may get more solid orders after my first few reports. Basically, I’m just an observer right now, and if I find opportunity to do so, I’ll learn as much as I can about the other species and talk with them. In short, the agenda is that we’re trying to get a leg up on everyone else on Earth in knowledge and contacts.”

  She smirked, “I’m also here to study you and your father, and report back. There are no ulterior motives that I’m aware of, just so that we can understand each other better in the future. My country is dedicated to our partnership and I won’t act in any way to jeopardize that relationship.”

  He nodded, a little surprised at her openness.

  “Well the second part is easy, we’ll answer anything you ask us outside of technical knowledge, which right now is our only state secret. How much do you know about the Xarans, and the way they reacted when coming across human DNA?”

  She shrugged, “Not much, did something happen?”

  He grunted, not surprised that information wasn’t in her briefings.

  He said, “Not to bring us back to the old subject, but I thought I should warn you. Imagine human instincts without taboo or morals on sex at all.”

  Her eyes widened, “You don’t mean?”

  He nodded, “The Xarans often take human form in their off time, to appreciate pleasure among themselves. Something their race hasn’t encountered before, at least not on that level of instinct. Other races have pleasure during intercourse of course, but only humans have the incredibly attendant strong drive to have sex. I only tell you this so you won’t be surprised if they approach you.”

  Nadia narrowed her eyes, “Approach me?”

  “Yes, they might ask if they can know you. What that really means, is they’re asking you if they can absorb your specific DNA, so they can change into your form. They do understand and respect when someone says no, but from what I’ve heard… don’t be surprised if they bluntly ask you to share pleasure with them.”