The Enemy of My Enemy? Pt. 2/Chapter 04
- Index - Previous chapter - Chapter 04 - Next chapter
Lori Jacobson looked more like a female soccer player than like a soccer mom but she was neither. She had first come to live among them two years earlier, but she wasn’t content just being a womyn spy for The Lounge. Being a former firefighter, she craved adventure and liked to stay active, so scouting was the natural choice.
She also loved her husband and the only way they could stay together was to either leave the country or to live in hiding. The Lounge was a dream come true. She first met an unlikely ally one day while in a food ration line. Even though artificial intelligence had come a long way, this enchanting woman acted too human and looked too tall to be an android… or so she thought. Besides, androids didn’t normally have skin flaws or hum old rock songs to themselves; did they?
After a few encounters they were quickly becoming close friends but Lori felt a bit sorry for the towering redhead. Though the odd woman seemed to be in amazing physical shape, her occasional twitching and stuttering made her seem slightly traumatized or mentally impaired. Lori had seen too many victims during her time as a firefighter and especially after The Great Mistake. But the redhead’s quick wit, warmth and pleasant attitude were a welcome change from the sugarcoated oppression that was taking over the country.
Sensing their influence would slip with the maturing of the next generation, the feminist leaders required all male children to attend military school. All people of rank or authority there were now female, and the enforcers were female androids. Boys would learn their place.
Men found their place as bottom level civil servants. The only exceptions were in the male scientific community, but these men were kept under strict observation at all times. The rewards for cooperation were usually generous but the punishments were always extreme. In their justifiable paranoia the wymyn proved they could be just as ruthless as their male counterparts that came before them… and just as corrupt.
Time was running out for Lori and her husband. His skills as a musician were of no practical use to the wymyn and he would soon be relocated to serve in the military. Lori remembered that her new friend had mentioned that she needed to get back home and feed her “boys” but then she was reluctant to talk about them. The names that the mysterious woman had registered at the food bank were either female or gender neutral. Much later Lori would discover the horrible truth of where those names and identifications came from. A place where many dead now remained in a subway from long ago.
In desperation Lori confronted her and asked the tall woman if she knew of a way to help her and her spouse. Far from The Lounge a meeting was arranged in a hidden location where Lori met a man that looked like a young Viking wearing strange leathery armor. Only later would she learn that they had not been alone. He was actually well guarded and she was being carefully tested and watched. Unknown to Lori, the meeting place was an outpost of The Lounge and a fallback position in case of an emergency. As sophisticated as Portia was, she knew that it would probably take another human to know for certain if Lori could be trusted. And no one was as suspicious of his fellow man as Kylan Renson.
Lori wasn’t happy about leaving her home and friends behind, but she could stay with her husband and that was all that she truly cared about. She was assured that contacts could be maintained with people that she trusted if she never gave them her location. Lori and her husband were now staying in the tunnels near the outpost with Kylan.
She only saw her new redheaded friend twice when the woman came to leave some food for them with her weekly visit. Several weeks passed and Kye showed himself to be very dependable and sympathetic, although he disappeared at times and Lori found it impossible to follow him. Eventually Kye began teaching them how to survive in the tunnels and how to loot from the automated storage centers without being detected. He admired their devotion to each other but he was still unsure if they could be invited to The Lounge. He didn’t trust Lori because she was a woman; because this meant that she didn’t have as much to lose. If they had a disagreement, a moment of irrationality or jealousy could drive her to ruin the secret shelter.
In the course of their conversations Kylan passively asked them how they felt about androids. They both seemed resentful but more directly towards the wymyn who were controlling them. Lori said she actually respected some androids and told Kye how a firefighter droid once saved her life, but that she had never met a female android that she liked. She resented them even more after The Great Mistake.
A few days later they went to meet Lori’s kind friend as she was bringing them some food. Portia had been using a false name so Lori was shocked when Kylan yelled “Hey, Portia! Heads up!” as the friendly woman was walking away. He had also lifted a large concrete block and heaved it at her with all his might. She instantly turned around and caught it with one hand. She then casually tossed it away and it shattered against a wall.
“What was that all about, Kye? And why did you use my real name,” she said as if she was annoyed.
“Lori said that she’s never met a gynoid that she liked,” Kye told her sadly while Lori and her husband looked on in disbelief. “And I don’t think Jim could stand the temptation,” he added. Lori’s husband, James, was far too defensive when Kylan had suggested how nice it would be if he could capture a gynoid, a female android, and reprogram her for himself.
“That’s t-too bad. I really thought Lori and I could stay friends… I liked her,” Portia sounded hurt and disappointed but her old stutter only came once. This was long before she was repaired with a new body. “Do you think they’ll be okay?” she asked with concern.
“Jim’s not cut out for hunting and gathering,” Kye spoke analytically, “but Lori would have made an awesome scout! I wish they could have come with us.” Kye turned to the dumbfounded couple and wished them well, then joined Portia and started to walk away.
“Wait!” Lori yelled as she ran up to Portia, “Holy shit! You’re a freakin’ girlbot you WITCH!” she laughed as she lightly punched Portia on her well-toned shoulder.
“And…” said Portia as she looked down curiously at Lori.
“And, I’m pissed that you lied to me about who you were, girlfriend, but I guess I understand. Listen, I’m sorry about the gynoid comment, but I had never met one like you before. The government droids are such unreasonable whores. And, as you know, they’re ALL government droids now. Kye didn’t tell you that I don’t hate all of your kind and I’m sure Jimmy just didn’t want to hurt my feelings. But don’t worry, I won’t tell the food bank about you,” Lori added quickly. “So where are you guys going?”
“Home,” said Kylan.
“I thought you just drifted?” Lori was getting desperate again. “Don’t you think it would be better if we stuck together?”
“Of course we do!” Portia piped, “But if you and James broke up -- and that’s only IF -- you would be a huge risk to us because you would have to keep living around each other. It would be even more risky if one of you would have to leave and keep our secret.”
She became very serious, “There are more men where we’re going AND more ‘girlbots’ so you had better be sure you’re both okay with that. The guys definitely act like boys in a locker room. We just call the girlbots ‘Girls.’ They are programmed to obey us if they are not too busy. This includes sex. It’s not exactly an ideal place for couples.”
Jim spoke up for once, “Listen lady, or whatever you are. I love my wife so you can forget about your insinuations.”
“Oh shut up, Jimmy,” Lori interjected, “WE came to THEM; remember?”
“She’s right,” Kylan said, “Portia is not someone you want to screw with and we all care for her as one of our own… if not more.”
“I was only stating the facts,” Portia continued, “I’m looking out for my boys and I don’t want you to get hurt either. So I’m going to take a big chance here and just ask: Can we trust you?”
Kylan smiled. Portia would leave the final decision to him and his answer came with his next comment. It was music to all of their ears. “We can always use more help and, Jim, we would really like having more musicians around.” Portia nodded happily in agreement.
“This is too weird,” Jim said.
Lori had quickly become a favorite with the scouts and they had come to value her opinion on just about everything. So when she volunteered to go on Stan’s mission, all of them joined too. They also didn’t want to be shamed by the only female on the team.
- Index - Previous chapter - Chapter 04 - Next chapter