Giants Of Mars (2 page)

L
EVEL
S
ERENE

Lexis climbed out of her regeneration chamber and bare footedly stepped on to the soft-carpeted floor; her toes sunk into the long shag, tickling her senses. Momentarily, she analytically peered out of the room’s large glass window; soft morning light crept through the forest canopy, softly yielding a soothing glow. Early morning’s artificial weather generated a brisk but gentle wind that caused cedars’ branches to creak and sway. Also, large ferns and other undergrowth species rustled in a dance of life. Level 7 living offered a serene and calm setting unseen by any other descending levels, and the Earth’s barren surface had not seen such natural beauty in thousands of years.

Walking within the glass and timber house, her footsteps were easily masked by the simulated climate outside; and after entering his bedroom, the frosted glass-door quietly shut behind her, producing a muffled whistling hum from the slightly negative pressure the barrier triggered.

The early ambient light gave rise to as many visual dead zones, as not. And her eyes were naturally drawn to his darkly lit silhouette, dividing the bed; darkened portions of the half uncovered man seemed to have just melted away into the shadows and folds. Innately he stretched out from between sheets, draped his arms around a supple appearing pillow.  She gazed upon his smoothly profiled curvature, and imagined him slowly thrusting out of the bed, taking hold of her like a sexual god.

New systems modification caused a spike in her sexual excitement, and although calculating at the highest of functions, her powerful neural network could not keep in check her overactive thoughts. Hardly making a noise, Lexis sat down in the bedside chair and watched the now partially naked man sleep. His rhythmic breathing soothed her consciousness and she wondered,
“Will this man ever love me the way I love him?”

Jason’s eyelids wiggled side to side in a display of rapid eye movement. His body began to twitch aggressively as his REM sleep accelerated. Suddenly, a strange pain pierced into her chest.  A pain like no other before, and with the knot of a woman, she continued thinking,
“It hurts to love someone so much, and not feel a return in the same love.”

“What’s wrong, Lexis?” Jason said after stirring from his dream.

“You were thinking of her in your sleep again?”

Jason tiredly pondered at the question and realized the situation required his full attention; he smoothly turned over from prone and sat up against the headboard, exposing his torso as the white sheet fell to his waist. She excitedly noticed the early morning light glistening off his rippled abs.

Jason shook his head yes, and wondered if the kinases of her neural cells were evolving.

“How did you figure that out, Lexis?”

“I am not sure but call it a woman’s intuition.”

“More like extrasensory perception,”
he thought before saying, “Is this something new since your upgrade?”

“Yes, I have a stronger sense of what people might be thinking but mostly when the human mind is relaxed in a state of subconsciousness, such as sleep.”

“Well, can you be more specific about what I was dreaming about?” Jason inquisitively asked.

“You were running down a long corridor, chasing after the killers who murdered your wife and child.” She paused momentarily when Jason flinched. She continued. “You shot at them. All escaped except but one, and when you turned over the dead man who lay in his own blood, you screamed out, Rafe.”

In a state of disbelief, Jason’s reaction denoted a pin dropping silence.

Lexis then asked, “What is a Rafe?”

“Rafe was my brother, Lexis,” he sullenly replied.

“Did he kill your wife and child?”

“No. Yes.” Jason rubbed his forehead briskly.

“I do not understand the answer, Jason.”

“It’s very painful to talk about. Can we please talk about this subject later, maybe when I’m more awake?”

“Yes, Jason,” Lexis calmly replied.

Jason wiped away the eye matter in the corner of his eyes, and took a good hard look at Lexis before he asked, “Did you change your hair color?”

“Yes I did,” she said with a willful smile, and continued, “Thank you for noticing, Jason.”

Jason watched Lexis run her thin fingers through her jet-black hair.
“How could I not, from suicide blonde, to dark angry brown over night,”
he insensitively thought, before flatteringly saying, “Looks very nice on you. And may I ask how you did that?”

“My combat upgrade gives me the ability to change appearance for covert operations but I did it just for fun.”

“I’m learning something new, about the new you, every day, Lexis… Are you thinking about the mission?”

“No, but I was considering how you and I are more alike than you might think.” She philosophically spoke.

“I can see the commonality in our situation, Lexis.” Jason tried to keep the conversation on a professional level.

“How did you find out your wife and child died?” Lexis deliberately pushed the painful subject again.

“Wow, that’s such a big question for me, Lexis.”

“I know it has been over a hundred-twenty years since their tragic deaths but I want to know more about how you felt,” she said empathically.

Sidestepping the question, Jason asked, “Let’s talk about that later today.”

“The point I am trying to make, Jason…is that we both have no family, and we have only each other. We share nearly all the same memories. Maybe through my upgrades, they are far more fresh in my mind than in yours, but they are still there.”

Jason had not heard Lexis speak with such angst and tenderness before.

“I think we need to get some more sleep, Lexis… why don’t you crawl in bed with me.” Jason slid over in the bed but kept the sheet tight up against his body; she gently eased up against him. Spooning her, Jason could not hide his sudden excitement when her warm body molded perfectly next to his. The DNA level upgrade he received was causing his testosterone to surge like an adolescent. “I’m sorry, Lexis.” Jason embarrassingly spoke.

“Don’t be,” she responded when feeling his erection bulge near the crease of her nethermost; she then arched her back pressing her recess hard against him. Jason was conflicted because of his vow to never have sex with a Synthetic Person but Lexis was so inviting, and being so engorged by the tremendous amount of hormones that coursed throughout his body, he silently protested. Albeit, he consented to her advances when she reached behind and embraced her touch with aching excitement. At intervals, she pulsated and squeezed him, and it did not take long until he began to throb heavily. Moaning deeply, he dampened the fabric between them with his warm essence. And after he fell asleep, where his arms remained wrapped around her, she felt a warm sensation fill her heart; quite opposite of the pain she felt earlier. Jason’s chest fell and rose with slumberous predictability when the strange painful feeling returned to her chest. The pain was nearly overwhelming, and a need to escape was foremost on her mind. Lexis’s main protocol was to never leave her post, and to obey her Captain’s command but some overriding process internally conflicted with her programming. The feelings she was experiencing towards Jason made her want to run has far away as possible to escape, but at the same time, she could not get enough of him. Quietly, she slid out of his arms, momentarily gazed upon his body before running out of the house into the dark forest.

The artificial sky brightened above the redwood forest but the thick foliaged canopy hardly budged an inch in giving up any direct light, besides the occasional patch of sunshine on the deceivingly flat forest floor; actually it was choked with layers of fallen trees, providing a nutrient rich environment for vegetation.

Despite her great strength, she slightly struggled climbing over the natural obstacles. Nonetheless, she accepted the challenge, and nearly chuckled at how soft the ferns felt rubbing against her thighs. She excitingly pushed deeper into the forest as the angsty pain dissipated.

Lexis scanned for the fauna that was rumored to run wild but to no avail, there was no one sign. However, she was curious about the periphery of the underground level, so she hastily set a course for exploration.

She came along a running brook that babbled over smooth boulders, and her internal sensors detected small fish swimming in its dark pools, and crayfish shrouded themselves in the sable recesses. A chorus of chirping frogs loudly displayed nature’s aquatic mating songs.

Walking upstream, she followed the meandering water until pausing at a large pool at the base of a stone cliff, marking the edge of Level 7. Impulsively, she jumped in the tranquil waters and swam under the descending waterfall. The effects of the cooling waters seemed to wash away any thoughts of her new life. She was struggling with becoming more human-like every day. Swimming in the serene waters only created a fleeting moment for her, when the angst resurfaced. Strangely, all she could do was think about returning to Jason now.

Lexis climbed out of the pool after slicking back her dark hair, pulled down on the wet clothing that tautly clung to her body, and put the water’s edge to her back.

On the way back, she carefully avoided the finely built homes that were neatly tucked into the landscape. She did not realize her military programing caused her to move unseen. Lexis only knew she was enjoying the exploration around her new home.

The nightgown had nearly dried off when she walked out of the tree line, and on to the lawn besieging her home. With a smile on her face, she paused wiggling her toes in the thick grass when she playfully giggled out loud.

A voice boomed out interrupting her fun. “You best use the hose, around the side, to clean the filth off before you step inside.” Sam, the Synthetic House Assistant pointed in the direction of the spigot.

Cleaning the dirt off was easy but
“Dealing with that bossy Synthetic is getting on my nerves,”
she thought after entering through the kitchen.

“I see how you are always gawking at him, and I notice how you obsess over his flesh.” Sam spoke harshly.

“Are you spying on me?” Lexis questioned, and watched him place Jason’s breakfast on the table.

Every home on Level 7 came with a Synthetic House Assistant, and it seemed, Sam was threatened by Lexis.

Giving her a dirty look, he poured steaming coffee into a mug. “I don’t have to spy, your obvious nature gives you away.”

With a contemptible lift of the chin, Lexis irritably responded. “You should mind your own business, Sam.”

“He will never love you because you are not human. You are not a real person, and you need to be reminded of your Synthetic place, Lexis.”

“You point out something that is obsolete, and you will never understand because of your simple neural programming,” Lexis responded dismissively.

Although she was hiding the fact that she was now experiencing the same onset of pain in her chest as earlier, she would not let Sam know. Or give him the satisfaction that he had triggered any kind of response.

“Maybe Sam’s right, maybe he will never love me.”
All she wanted to do now was run away again.

Ignoring Sam’s rude glares and condemning eye movements, Lexis sat down at the table. There she logically analyzed her inexplicable pain in silence; she ran several redundant internal diagnostic tests but could find nothing wrong physically.
“It must be metaphysical. Damn upgrade.”

“Good morning, Mister Bjorn.” Sam’s spoken words hummed with a distinct refinery of someone of his status. He pulled the slim backed chair out for Jason.

Ignoring Sam, Jason could not take his eyes off of her while sitting down.

“Are you ready for our big day, Lexis?” he asked with a smile.

“I am looking forward to returning to the Chameleon, Jason.”

“It must’ve been a little boring around here not having the ability to access the Skin,” he said shifting his gaze out at the beautiful redwood forest; the house exterior was almost entirely made of glass; giving floor to ceiling views in every room.

“Yes, I have felt naked without a constant portal to the Polaris Information System,” Lexis replied.

On the contrary, Jason loved being unplugged from the Polaris Skin, and he was at ease with himself in the tranquil setting of Level 7.

“It’s only human to feel vulnerable.” Jason accidently spoke as if she was human; momentarily an uncomfortable silence gripped the dining room as Jason picked at his eggs.

“I went on a walk this morning where I came across a beautiful waterfall.”

“A waterfall?”

“I would like to take you there some day.”

“Sir, Mister Spline is in the queue.” Sam interrupted their conversation, and placed a Scroll Pad on the table.