(Rewritten) Ch. 27 – To Seduce Or Not To Seduce

"In the early twenty-twenties, AI boy- and girlfriends got ridiculously popular. Those early versions of AI were stupidly simple, and at times, surprisingly lifelike. It didn't take long until they, in all their machine-learning glory, decided to start sending dick pics.

I think we all know how that happened."

– Excerpt from The History Of Earth-based AI, 2052

***

"I dunno, move my lazy ass or suck on your tits for another day? Take a guess. You taste really, really sweet by the way."

My mouth fell open and blood rushed all the way to the tip of my ears. A strangled "Leah!" came out of me. My antennae, of course, took Leah's teasing as a challenge and fluffed at where Leah's lips closed around my nipple again. There was indeed a very sweet smell, though.

Scenes of me daring her to share a taste ran through my mind, or taking my other breast in hand and teasing Leah by staring her in the eye while taking a sip myself…

Too early. Was it? Had to be.

But once she'd seen that I had my heart in the right place and decided I was safe, then I'd seduce her. I'd show her. Definitely. Fair compromise, I nodded to myself.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Leah asked, with a big smirk.

I put a hand to the back of her head and shoved her down once more for more bionites and nutrition, to her muffled laughter.

"Tynea, how much longer until Leah's eye would finish regenerating?" I asked, while reaching for the slop the kidnappers had stocked as food, and the water.

If you continue supplying her as you are, she could be done in one sitting of perhaps four hours. You will need to consume some food during this time, especially since the slurry you are currently eating is…lacking. Furthermore, your own recovery to full strength will be delayed by a few hours as most of your bionites are transferred to Leah.

"Can you share that information with Leah, please?"

Certainly.

After taking a few moments to listen and think, Leah said, "I'd rather finish this, uh, project quickly, if you don't mind your own delay—not sure what that 'recovery' stuff means for you, though."

"That's fine, my transformation and enhancements aren't fully finished yet. Still some hardening to do."

"Nothing critical?" Leah asked.

"Nope."

She relaxed. "Okay, good. Let's see. The eye's something we could get done fairly quickly, and I don't have anything like that Sleeve thing to replace it."

That reminded me.

"Actually we might. I bought a simple targeting visor early on. Still have it. Tynea, does it have a camera or something she could tap into?"

No, it relies on a data-stream from your augs to function.

"Ah, damn. Okay. Yeah," I continued, looking at Leah, "the eye seems to be the only thing on you we gotta heal directly."

"And it's fun, too," she replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, Leah. If you keep teasing me, I'll hold you to your words. Ahead of time."

Leah grinned, but nodded and backed down.

I laid my head back and once again focused my antennae on Leah's spine by petting her. The silk strings I'd drawn from the landing pad remained still and the world seemed peaceful. I relaxed, washed more slop down with water, and decided to finally nap a little myself.

***

Leah watched Tinea's expression soften to criminal adorableness as the girl nodded off and her antennae finally settled, gently wafting through the air above them, and reflected on her experiences with the woman. She hadn't known her for very long, but what time they'd spent together had completely bypassed all the usual defenses and processes of getting close with somebody.

A big part's surely that she's provided me with the care I needed so desperately after days of… Leah flinched away from finishing the thought. The remembered helplessness chambered another round of anxiety, and she found herself staring down the proverbial barrel of another panic attack. But, once more, she found safety in Tinea's warmth. The same the girl had provided with such simple sincerity that Leah could offer no resistance.

Bit by bit, the shivers subsided, and she felt that part of herself that compulsively listened for footsteps outside her cell, relax. Just a smidge. But…Leah could've cried in relief.

That earnestness of Tinea's, though. It had been so smooth and natural that Leah had held some suspicions of her role here, once she'd come to herself enough to begin thinking again. It had taken physical proof that Tinea was a samurai for Leah to really be able to breathe again.

What if she hadn't had any external modifications? Nothing to show? Leah had been too desperate to take action to think of asking Ypsi to introduce herself to the supposed samurai—and Ypsi had not offered, either. Leah knew the AI well enough to know she'd had good reasons, too…

Something to sort out later, when Leah didn't have to worry about her kids anymore.

No.

Leah had learned her lesson. She would set up protocols to deal with the inability to communicate, make sure she had ways to defend herself that no Earth corpo could get through. Tinea's basic defenses had kept her safe within the bubble even when she'd been kidnapped while incapacitated. Leah had no excuse, save perhaps for a lack of points.

She hoped the children and their caretakers were okay, that whoever took her hadn't seen a need to gain control over them. Or worse, to tie up loose ends. But, truthfully, Leah didn't think so, thought that it would've made more sense to leave them alone, just in case their bodies caught the attention of other samurai.

Nonetheless, she wouldn't really know until they got in range of reception. That, too, was a constant source of unease.

The worry bearing down on her had her automatically twitch the sequence with her eye to play  the recording of her sister, only to recall that her old augs had been destroyed. Instead she opened up her chat assistant and wrote to Ypsilon.

> Leah: Ypsi, plz copy recording to eye?

I can do that, Leah! Here you go.

> Leah: thx

You're welcome!

Finding calm in the almost ritualistic action, she placed the recording in its place of honor, bottom left of her vision. Out of the way, yet ever present.

Then she nestled herself more comfortably into Tinea, and just gazed at its icon. Lily had died when they were still children stuck in an orphanage. Leah was her big sister and she'd protected sickly Lily from the bullies.

Until a tumor took her away. It'd been so sudden. She'd missed the early signs. The guilt for being blind to the true state of Lily's health had done terrible things to Leah. She'd swallowed all her grief until eventually, a grandpa sat her down, and asked for stories about her sister. He hadn't minded when she got angry at him, and had let her scream at him until her voice broke.

That was the first time she'd cried in years.

Then he asked her about what her sister liked, what her favorite color was, what jokes she found funny, what made her laugh, and all kinds of things that Leah'd stopped thinking about after Lily was gone. She talked with the kind old man for a long time, more than once, and eventually she'd learned how to let herself be sad some times, and strong other times.

When she was a little older, and a lot less angry, the old man came to her and gave her a file. A recording of Lily playing with her big sister Leah. Leah began to grieve again, but she also found a certain beauty in the video, in the obvious care she'd shown Lily. It opened her eyes to a different reality from the one she remembered. She'd found a new source of pride and strength, and turned the grief into a promise to be a guardian for the little ones who needed one.

It only took her another year to turn sixteen and certify as a caretaker. Since then, she'd remained living for eight years near several orphanages and would regularly take small groups of kids on small adventures, teach them life skills, and do what she could to protect their wellbeing.

There was a particular group she most enjoyed spending time with, little children that reminded her a lot of Lily. A little girl with Lily's bright red hair and green eyes, and another girl and a boy with Lily's temperament and curiosity.

Her promise to Lily to protect the little ones saw its greatest reward when she became a samurai while protecting that group, and it was them, along with several other children, whom she protected in a secluded shelter during the New Montreal incursion just the other day.

She'd made sure they'd gotten back to their orphanage safely. The kidnappers had waited until she had entered her own home and let down her guard. Another reason why she didn't want to assume that the children had been hurt.

Can't just be a caretaker anymore, Leah was sure.

She'd have to go out and hunt Antithesis for points, if she actually wanted to protect anybody. Her identity as a samurai was revealed and her strength too little. Leah was incredibly lucky to have been rescued by Tinea…and even more so that Tinea wanted her company enough to follow her. She'd be another shield in the defense of the little ones.

Maybe…maybe it'd work out. Maybe Leah would have a chance at a good life while protecting the little ones. Maybe she'd get to have her cake and eat it, too.

***

Below an illustration of adult Leah, with her little sister Lily as she was all those years ago, when Leah would have also still been little: