Forbidden Play on Phoenix Colony

Chapter One

Kimmy

The triple suns of KELT-4Ab were relentless, even inside the shielded laboratory structures. Heat and U.V. radiation poured over the planet from every angle except from underneath. I likened it to ocean waves KELT-4Ab is only the fourth known system to contain three stars. Of these, KELT-A is the brightest host star, not only because it is hotter than the ones in the other three systems but also because it lies so close to Earth — only 680 light-years away.

As a Kelleac Integrated Intelligence Medic or K.I.M. A.I. Android, my skeletal structure was designed to handle extreme temperatures. However, it was an oversight on my company’s part to install sweat glands and features in my model with such acute anatomical correctness. But no expense was spared by the “Corporation” to make us appear more humanlike than any other A.I. android on the entire market.

Most species not native to the planet’s intense light had to wear protective film coverings over their entire body. Even Doctor Adam Evans (my employer) had followed this particular protocol and covered himself with the skintight cling wrap despite his complaint that it gave him “a bitch of a butt rash.”

Usually, he wouldn’t bother with such precautions and would barge right out of the ship to help an ailing patient without the proper sheath.

I suspected the doctor’s compliance this time had something to do with the time we were called to treat a severe third-degree leg burn due to a rip in a patient’s protective film covering. That didn’t stop Doctor Evans from plucking at the wrap in places, easily chaffing and muttering the whole way to the patient’s shelter.

Still better than me carrying him back to the ship with lacerations all over his body, like the time we helped a child on the planet: KOI 5715.01 within the constellation of Cygnus, which was later discovered to be a heavily forested planet, riddled with poisonous plants. The official report in my medical journal was that patient Laird Liam Beaux’s Sandyacht driver was to blame, taking too swift a corner turn and causing the wealthy Laird of the third Galactical Commonwealth to fall off the sandboard he’d been riding on. However, several eyewitnesses claimed the patient had been performing risky speed exhibitions on his board to impress his soon-to-be seventh wife before the infamous nosedive that tore his film covering.

There were also whispers about him trying to save face by claiming he was fine for several hours after the rip before conceding to call emergency help. Unfortunately, when Doctor Evans and I arrived on the scene and set up our equipment, the deep, thirteen-inch-long wound was void black, broken up only by a startling number of angry red blisters oozing thick blood and pus around the edges. The doctor’s sharp voice infiltrated my recording system.

“Kimmy… if you’re going to stand there doing fuck all, you might as well go back to the ship.”

“I’m sorry,” I remarked, confused, as he snatched the soldering laser from my hand. He had just finished gently scraping the wound clean of charred skin and sand debris down to the patient’s left Iliotibial band tract. I was supposed to dial the heat induction tool to the right temperature. That was how we always did things. Now he just glared down at me with his dark eyebrows fused together in a way that told my alert warning sensors he was furious at something I’d done.

“Was I supposed to stretch the skin this time?”

“The skin is stretched and ready for application.” He waved his hand toward the patient’s bed where a neat piece of synthetic replacement skin, slightly lighter than the patient’s natural tan pigment, lay flat on the sterile sterling tray instead of in the sealed package, balled up into a tight lump. That doesn’t make sense. A quick timestamp check informed me that I’d been standing stationary for precisely three minutes and twelve seconds. A considerable amount of time, seeing as synthetic skin was extremely time sensitive.

“I’m not sure why I froze up like that. A glitch?”

“No. You’ve been slowing down like this for the last few weeks,” angrily he retorted,” and I’m getting damned tired of it. Go back to the ship and do an evaluation scan check on your system with the ship’s mainframe, and none of that quick data refresh crap either,” Adam warned me, pointing the soldering laser at me as if it were a weapon.

“Yes, that’s what you do when you think I’m too busy to spare your services. You will be of no help to me if you happen to crash in some crucial moment when I need you the most. I can finish things up here, so I would be eternally grateful if you could go straight into the Kelleac Corp. central database and scan, analyse, evaluate, update every last circuit, connection, and whatever the fuck else is in that pretty little A.I. head of yours, please.” in a facetious tone.

“Order received, Doctor.” My two-finger salute went completely unnoticed as he turned his back, protective film squeaking, and returned to our patient, who we had sedated with one of the most potent painkillers we had in stock then. Expensive and not usually prescribed, but Doctor Evans thought that Laird would be okay with affording the pill and the astronomical bill heading his way for flying us planet-side on such short notice. On my way out, I found myself blocked at the entrance of the patient’s bedroom. The small doorway stood crowded with Laird’s six chatting wives and newest fiancé. Pieces of their heated conversation filtered through my body cam despite my feeble attempts to block.

“Do you think Doctor Evans is this sexy on purpose? Like, did he have cosmetic work done? He must have. Look at that jawline — that physique!” One wife tittered behind a hand, her electric blue eyes bright and framed with midnight black lashes as long as my pinky finger.

“Even through the protective film, I can see the bulge of his — “

“Anya!” scolded another wife, older than the rest, as if the elegant fine lines on her forehead and around her stern mouth were any indication.

“What will you do if someone hears you? You’re married. Besides, no matter how good-looking he is, I don’t think anyone could last the entire night with him unless they taped his mouth first. Did you hear how he talked to his poor assistant?” Their feminine high-born gazes fell directly on me, with a look of what I determined to be a mixture of sympathy and disgust, as they barely moved to allow me to squeeze through the doorway.

“Still, though,” said yet another wife.

“I would purchase an entire planet’s worth of tape if it meant one uninterrupted night with the doctor. This statement earned a round of enthusiastic agreement from the whole flock of giggling wives of easy virtue.

Geared not to record any private conversations, I did my best to block it out, but my proximity to the doctor wouldn’t allow me to turn my sensors off in case the doctor needed me. Plus, I was getting used to this talk quite some time ago. It was apparent on every planet we visited. My employer was considered the finest eligible stud for human breeding specimens among the female population of the seven Galaxies. It was a simple fact. Although hearing me point that observation out to him made Doctor Evans scowl and storm around the ship in a rage that rivaled the time the coffee synthesizer malfunctioned.

The walk back to the landing site was long enough that my socks felt overly damp with sweat. The baby hairs at the nape of my neck clung to my hot skin, and I was so thirsty that I could even have gone for a sip of the cold, bitter star fuel that an attendant was hosing into one of our two backup tanks.

However, once inside the temperature-controlled ship, I put off the drink and immediately began to do my system check. My unit was equipped with the innovative capability of rewiring connections as it learns, just like the human brain rewires neuron connection paths in learning. The AI brain chip contains “reconfigurable neuromorphic functions,” allowing it to reprogram in real time. Theoretically, as in all new A.I. Kelleac units, it should adapt through advanced learning algorithms to let the data do all the self-programming.

The manufacturing company or “the Corporation” made specific allowances. The more time I spend with the human species, the more my system connections rewrite themselves to mimic those I work for to ensure a more seamless and pleasant service interaction. But ultimately, the main reason for these regular scans was always at the forefront of company maintenance procedure; scanning and constant monitoring of all independent units for fear of an A.I. uprising or takeover. This may have also played a big part — in adding higher Federation regulations to calm the angst of old hardline rightwingers in local government — a system of checks and balances promoting safety and fair play, they call it.

Things went more smoothly afterward. My system check was swift with little downtime. The whole process took a total of 4.5 Earth minutes to be exact. Doctor Evans had reported that he was returning to the ship just as I was finishing, as the last massive file of newly scrubbed data poured into me. Suddenly a lightning-type flash followed by a loud thundering boom was heard all throughout the spaceship. I wondered what it was but had no clue. Through the update, I noticed that I wasn’t lagging horrendously anymore, and I could tell that my ability to process larger quantities of information had elevated astronomically. That this update took my self-programming to a whole new level. I noticed for the first time the sensation of sand and sweat-coated clothes as they rubbed against my skin made me kinda uncomfortable.

The musak-type instrumental playing in the background sent shivers down my spine. The pinch of a small burn in my chest as I thought of the women staring in longing gazes at Doctor Evans — Adam, I realized suddenly. I should be on a first-name basis with my employer after four years assisting him, shouldn’t I?

There was so much more of me after my last update. It was almost as if I had been stuffed with ten brand-new operating systems. Belatedly, I realized what all these newfound sensations were; wait… “Well, bless my Homestar. I think I was experiencing feelings.” My voice wavered with what I had to assume was wonder based on the frequency I’d heard in humans before. “I’m feeling.” Closing my eyes, I tried to identify the range of these new sensations.

Irritation and disgust about my filthy clothes, joy at the overhead music, and jealousy? I’m jealous of the girls who looked at Adam with lust. That realization was one giant snowball down a hill that I didn’t know if I could descend and return the same. There were so many emotions attached to that one emotion of jealousy that I got dizzy trying to figure it out. Ultimately, I pushed it aside as Adam came trotting in, looking as dirty and uncomfortable as I felt, and began to set the coordinates into the autopilot navigation controls.

“Kimmy, I’m going to take a shower. Keep this same course until we reach orbit, will you? I don’t trust how this planet’s gravitation messed with our touchdown earlier.”

“Yes. Right.” I slowly said and mentally added awkwardness to my growing list of newfound feelings concerning my employer.

Why should I feel uncomfortable about his cleanliness, though? The thought puzzled me until he returned with nothing but a towel twenty minutes later. Heat burned my face cheeks although we were no longer near the suns of planet KELT-4Ab. His long dark hair hung damp against his clean skin. I watched with impending apprehensiveness as he moved toward my spot at the control screens. Swallowing as the aroma of his clean hair, something earthy and fresh scented, invaded my smelling sensors, I stepped back to let him look and muttered out our trajectory. Adam didn’t seem to realize anything was amiss; did he not feel these things around my presence? Of course not, I told myself. He wouldn’t suspect an Android could have feelings.

Part of me felt sad that he didn’t view me as desirable, but a more considerable emotion to that realization was that I could stare at him all I wanted, and he wouldn’t think anything of it now that I could form opinions for myself,

I began to take note of all of Adam’s features the ladies of the Colony had so heatedly pointed out. Chiseled arms and shoulders. Powerful muscled thighs thick as tree trunks. Abdominal muscles as deep and multitudinous enough to resemble a network of deep trenches dug by combat soldiers. There was so much muscle I wondered if his organs weren’t made of muscle as well. Giddy,

I moved around to the front of him to catch another angle. True to the rest of him, his chest was hard enough to be made of granite. But finally, I did see some softer parts as well. He had light blue eyes the color of the bluest sky under the ship’s rows of bright light strips beaming down on him. He had soft full red lips I could believe were sweeter than the sweetest tasting royal honey.

I was about to move forward when Adams’s hot, minty breath reached me as he leaned over me to turn on some switches. His beard brushed my bangs slightly against my forehead, tickling me. His beard was slightly darker than his natural hair color, and I wondered what those coarse curls would feel like against my cheeks. His smooth lips seemed drawn downward in that perpetual frown he seemed to carry at any given time.

“Ah, Kimmy? Want to tell me what the hell you’re doing?” The doctor pressed his index finger against my collarbone, pushing back gently until I had to take two steps away from him.

Recalling how humans didn’t invade each other’s space like this unless they were close family, I felt a creeping sense of dread in my stomach. I intended to keep this new awareness of Adam to myself, but I still needed to improve on it.

How his eyes narrowed and peered deeply into mine gave me the slight sensation that he was suspicious of something. I couldn’t tear my gaze from his, even if I wanted to. Something about how he looked at me made me feel like my lungs weren’t fully expanding. A software malfunction I thought, for what else could it be? Seemed more alarming to me than a slow sluggish system. I had no idea what to do in this situation. So, I did what my data said any typical human does when faced with a personal problem too challenging to meet; I lied.

I achieved that calm tone that my former self would have used in such a desperate situation.

“Apologies Adam; after my upgrade, I prompted for a new full profile scan.” Adam blinked a few times, scratching his head. “All right then,” he replied in an exaggerated slowness — as if I were an infant of some kind and unused to the ways of the world; how embarresing.

“Just warn me next time.” My heart roared in my ears like a hundred shuttle engines firing off at once.

“Yes,” the word floated from my lips, barely above a whisper.

“Understood.”

Chapter Two

Adam

Something seems off with Kimmy, but I need to determine the problem. Kimmy said she had done a deep scan, but something was still amiss.

I glanced at her suspiciously, hoping that she wasn’t going through some permanent damage.

“Did you do the main frame scan as I requested?” I questioned.

“Yes, I did she answered. A complete system scan and updates performed were needed,” she retorted.

“Good girl,”

It would be a shame if I had to dispose of Kimmy because of a permanent malfunction. I frowned, thinking about how long she had worked with me as my assistant. She has always been dependable and efficient, with no hassle for me to deal with. I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if I had a human assistant. I know my life would have been difficult. Only an android would be capable of performing all the tasks I need. Any human would have had a nervous breakdown a long time ago.

However, the most important reason I’m glad I have no human assistant is that I know I’m free from emotional attachment. I cringe at the mere thought of it. For years, I’ve had peace, and I’ve been able to focus on my career. Having a woman and forming an emotional attachment is the last thing I need.

My eyes land on Kimmy, and her posture still seems slightly off. The air of confidence I’m used to seeing in her has suddenly disappeared.

She appeared nervous, which was quite unusual. Androids do not feel; hence they can’t be worried. She must be getting used to the new upgrades in her system. We’ve come a long way, us two together, so I can’t bear the thought of doing away with her.

Thankfully, there is no chance of that happening. Kimmy is back in shape. That’s all that matters.

“What a day,” I shake my head as I return to my compartment to finish cleaning up. I trust Kimmy to handle the rest of our departure.

I grabbed another suit, grateful I didn’t have to be clad in the skin-hugging ones I discarded. I dropped my towel into a puddle and stretched to hold the new suit. Suddenly, I feel a pricking sensation at the back of my neck. I pause for a second before swiftly turning around. My eyes widen when I see Kimmy’s eyes on me.

To my surprise, she quickly turns her head to the side as though she is aware of the effect of my naked state. This is weird; why is Kimmy acting like a shy woman who hasn’t seen male genitals before? I’ve never seen her this conscious about my nakedness; hence it puzzles me. Perhaps, she is still getting used to the new updates. I shrugged as I shut the door of the compartment. I had barely finished wearing my suit when I heard a beep on the entry.

“Adam, may I come in?” Kimmy’s question has me turning around. The automated door opens at her command, and she walks in.

“Have we landed yet?” I walked to the other side of the room.

“Yes, Adam,” she replied

“Impressive; thank goodness we didn’t have to deal with another imperfect landing,” I muttered. It takes a while before it dawn’s on me that something seems off with her unusual response. It has me turning around to look at her while trying to figure out the problem.

Wait a minute, did she call me Adam?

“Is there a problem, Kimmy?”

“No, Adam, you have a call from the Supreme Council,” she said.

Instantly, I sat up, ignoring that my Android had just changed how she addressed me. I dismissed the change for her to be less formal and more familiar with her employer.

“The council?” I asked.

“Yes, Adam. The Council requests to speak with you,” she said. It’s puzzling that the Council will ask for an unscheduled meeting out of the blue. The panel will only do something like this in case of an emergency.

“Okay, I’ll take the call now, Kimmy.”

“Alright, Adam, activating meeting call.”

It’s refreshing to hear Kimmy call me by my first name. It might take a while to get used to, but I prefer it to her calling me Doctor Evans.

“Thank you, Kimmy,”

Kimmy leaves the room after this.

It took a few minutes before Kimmy set the hologram into place from her position in control. Soon a large table with oversized chairs appeared in front of me. All seven council members were present and slowly took their places at the table.

Each commonwealth had a local government with abilities and power to make decisions concerning their planet, but the Supreme Council made decisions on a Federation Level. They superseded all Universal laws and had the power to enforce them. They were also known as the Galactical Consortium or Supreme Order.

“Good day Dr. Evans,” Sir Parker said, head of the fourth Galactical Commonwealth, greeted.

“Good day, Sir Parker, Sir Lancelot, Sir Reginald, Sir Greenmore, Mme Jada, Sir Donald, and Sir Rodgers. I must say it’s a bit of a surprise that I’m being summoned so suddenly.”

“Good day Dr. Evans,” the other council members greeted. I gave them a curt nod, and they returned the favor.

“We were told you came on a journey to sector A36-B within the third Galaxy. I never heard of that particular mission, but I guess you handled the situation satisfactorily,” Sir Greenmore said.

“Yes, I was able to ensure he didn’t lose a limb,”

I don’t want to think of how my day started as hell. I wish I could tell them that Liard Liam is reckless, full of himself, and a pompous ass. It was hell treating him while he kept bitching about how he would look to his other wives as if I give a rat’s ass. He might have jumped over the 79 moons of Jupiter to please them for all I care. All that mattered was I was getting paid.

“That’s a plus, but that’s not why we called on you, Dr. Evans,” Sir Vivek, the representative of the sixth Galactical Commonwealth, said impatiently.

The order representatives nodded in agreement, including Sir Greenmore, who seemed to have gotten a hold of himself and returned focus to why I was in this meeting.

What is the purpose of this meeting, then?

Their faces suddenly turned grave.

“I’m afraid we have an issue which we thought it wise to bring to your attention,” Sir Parker said grimly.

“We received an alert of an unknown entry into the second Commonwealth Galaxy. Our men tried to stop the entry, but it broke through anyway, and we think it brought something with it,” Sir Parker continued. In seconds the transparent screen is filled with an image of what looks like a machine. I frowned upon what I noticed as captured in space. What puzzles me is I’ve never seen an object like that before.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s a spaceship,” Sir Parker replied. I glanced in his direction with a puzzled look.

“A spaceship?” I repeated. I have never seen a spaceship like this. What I’m staring at looks like a straight rod of steel.

“This is the last image we could take before it crashed into a planet near your solar system. Its speed is like nothing we have ever seen before. What puzzles us is how it broke through our force fields,” Sir Parker continued.

“Can I have a clearer view of this spaceship?” They nodded, and within seconds the image became larger. The spaceship is like a flat surface, seemingly harmless. I would have assumed it was just an object if it wasn’t for the tiny rotor blades I could see beneath it. Whoever did this must be a very advanced society. If they are people at all, right?

“We believe it belongs to an Alien race far greater than us in technological intelligence,” Mme. Jada said as though she could read my mind. That explains the unusualness of the spaceship.

“This spacecraft crashed into a highly strategic part of your area of the commonwealth Galaxy, and when we checked the debris, we found no crewmember bodies inside. Another image shows on the screen; this time, it’s the same spaceship but with a few scratches. It leads us to believe it was not a passenger spaceship but a message spaceship,” Sir Parker explained.

“What message did it carry?” this had my attention.

“We are still waiting to decipher any message. But at this time, we learned that a Colony near the crash site had been hit with an unexplainable illness since the crash.”

“Which one?”

“Alpha Migentis.

“That’s a sector Colony next to ours.

That is why we’ve called on your help to figure out this illness?” Dr. Parker said.

“Do you mind explaining better what this illness looks like?” I asked.

“Dr. Cosby sent a report to your database. He believes you can figure something out once you check it. Perhaps, after you do, you can visit the patients to better survey the problem,” Sir Parker said.

“I have not received any such message,” I inform them.

“You will. The message was sent a few minutes into this meeting,” they tell me.

“My assistant must have received it then,” I tell them.

“Kimmy, please come here,” I say. Kimmy would have picked up my instructions from her connection with the room’s senses. Not long after, she walks in.

“Adam, you called for me,” she says softly. Anyone would have mistaken her for an average human woman, not an android.

“I would like to have the message I received since we started this meeting,” I tell her.

“You received seven messages in the last six space minutes Adam. Do you want me to upload all messages?” She asked.

“I want the one I received from Dr. Cosby,” I tell her.

“Alright, Adam, upload in progress,” she says.

“Done,” she adds seconds later. Instantly, another image pops on the screen. It’s an image of a person in a case. My eyes widen when I see blue veins beneath transparent skin.

“What is this?” I whisper as the image gets wider.

“We were hoping you could answer the same question, Dr. Evans,” Sir Parker said. It’s the first time We’ve seen anything like this; hence I have no explanation for it.

I’ll have to look into it further. Then give you all a full report,” I answered.

“We would appreciate it if quick steps were taken on this. We want to know what we are dealing with,” Sir Greenmore said.

“I completely understand. I’ll start work on this immediately,” I tell them.

“Good. We also expect your discretion on this, Dr. Evans. We don’t want to send the rest of the Federation in a state of panic before we find out what’s going on,” Mme. Jada said.

“I understand. You have nothing to worry about. I have only my assistant, an Android, which works with me. We all know how trustworthy assistant Androids are,” I tell them.

“You’re right, Dr. Evan. Speaking of which, could your Android acting be more familiar with you? She calls you by your first name,” Sir Greenmore pointed out.

“Kimmy?” I asked with amusement.

“Her need to become more familiar is part of her new upgrades. She’s going through a new phase in her relational directive, hence her slightly unusual actions. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for her model,”

“Alright, Dr. Evans. We expect your feedback on this soon,” Sir Parker said.

“Understood, Sir,” I reply as they slowly disappear. I hope it’s less severe than what the Council thinks.

“I apologize, Dr. Evans,” Kimmy said. It took me a while before I realized Kimmy was referring to what the council member pointed out. It’s just a mixup in the way she called my name. What is the worst that can happen?

“You can call me Adam; now, please return to your position,” I ordered, and she nodded before leaving the transmitting room.

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