00101O1 Automata_ 19

_AUTHOR'S_NOTE_

This is part 19 of my first SciFi story, '_Automata'. It is the story of a girl, who has been captured by machines during a global robot apocalypse. See 'Girls Submission to AI in Latex.' for the beginning.

__PREVIOUSLY__

Split off from Jenny and the others, Kim escaped Sovereign's tower. Her collar is running out of power and the auto-destruct countdown timer means she does not have long to live unless she can get the collar off.

All characters are over 18 years of age; please respect the author's copyright.

__CAMP

Kim stirred from a deep slumber as Dorian roused her from her rest. The rhythms of the day had shifted, leaving her out of sync with the natural daylight hours, and she felt weary and drained. The meager sustenance she had been given was enough to send her into a heavy, dream-filled sleep, and she awoke with a jarring sense of disorientation. Time had passed, and fragments of her vivid dreams still lingered in her mind, casting a surreal haze over her waking hours. Kim stirred from her deep slumber on the rough camp bed in the underground survivor camp. The mattress was thin and lumpy, and the thin blanket offered little warmth against the chill of the subterranean air. The walls of the cramped shelter were rough and jagged, casting flickering shadows across the dimly lit space. The stale air was heavy with the scent of sweat and mildew,

In the midst of this unsettling state, Dorian stood, bearing the first battery that Oliver had delivered.

"The others have said they don't want us staying here. I'm being told I have to take you out," Dorian said, uncomfortably. He then handed over a battery. "Oliver charged this up for you. He went out to charge another, and said to go without him if he didn't come back. So, it sounds like we're off to Noe Valley."

Kim checked her battery power, and saw that she was at only eight percent, which wasn't good. Dorian helped her by plugging in Oliver's battery to charge it. He was nervous about being so close to the explosive collar, as the other refugees had told him stories about them. At first, the machines had put collars on people who surrendered to them, so they could take over whole neighborhoods without leaving forces behind to occupy an area. People were left to go about their business as normal, but in secret, they tried to form a resistance. They experimented with removing collars, which created 'a great deal of mess,' and killed both slaves and those using an angle grinder to undo them.

Relieved that they were leaving, the survivors had donated more food to Kim for breakfast. They looked at her slick catsuit and total obedience to Dorian with horror, seeing her as a warning about what they would become if captured. Many promised themselves a quick death, a few others moved uneasily. With that, Dorian and Kim set out early in the morning, following Oliver's map.

__RUINS

The way was long. They hid from drones, crawled down streets, took long routes to travel simple distances to avoid known snipers. People had left markers to indicate the locations of new sniper points, and Dorian led the way. This had turned a simple journey into a complex and tense one. Eventually, they carefully climbed up some rubble before a burnt-out building.

"You hold it right there!" The voice emerged from the air. "Hands above your heads."

Both Kim and Dorian stopped.

"Luis? Luis Hernandez?" Dorian said, "Oliver sent me."

"I don't know anyone by that name," the voice shouted.

Dorian looked at Kim and then back. "Luis, is that you? Oliver said he left you with some shells for your forty-five. Oliver. Tall guy. Tigers t-shirt, remember?"

"Not saying who I am," the voice shouted. "Found some convincing androids a few weeks ago. How do I know you're not one?"

Dorian turned back to the voice. "Look Luis, the guy I was told about was a watchmaker, who could take a collar off a slave. She's just survived escaping from one of them, and she has one of those collars on her. I don't want anything for myself, I just want to get her collar deactivated. Battery down to less than ten percent."

There was a pause.

"Okay. Here's what I want. She comes up, and you got any food?"

Dorian nodded, hands still up. "Some."

"She comes up with all the food. Everything you got. I'll have a look. You stay back there. I see you move, I kill her then you. You got me?"

Dorian looked to Kim. "Yeah, yeah, I guess."

Dorian muttered to himself, "All the food? Are you fucking crazy? You don't even know it's him."

Dorian looked over to Kim. "EchoEight, you go up the path. The man there will help you. You do what he says, okay?"

He handed over the rucksack after taking a few items out.

"This slut hears and obeys," Kim said.

"You don't have to say that," Dorian said, as Kim walked ahead.

"Okay, mister. You, back down the trail." The voice said, "I'll tell you when I'm done."

__The Watchmaker__

Kim walked up the path and was eventually coaxed off it by a hairy, bearded man who looked to be in a terrible state. The derelict apartment didn't look much better. He looked fairly slim and muscular; all that time shifting rubble to form a fortress had been a good workout. The room was filled with junk, not just survival junk. A few mechanical clocks stood around the room, all telling a different time. Kim couldn't figure out what that meant. The man nervously held a handgun on Kim and felt around her, demanding she open her mouth.

"You look genuine," he said, taking the food parcel Kim had arrived with. Still holding the gun, he looked in the trendy climbing rucksack he had been given, and pulled an energy bar out. He ate it. "Hands on the table," he said, pointing at the desk he had been at recently. Kim complied and found her neck being prodded by the same.

"Bad news. I reckon you have about ninety minutes to live," the man said, looking at a meter. "Good news, I can stop it."

"Save this slut," Kim said.

Half of her still believed this was some kind of test. The other was beginning to think it was real. Her instincts were to obey, but if he could remove the collar, then it was real.

"I said I can, but what do I get?" the man said. "You got any more food on you?"

"This slut has nothing. You have all the food," Kim said, nervously.

The man looked. "Thing is, I know how to fix you. I was shown how to do this by the guy who figured it out. He would help you, no doubt, for free. He's not far away, ten maybe fifteen minutes. He helped every slave he could, right? The problem is, he hasn't got any hands anymore. Getting the collar disabled ain't easy and can kill you, but worse, it could fuck up my hands. So like I said, what do I get?"

"This slut has nothing," Kim said.

The man looked, "You're not getting me. You've been trained. Trained pretty good, I hear. What do I get?"

Kim looked surprised. "You fuck this slut?" she said.

"Now you get me," the man said.

"This slut will obey," she said, turning to get the collar off.

"No, no, no," the man said. "We fuck first. Then I fix your collar."

"Ninety minutes," Kim said.

The man waved his hand. "Eighty, now bit less."

"Collar off, Fuck this slut," Kim said.

"Fuck, then collar, or no deal," the man insisted. "Remember, you could be dead at the end. I could lose fingers or hands. I'm doing you the favour."

"No collar off, this slut will end," Kim said nervously, looking at him.

The man stood there doing nothing. Time was ticking away. All she could hear was the sound of all the clocks all ticking around him.

"The slut will obey; fuck this slut," Kim said.

"Good girl. You got it in one. Now up there. Legs wide open," he said, indicating the table.

Kim got up on the table. "You want 43?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's right, 43. Whatever you call it."

Kim climbed up on the table. She noticed a rag and grabbed it to clean the dust from her slave clothes. It made her look more presentable. The Watchmaker pulled his trousers down. His white flesh was paler, his body thinner, bruised, and scratched. His dick, a shade of darker brown, was sticking out of a mass of hair. Kim's skin crawled, not because of the sex, but because she knew he would have fleas and all kinds of diseases. She unzipped her crotch to show the red latex sheath. The man put his hands on her breasts.

"They sure give you girls good titties," he said.

Using one hand to steady herself, Kim grabbed the man's dick with the other. She played with his manhood, feeling it grow and getting stiffer. She hoped if she did it enough, he might come outside her. She had had enough male-sluts for the machines to know what to do. It was strange fucking a man who had a face. The Watchmaker's beard was freaking her out slightly.

Kim felt like she was out of sync. She desperately needed a fuck. She was horny as hell, and had been for the last few hours. In the tower, machines made her cum relentlessly; they hadn't just fucked her, they had forced her to develop a hard orgasm. She couldn't explain this to Dorian. It was a monster inside her, feeding on her senses, a sleeping dragon which when awakened, would turn her flesh into a delicious fire. It needed regular offerings.

"Turn over," the Watchmaker said.

Kim lay on her stomach, and she lifted her ass in the air. She could imagine a firm robot behind her. The Watchmaker's dick entered her.

"Oh god, that's good," he announced, pushing inside her.

It was enough for Kim. She was desperate and turned on. The Watchmaker grabbed her hips, and pulled himself deeper into her. This was enough to get her lust juices working. The Watchmaker was pushing up into the condom built into the suit. Holding her left buttock tightly, he slammed into her. Kim's whole body shifted when he pushed. He only managed to thrust a few times, before she was ready.

"Master, may this slut cum," she said, to indicate her readiness.

She knew she wouldn't be able to cum without permission.

"Oh fuck it, you're beautiful," the Watchmaker said.

Kim became aware of the time. This could be her last fuck. She started to try to move her hips in time with his.

"Oh fuck, this is good," the Watchmaker added, and started to accelerate his hips. "Oh yeah. Do it. Do it. Do it now," the Watchmaker said, cumming into Kim.

It was enough for Kim; she allowed the dragon to take control of her body and shine like a sunrise within. The Watchmaker came too, and left himself inside her for a minute.

"Oh shit," the Watchmaker said, still deep inside her. He held still for a minute. "Okay," he added, pulling out. They both caught their breath.

___COUNT DOWN__

"Sit over there." The Watchmaker nodded towards a chair. Kim sat down, as he pulled a out laptop, which had been connected to a battery, over to them.

"Okay, tilt your head over, as far as you can. I need to get to the inside," Luis said.

Kim pushed her head over, and the Watchmaker reached down with a tool, sticking his finger between her neck and the metal ring. "This is like giving birth. It's all to do with touch," the Watchmaker said, looking away. Kim felt him push some metal probe down between the tight gap. "That's the bit that talks to your head. This bit is one of the electroshock pads, the body monitor. No, this is the body monitor. This is the mute bits..."

The more Luis moved his hands, the more Kim started choking. "Okay, here it is. Big breath now, whatever you do don't move," he said, pushing hard into the space between the ring and her neck. The ring started to choke her, and Kim couldn't breathe.

"Come here, you, fucker," Luis said, working hard with both hands.

Kim tried to breathe, but could only let out a strained wheeze. She could feel the Watchmaker's hands working on her collar.

"Yes... no... come on," he muttered, as he nearly broke her neck. His fingers pushed hard into her flesh, and Kim felt like she wouldn't be able to hold on. She pointed and waved wildly, trying to signal for him to stop.

"Nearly there. Nearly there. Hold still," the Watchmaker said, continuing his work, while Kim started to tap him. She felt like she couldn't continue, her lungs burning with the effort of trying to breathe. "Yeah!" Luis exclaimed, pulling his fingers away. Kim could feel the cold contacts next to her skin, and she inhaled badly, like a pearl diver coming out of deep water. As she tried to catch her breath, she saw some cables going from her neck to a laptop a few feet away.

The Watchmaker rolled a lump of concrete hanging from a clothes rack between Kim and himself. He cracked his fingers. "Okay, now for the easy bit," he said, typing on the laptop. After a few minutes, he paused. "What's your name?" he asked.

"EchoEight," Kim said.

"What was your name before?" he asked.

"Echo... K... K..." she choked. The aversion therapy had done its work. She couldn't form the words. In truth, she didn't want to. Her old name felt revolting in her mouth; she just wanted to spit it out in disgust.

The Watchmaker looked behind the screen. "Yeah, a lot of you have that. Some worse than others," he said, then went back to work.

"Hey, Watchmaker, how's it going? You finished?" Dorian shouted from outside.

"Shut the door, Dorian!" The Watchmaker called back, not looking up from his work. He continued working on Kim's device, with his focus solely on the laptop screen in front of him.

"And shut the fuck up!" the Watchmaker shouted back, "I'm working." It didn't take long, but he checked the screen. "Okay, you can come in," the Watchmaker said, getting up and unlocking the door, "but leave any guns outside."

Dorian came in a few minutes later, hands up in the air. The Watchmaker held a gun on Dorian, while he made sure Dorian was unarmed.

"Now, that's better," the Watchmaker said, going back to Kim and tapping on the screen. "Okay, it's done. Five million seconds. I've pushed the timer to five million, okay? That is as far as it goes. The hack is to reset the collar, then connect up. You can't do much, but you can tell it how long before the geofence timer goes off. I've set it to five million seconds so you have got enough time to find someone who knows what they are doing. If not, come back, I'll do another five million. But I want another one of these."

He picked up a can of spam and waved it to make the point.

"Collar off?" Kim said.

The Watchmaker shook his head. "That's a bear trap," he said. "I've reset it, but you've got to keep charging it up every night. You've got to find someone with the tech skills, someone with bomb-disposal skills. I hear what's left of the military can do it. It's hard, though. You don't find collars lying around. They don't come off people, and if they do, then they are in tiny bits. You're going to have to keep that IED around your neck until you find the army," the Watchmaker said. "Remember, five million seconds. Then it needs resetting."

"You're safe," Dorian said. "That's the important thing."

Kim looked at him, wondering if he wanted the same payment as the Watchmaker.

"Hey," the Watchmaker said. "You can have this. Actually, you're going to need this."

He handed over a cable that had been hacked to another, with frayed ends and tape over strands.

"I made it for someone else. They won't need it now. You can have it," the Watchmaker continued. "They restored the power weeks ago. Find a mains plug, and you should be okay."

"Thanks," Dorian said, then took a deep breath. "So what now? I don't think the collective is happy having her around. Is there somewhere she can go?"

The Watchmaker looked over. "She needs an army camp. You know San Bruno? It's near the airport. I heard there is a camp or a pickup point, or something. I can't offer you much. You could try there. If not, there used to be people near San Andreas Lake and the hills beyond."

Dorian looked suspicious. "You're not going yourself?"

The Watchmaker shrugged. "They don't seem to be too fussed about one or two people. Too much work. I reckon if there are a lot of people, then they think it's worth a trip. Joining a big group sounds good, but I think I have better chances on my own."

The Watchmaker looked around and let out a breath. "The ones who used to turn up, were like us with collars. She's not the first I've seen they've done this to. The rest, well, they are disappearing. You don't see kids or many people. I don't know what the machines are doing. Maybe it's time for me to move on. Maybe there are others I can help. Perhaps there will be more like her. As long as I get food, I'm okay. I'll stay here, where it is safe. Sorry, I don't get to talk much."

Dorian looked around. He didn't want such a long-winded response. It was clear that the collective would not allow Kim and himself back, if she had a collar still on.

"Listen, if some guy named Oliver comes along, and asks about us going to this San Bruno place, can you tell him we went there? It's only a five-minute car ride, but it might take a day or two to get there by foot, hiding and looking for food and stuff," Dorian asked.

The Watchmaker nodded. "Sure. Go through the state park and stick to the trees. It's safer. Watch out for cars; most have died, but some are still tracking people down. Stay off the streets."

"Thanks," Dorian said walking out.

__END OF LINE__

Thanks to KSato for excellent proofreading. Join us next time for Chapter 20 with Jenny and Kayla.

In case your wondering everything you read has been written by human(s). AI writing software will not write erotica or violence or plots yet.