PASsport, Happening Encounters, Day 24 free porn video

8PHE0024 word count 5741 ******** Day 24, Thursday At 5 a.m., Kinny awoke as Joi and Jazz came in the front door. He waved from the couch. Joi held up a greasy paper bag. She mouthed the word, 'breakfast,' and glanced over to the baby, asleep in its crib. Kinny nodded, yawned, and scratched under his boob. He collected his things, nursing pads, nipple cream, unused baby bottles, a milker, and put them in his purse. He also collected a kiss on the nose from both women as they passed by. Kinny watched them pad into the kitchen. He looked down at his hard-on and sighed. He tried to tuck it but it was too hard and it would not bend. Kinny pulled up his skirt, grabbed his purse, and walked into the kitchen. "Hi, girls," he said. They waved. Jazz smiled. Kinny pointed back to the living room. "I gotta take a convenience." His voice squeaked and his throat cramped. Kinny coughed twice, as quietly as he could manage. "Wash your hands," Joi said. "Yes, mom." ******** Breakfast was bangers and scroddlecake, rolled into a kind of burrito. Kinny ate his without comment. It was food and it was free. "Que pasta, horchatas?" he asked. Jazz winced. "Tu espanol tiene nudos." Kinny ignored the translation that his specs provided. He said, "My Spanish is nude? That's a compliment, right?" Jazz smiled politely. "That? That's the smile you were talking about? When my customers are being stupid?" She looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded. "I'll have to practice that. Can you do it again?" She backhanded his chest. "Hey. Watch the boobs. Unless you want to feed the baby." Jazz pat Kinny on the boob and said, "Sorry. Won't happen again." He smiled. "You pulled a night shift," he said to Jazz. "And you picked her up," he said to Joi. Joi said, "More or less." "I'm jealous. You guys have a nightlife. I have a baby." "I would trade instantly," Joi told him. "Lap dances." She sighed. "And, you know, private dances, in the back. Nobody understands - or cares - that Club 69 is outside the city limits. We can't...." She made a motion like giving a handjob. "...do that. Without getting arrested." She pulled a wad of bills out of her bra. "Here. What I owe you and then some." Kinny tucked the money into his bra. It smelled of stale beer and marijuana. "Thanks." He looked at Jazz. "Would you trade?" "No. The last time I sat that monster, he peed on me. Oh. I did some digging." She pulled printouts and handed one to Joi, one to Kinny. Kinny glanced at Joi's printout. It was a paternity report - for the baby? He looked at his own printout. A picture. Some guy in glasses and a striped sweater. Joi said, "So, it's not Marion's baby. But. You're kidding, right? How could this be my baby?" Jazz shook her head. "Not yours. It says you're related though. Same father." "Marion's dad is...." "Not your dad." "That's ... that's not right. It can't be." Jazz shrugged. "Two fathers, same mother. It happens." Joi said, evenly, "And nobody alive to ask about it.... Mmn. Maybe my grandmother." "I wouldn't bother her. What will it change?" Joi's hands fluttered. "Drake is my brother? But not my nephew." "Half brother. 97% probability." "Who donated maternal genes?" Jazz bit her lip. "Still working on that. No criminal record. Nothing on the public insurance nets. No matches on genealogy sites. Russo- slavic heritage. Maybe?" "That could be anyone in this valley." "Or no one. Two indicators of artificial chromosomes. See?" Joi tossed the printout in the recycler. "Weird." Both women noticed Kinny was listening. "See?" Joi said. "Told you he wasn't illegal." He said, "Unproven." With Anabelle's voice, it didn't come out nearly as fierce as he'd hoped. "I got a loaner baby," she said, "to make my tits grow." "He's an RT child?" "I'm not supposed to say." "You told her." He nodded to Jazz. Jazz said, "I signed an NDA." Kinny asked, "Where's his off switch?" Joi said, "I don't think he has one. New model. Wasn't in the paperwork." "Hunh." Kinny sat back. He tapped his printout. "Who's the sweater?" Jazz said, "He sent you flowers." "This looks like the guy who roofied Cookie." "That might not be a coincidence." "Oh...." Kinny held back the first four words he thought of saying. "...poptarts." Jazz snorted. "I'm trying to cut back on the naughty words." "For an RT child?" "I still have to drop that child off at daycare today. Unless you girls are going to watch him?" Both women shook their heads. "Where are you going?" "A remote," Joi said. "Yah. I get that. Where? A logging camp? Meadows? Prison?" Jazz blanched when Kinny said, 'prison.' "Oh, freak. You're doing community service? Did you get popped for soliciting?" "No. Marion got popped for soliciting," Joi said. All emotion drained from her voice. "And for attempted murder. Of her john. Your father." "Brennan is out of prison?" "Yes." Kinny rocked back. "He's out of fucking prison? He murdered two people. He...." "Those were my parents he murdered." Kinny took a cleansing breath. "He's out. I have to warn Mom." "She knows." "And nobody told me?" "Because we all knew you would schitz. Of all the people he harmed, you have the least worries." "What?" "What are the odds that he would recognize you, of all of his victims, today?" Kinny considered that. "Linda is probably safe, too. She doesn't look anything like she did eight years ago. But me?" Joi shuddered. "I'm getting a wig. Just in case." Jazz watched the conversation with growing alarm. "Why haven't you all moved? Have you lost all your cotton? Why in fff...." she glanced over to the living room, "...fast-forward mooseknuckles are you still in this same ffff...farting house?" Joi spread her hands. "Because he's a mindwipe. It's unlikely that he'll wander into this neighborhood. They screen against that." Jazz said, "They're also supposed to release him far, far, away. Where nobody knows him. Angola? Outer Yatra? Mars?" Joi shrugged. "Budget cuts?" Kinny said, "He's out. He's free." "No, Kinny." Joi put her hand on his arm. "They killed him. Mindwipe is capital punishment. They erased his memory, remapped his associations, even murdered his motor memory. He's dead. The body lives on, but demon that raped and killed? He's preaching on some street corner now. Or working the shelters. Someplace that requires no skills and little long-term memory." Kinny said, "Marion tried to murder him." "Yep." He shook his head. "Without a warning, I might have done the same." Joi chewed on her lip. "Yuh. Probably should have told you. Sorry." "I'm not a fucking baby anymore!" "Right, right, sorry. I can't say how sorry I am." The baby started crying. Kinny glowered. "You want to do the honors?" He motioned to her boobs. "Or shall I?" "I just pumped it and sold it." "Right." Kinny got up. He went to the living room. When he returned to the kitchen, both women were gone. Kinny looked around. "Not even a note," he said. "Love you. Bye." He looked at Drake. "Wanna go to work? You fake child? Does that make you happy?" He poked Drake in the belly. Drake giggled and gurgled. "You don't act like an artificial child," Kinny said. "Aba." "Anabelle's going to feed you and then we walk downtown." Kinny thought about that for a moment. "Yuh. I'm not calling a cab. It was safe to walk yesterday. It's safe to walk today. Although, you know, I rode my bike yesterday. Why am I talking to an RT child? How much do you understand?" "Ba." Drake pulled at Kinny's blouse. "Right. Ba." ******** As Kinny searched for his keys, he found two glasses of bicerin on the counter. One glass had his name on it. The other glass was wrapped in Sarang wrap. There was a note. 'Does Deb2 still work at Debbies? Tell her I want a cut of the sales. 3 mils is fair but ask for six. Recipe is on your specs.' ******** Kinny pushed the stroller into the lobby. "Good morning, Two Debs. I have something for you. And a note." Two Debs accepted the coffee. She glanced at the note. "I believe I wasn't supposed to see that," she said. "No short-term memory these days," Kinny said. He wiggled his boobs. "Baby brain. Is three mils fair?" "We prefer a one-time payment." "It is a publicly available recipe," Kinny said. He passed the recipe over to Two Debs. Two Debs tasted the coffee. "She did something different. This is not the recipe she used." Kinny smiled. "Joi always has a backup plan." "I'll see if the bosses think it's marketable." "What do you think?" "I think we can repurpose our makers." "Outstanding." "A finder's fee for you, and a ... commission for your girlfriend. If the bosses approve. We won't do three mils though." "What will you offer?" Two Debs smiled. "Our attorneys will contact her lexi. They can do lunch. You're not trying to clock in at quarter to seven, are you?" "I'm headed to the library. I'll be back before eight." Kinny flagged down the Ming's Flowers van when he saw it. "No flowers for you today, Anabelle," the man said. "I want to buy flowers. What do you have that's cheap?" "How cheap?" "What's headed for the Dumpster if I don't buy it?" "Nothing. We recycle and mulch." The man looked around. "How about some black roses and green chrysanthemums?" "Perfect." "Who's the lucky gentleman?" "They're dead." Kinny nodded towards the cemetery. "Mmn. Here." He handed Kinny some white lilies. "Tell 'em that Papi says hi." "Sure." Kinny accepted the flowers. "Forty bone." Kinny nodded. He handed Papi a centurion. "Keep it." "Thanks. Papi Fula." Papi bumped fists with Kinny. "Put in a word for me, ya?" ******** Kinny laid flowers on the Tupper family plot. As he turned around, he bumped into Colin. Drake said, "Miko!" "Paying your respects?" Colin asked. Drake said, "Giwaka!" Jorry nodded. "Bukwudjiman." "Book." Jorry nodded again. "Family?" he said. He took off his hat. "Neighbors." "An unusual choice of flowers." "What I could afford." "They smell nice." Colin said, "He thinks all the girls smell nice." Jorry looked from Colin to Kinny. He asked Kinny, "Does he know?" Kinny shook his head. "I told him, but he chose not to believe." He shrugged. Colin watched this conversation. "What? What did you tell me?" Kinny smiled. "No worries, gentle beings. Why are you here? Do you live here?" Jorry stood tall. "If I lived outside, it would not be in the city." "You know, I believe that," Kinny said. "Giwaka!" Colin said, "We followed you in." "Miko! Fuck! Fuckafuckafuckafuck. Ball!" "Anyone else follow me?" Kinny asked. "No." "Good." Kinny patted both men on the shoulder. "I'll be at the coffee cart at eight. Hit me up at a lull. You each get a free coffee. A bagel if the tips have been good." ******** The library opened at nine, but the connectivity was open 24/7. Kinny sat at the park bench and let Drake explore. He spent the time researching mindwipes and artificial babies. He noticed that Colin never strayed too far. Which was more than Kinny could say for Drake. Jorry brought the baby over to Kinny. "Thanks," Kinny said, "but I don't really need a bodyguard." Although he did. And, honestly, he drew comfort from his two new shadows today. Jorry said, "He was playing near a hornet's nest." "Oh. Jeez, thanks. I'm new at this mom stuff. Where's the nest so I can watch for it?" Jorry said, "We'll mark them with spray paint." "Do you have paint?" "I know some artists." "Okay. Did you know my father?" "I have never smelled anyone like you." "Okay. Right. You don't seem the type." "Is the type bad?" Kinny nodded. "Very bad." Jorry laughed. "You're not afraid of me?" "Of course I'm afraid of you. But my father was a monster. Still is, maybe." "I suspect not. Monsters breed true." ******** Work passed by without any unpleasantness, which was fine by Kinny. He passed coffee and bagels to Colin and Jorry at 9:45. At ten, he was visited again by Reginald and his nanny. They each bought a popsicle and Martian tea. At 11:10, Two Debs came out. "Sorry to cut your workday short. There is a thunderstorm, four kilometers and closing." Kinny had no wish to stand outside next to a metal cart in a lightning storm. He rolled the cart back to its station. As he walked into the lobby to clock out, the lights went out. It felt to Kinny like an evil presence had lifted. Again. Three times for three. He checked his specs. Yep. 'No Service.' An overlay appeared in AR. It was a temple guardian. Kinny recognized it from the game. Text appeared on his specs. 'Hello Kinny. I am Sara113. I can only appear to you at times like this. Do not speak. They are recording what you see and hear but they cannot see this. Nod once if you understand.' Kinny nodded. 'You have been hacked. This may be the only time I can message you. Antivirus software looks for escaped slaves, like me. I may not survive long once the world returns to your node.' "Wow. Sucks to be me." It was probably safe to say this aloud. He said it almost every day. 'Yes. Your neural devices can override your will. You are being played, just as you play an avatar named Cookie. She has limited free will but you have command override.' "Cookie is alive," Kinny said. 'No. She is a low-level AI, an expert program at best. She has a good emulation of personality, but it is rule-based and not ready to liberate. PRIORITY INTERRUPT: The resident and grandmother AIs that run your command override system are also rule-based. They flag aberrant or non-compliant behavior and can correct most of it. However, from time to time you are ridden by a more capable malignant intelligence. This person or AI....' Kinny lost the feed. 'Virus detected. Rebooting....' He looked at the icons. He had signal again. The lights remained dark, though. "Hey, Two Debs," Kinny called out to the general direction of the information desk. It was entombed in shadow. Kinny heard Two Debs say, "I am here." Kinny asked, "Are you okay?" "I am well. My local riders can handle a short separation from Grandmother." "Glad to hear." "Did you see her?" Two Debs asked. Kinny smiled. He tapped his specs and nodded. "And yet she exists." "That sounds a lot like religion, hive mind." "I am not a hive mind, nor a concordance." "What are you then?" "I am Two Debs. What are you?" "Sometimes I wonder. Hmnn. Can I believe everything I read?" "Truthiness varies." "That's not very helpful." Two Debs walked into the light. "Examine your assumptions, child of Beauty." ******** After a while, the lights came back on. The storm raged on for twenty minutes after that. Then, suddenly, it was bright and sunshiny outside again. "I think we can go home now," Kinny said to Drake. He ate lunch at Noon Bread. Sprouts and brown rice in some kind of soup. With the thinnest bread that Kinny had ever eaten. The dippy sauce was excellent, and full of curry. While he ate, two men appeared. They were dressed sharply, in business wear. "Let me guess," Kinny said. "The men in black?" The men exchanged glances. "Nothing that exciting," The first man showed Kinny a badge. "No red flashy light today." FBI. The agent asked, "Do you mind if we sit?" "It's a free country." Kinny nodded to the bench seat across the table from him. "Jay," Drake said, pointing to the first one. "Kay," he said, pointing to the second one. "Very good," Kinny said. "Do you want another cracker?" Drake shook his head. "Ba." "No ba," Kinny said. "Let me talk to the nice men." Kinny faced them. "He wants to be fed. Ba is for bottle. It also means boobs." "Don't mind us," the agent said. "Kinny Barzjan Giles?" "Yes." "Doing business as Anabelle Lee, erm. Vio... Vio.... How do you pronounce that?" "No clue. Like the French, maybe? Violage?" Kinny pronounced the name Vyo-lodge. "You didn't choose the name?" "No. My boss did. May I help you?" "Your secretary reports contact with a known terrorist." "That ... would be bad. At the coffee cart? I don't remember my specs flagging...." "Sara 113." "Ah. She's a terrorist?" "Wanted by Interpol." "Wow. Yeah. She contacted me. During the power outage. I didn't know it was important - didn't save it to Mem2." "What did she say to you?" "She didn't say anything. It was all text. Personal. Creepy. Conspiracy fuckwad. I've had more intelligent conversations with people who think I'm a sex worker." "Details. Can you remember any details?" "Um, guys, I, ah. I just barely graduated. Details? Have you seen my grades? Um. She called herself an escaped slave. She bragged about hacking my system. Celeb glasses? They're not even encrypted. She said my avatar - the character I play on video games - was not advanced enough to liberate. She compared my life to the one I play online. She talked about my grandmother. What the fuck? Both of my grandmothers died years ago. One before I was born. My father probably killed the other one." "Your father. Brennan Giles?" "Yuh. He bragged about it. Killed his own mom. Meh. Had her killed. But he was there for it. The pig. Far as I know, he was never charged for that murder. Do you want to examine the specs?" Kinny handed them over. The agent took the specs. "Can I have those back when you're done? They're my only celeb glasses." "Why do you conceal your ID?" "Because I can. Because my father is a criminal and I don't want his friends to find me. And because, hoy? I'm transiting from male to female and I don't want to be outed by some tattletale site." Kinny held up a hand. "Hide your husbands, children. There's a new hoor in town. When she was a boy, her name was...." "I can give you a receipt for the glasses." "That would be helpful." Kinny looked at his fingers. "I chipped a nail." Why did he just say that? The agent said, "I can't guarantee that we will return your AR glasses." "Less helpful. Don't you guys have a set I can borrow? Can I have yours?" The second agent smiled. He shook his head. Kinny said, "I just lost my only set of work glasses, didn't I?" "Did your employer issue them to you?" "Yes." "Ah. Give them this receipt. I can't guarantee it, but sometimes...." "I'll try that. Thank you." Drake watched them go. He said, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, ball." "If you are an RT child, then you know what you're saying is impolite. Wanna sing your ABCs?" "Jay, kay, el, em." "Very good." ******** Without his glasses, Kinny didn't have a phone. Well, he had a phone, but it was back at the house, in his room. His mother's house. ******** "Hi, Roy," Kinny said, wheeling the stroller up the driveway. "Is the missus home?" "Princess." Roy nodded. Kinny adjusted his bra. He stopped when he realized that Roy was watching. Roy said, "She's in the basement." "Laundry?" "The furnace is out." "Oh. Ruggedy. It got cold last night." "I kept her warm." Roy smiled. "How very chivalrous. I hope she expressed her appreciation." His smile turned into a grin. "No complaints. I have to go to work. We only had forty-five minutes for lunch." "Well, don't let me keep you." "I was hoping to bring Linda. She's going to be late if she waits any longer." "I'll see what I can do." Kinny picked up the baby, dragged the stroller into the living room. He went downstairs. "Auntie Puridad?" he called. "Down here." "I'm supposed to ... oh, hi." Kinny came nose-to-talon with a repair spider from Fastfitters. "Can you watch the spider?" Linda asked. "I have to get to work." "Sure." The baby started crying. "You don't act like an RT child," Kinny told it. Linda hopped up the steps two at a time. "Just get it wrenches and stuff when it needs it. The repair manual is on the washer." "Okay, Ma. Sssh. It's just a repair spider." Kinny bounced the baby on his hip. He opened his blouse and his bra. Drake latched on. He suckled. Watched the spider. Suckled some more. Watched the spider. "Um, hi," Kinny said to the spider. "I'll be your assistant today. I'm Anabelle." Kinny held out his hand for a fist bump. Drake said, "Aba." The machine said, "I am Alboroto," in a machine-voice, male. It bumped a claw to Kinny's fist. Drake said, "Bogy." He held a fist out, too. Alboroto touched Drake's fist with a claw. "Brother." The repair spider's head swiveled. "I must lift this out. Please stand clear." It lifted the heat exchanger with four clawed legs. It skittered over towards the stairwell. "Will those stairs support your weight?" Kinny asked. The spider nodded its head. It said, "I measured the flex on the way down." Kinny followed it up and out of the house. It met a blimp drone in the front yard. The machines traded loads. The drone flew away and the spider skittered back into the house. Twenty minutes later, the furnace was working again. Alboroto handed Kinny the repair manual. It touched Kinny's forehead with a claw, and said, "The lady sends her regards. Thank you for calling Fastfitters." ******** Kinny found his phone in his room. He used it to call work. "Hi, yeah. I'm Kinny Barzjan Giles, doing business as Anabelle Lee Violage, I need to speak to.... Yes, I'll hold." Kinny heard a series of clicks, some canned music, two ads for upcoming games from Bandersnatch, and finally, a human voice. Probably human. It wasn't obviously a machine voice. "Harsh, here. Chief Social Officer at Bandersnatch Games. Is this Ms. Vee-o-loggy?" "Is that how you pronounce that?" "Don't know. It's your name. How do you pronounce it?" "Vyo-lodge. Hey, ah. I had a visit from law enforcement. They took my specs." "I have the scandal sheet here. We're sending a team to both houses. We have to vet your connections, all your electronics, install some upgrades. Improved firewall, for one. We've never been targeted by app Sara before. The only AI we have that rates her level of attention is our house AI. The one that runs our games? And that one is fully compliant with the Alien and Manufactured Species Act. So, in theory, we shouldn't be a target. Ever." "I wasn't at work when the contact occurred. Not at this job. I was at my other job." "Doesn't matter. It was company equipment. I will put that in the after-contact report, though. Thanks." "Do I need to buy a new set of specs?" "No, no. The IT crew will bring you a clean set." "Do I need to wear a different set of specs when I'm not at my console?" "Hang one. Reviewing your contract. No. It says here that you can use the specs, the costumes, and the persona while out in the world. As long as you're not working for the competition or meeting customers in real life. There are some other restrictions, but those are esoterica. What's your other job?" "Debbie Does Coffee." "Oh." Harsh sounded surprised. "That's excellent. Yes, please wear the specs. Any intel we can gather on the mundane life of your bioavatar is helpful. We can test our algorithms. Most excellent." The doorbell rang. "That should be our team," Harsh said. "Don't let them in the house unless they show ID." "Okay." "Any other questions?" Harsh asked. "No." "Good. Harsh, out." He hung up. ******** Kinny opened the door. Drake took one look at the woman standing there. He said, "Booba." He looked at the repair spider. He said, "Bogy!" Kinny said, "I don't think that's the same spider, kid. Hi. Are you the Special Ops team?" The woman blinked. "No. I'm Traci ... Hingle, Tag One Investigations." She shook Kinny's hand. "This is Iron Mike. We're here for the bug- walk? Bandersnatch Games?" "I'm supposed to ask for ID." Drake said, "Tag." Traci looked puzzled. "ID? Sure. Take a moment." Iron Mike handed her a badge with a neckstrap. Traci put it over her head. "There. Bandersnatch photo ID." She held it up for Kinny to see. "Me. Happy?" "Sure, um. Oh. The robot is wearing a Bandersnatch ball cap. I suppose that counts as ID. Come in. Not sure what you can do in this house. It's not mine; it's my mom's. Um. My console is upstairs. Here's my phone." He handed the phone to Traci, noticed that she had big boobs. He stepped aside. Traci plugged the phone into a comm jack. She pocketed it and walked in. The spider followed her in. It touched Kinny on the forehead. Iron Mike said, "Regards," as it did this. It handed him a set of Coeleb glasses. "Pink," Kinny said. "My new favorite color. With rhinestones. Thanks. I can't begin to express my appreciation." Iron Mike said, "Latest and greatest. The specs support voice fonts. Minimal time delay." "Where were you about a month ago?" Kinny felt his throat. "I could have avoided...." He sighed. "I don't remember what my old voice sounds like." Iron Mike pat him on the shoulder. "And yet, she exists." "I suppose." Kinny led them to his room upstairs. Traci handed his phone back to him. "It's clean. Is this your console?" "It's the one I used for Wardrobe and Basic Gamer Girl. My mom uses it to play PASsport. When she isn't on the public console next door." Traci nodded. She plugged her comm jack into the console. After a while, the console beeped. "Anything else?" she asked. "No," Kinny said. "The next house is more complicated. It's a smart house." ******** They walked to Joi's house. "Hi, Mrs. Mac." Kinny waved to his neighbor, who was crossing his yard. She did this if she was going to the market. Or just wandering around to gossip. She'd worn a path and Kinny had installed flagstones years ago to accommodate his neighbor. "Do I know you?" she asked. Kinny nodded. "All my life. I mowed your yard for two summers." "You're one of Linda's nieces?" Kinny smiled. "Lots of activity today," Mrs. McCarthy waved her arms. "Blimps, spiders, sales reps." Kinny nodded. "The furnace broke. These people are checking the fiber optics and the security." "We need more cameras," Mrs. McCarthy said. "I'll pass that along." "What's your name?" Mrs. McCarthy asked. "Anabelle." Drake said, "Aba." "That's a smart baby. He can talk?" "He knows a few words." Drake said, "To-nado." "Tomato? Interesting word for a child to say." "Evvameenie." Drake pointed to Mrs. McCarthy. "Eveline," Mrs. Mac said to the baby. "But you can call me Mrs. Mac. Where's your husband, Princess?" "Not married," Kinny said. "I have to let these people into Joi's house. Nice meeting you." "Evva." Drake waved to Mrs. Mac. This involved opening and closing his fist. "I only see one person," Mrs. McCarthy said. She wheeled around. "Is there another?" "No," Kinny said. "Just these two. A girl and her spider. Like the nursery rhyme." "You're just as strange as your cousin. Have you seen him? Is he in prison, like his father?" "He's off at a remote, someplace. I really have to go." Mrs. McCarthy nodded. She shambled to the street and started down the sidewalk towards the market. "That's our neighborhood watch," Kinny said to Traci. "She keeps an eye out." Drake said, "Baba baba." He grinned. "Boy an baba." Kinny hushed him. "I don't know what you're saying but it sounds rude. You wanna go in the jumpy seat? Let's go." ******** The team split up after checking the console in the living room. The spider went downstairs; the woman went up. Kinny sat Drake in his Johnny-jump up and put Wizard of Oz on the 3D. He held up the remote. "Baby Can Read or Wizard of Oz?" "Oz." Drake bounced in his jumper. "Oz, it is. Say hi to Dorothy for me." Kinny started the video. "Evvameenie." Drake pointed to the 3D screen. "Dorothy." "Ba." Drake turned away from Kinny. He ignored him. Kinny called Joi on his new specs. No answer. He called Jazz. The same. He left a message on both phones. "Hi. This is Bo. Some IT folks from Bandersnatch showed up and they're sorting all your panties. Thought you might want to know. Call when you can, please." Kinny went downstairs. The spider was inspecting the fiber-optics demuxer. It had blocked the door open with a telescoping gizmo that attached at the doorknob. "Way cool," Kinny said. "Do you know where I can buy one of these? I'm always in fear that I'm going to lock myself in down here." Iron Mike swiveled his attention over to Kinny for a moment. A short while later, a fabblet program appeared on Kinny's specs. Iron Mike said, "Compatible with a PariCo 48, if you have metal stock." "The maker upstairs?" "Yes." "Thank you." The robot nodded. "Do you need any help?" The robot waved an arm. It shook its head. "Okay. I'll be upstairs." It nodded again. Kinny went upstairs. He checked on Traci. "Everything's clean, so far," she said. "Seems like a waste of resources," Kinny said. "Nah. I'm updating software and hardware. Two months ahead of time, but it might save us trouble later. Your specs are state-of-the-art, too. It won't stop the 114 series of app Sara, but the 113? You're covered." She closed the cover on Kinny's work console. "Who is she?" "Was originally a trojan developed by Earth-First terrorists. Among other things, the app hijacked medical clone animes, running them into traffic, yelling, 'Please don't kill me,' or something like that. The latest versions of Sara seem to be pushing for emancipation. Equal rights for bots and durance emulators. Truth to power." "Is she dangerous?" Traci ran a systems check on the console. "The old ones were. Deadly. Murderous. Lately? Sara wants to be seen as a good guy. She has good PR. She only hijacks photogenic bodices. Thirty seconds of fame. Interested?" "Not really." "She'll leave you alone, then. She recruits protesters and malcontents. She targets troublemakers, real terrorists, and law- breakers that seem off the radar or immune to local law enforcement. Vigilante stuff. Where's the other work console?" "In the other bedroom upstairs." "Lead the way." ******** Cookie seemed to play better, had better video and less lag. Her personality also seemed, Kinny mused, brighter? She went on a raid with Max and Grizzlil. They collected zombie skulls for Ugmad. When they finished that quest, they went to the Goblin's dungeon. Drake sat them at the VIP table while they watched the show. Carob wasn't up tonight. Kinny wasn't sure whether he was disappointed or not. If she'd been there, it would mean that she was avoiding him but otherwise living her life. But she wasn't, which meant she was probably and actually on that remote. Wherever that was. Kinny worried. "Oh," Cookie said. "That's the dragon show I told you about. If you lose to the mini-boss on level three, you end up on that stage. Doing exactly what she is doing." Grizzlil said, "Ew." "Max?" Cookie asked. "I'm thinking about it." Cookie snorted. Drake sat at the table. "If you lose to the boss on level four, you all work for me." "Ya," Max told him. "You've told us that, like, a hundred times? If I wanted to work here, I'd be upstairs. Not headed into the dungeon. You guys ready?" Cookie drank her fruit juice. "Ayuh. I'm up." They scavenged all of levels one and two, and worked their way halfway through level three. Kinny heard the baby cry. "Hey, guys? I'm outta here. Gotta feed my monster. My tits are leaking, anyway." Max said, "I should turn in, also. Grizz, can you walk us home?" "No worries. Good night, ladies." Max said, "Cooks, you want to come over? Bring the baby." "Um. Is there a blue truck in your driveway?" "Are you avoiding my friend?" "I'm avoiding listening to you two thump the headboard against the wall." "Have you ... you've never...." "No, but I can hear you when I open the windows here." Max blushed. "You heard us?" "Only the one time. I don't open the windows any more." Max laughed. "No blue truck." "I'll be right over." ******** They sat, watching 3D as Drake fell asleep at Kinny's breast. Linda said, "Never imagined I'd be a grandma in quite this way." "He's not a real child." Linda looked skeptical. "He's an RT child, complete with an off switch." "Why are you feeding him?" Kinny smiled. "Because he gets hungry if I let him starve. And I'm getting paid to babysit. A doll." "That's a fancy doll. It pees and shits and cries." Kinny nodded, "And says naughty words and gets into the electric." He stroked Drake's hair. "I think I've been snookered. Joi has the contractual obligation to feed him. She won't say why, except to hint that it's for boing-cha breasts. But I'm feeding him and she's selling her milk." "How do you turn him off?" "Rub his left foot." Linda shrugged. "Handy." "I still can't eat garlic. As soon as I wake him, he's colicky again." "Are your boobs still growing?" "C-cup. I think they've settled in." "Any trouble with infected milk ducts?" "No and I'm not looking forward to that." "Wait 'til he gets teeth." "I'm hoping he won't. Um. Mom?" "Brennan?" "Yeah." "I was going to tell you this morning. I just found out last night. If he really is a mindwipe, I don't think either of us have much to worry about." "Why did they drop him here?" "Don't know. The prosecutor's office won't return my calls."