CHAPTER 35

Frustration far beyondthat of a merely sexual nature gripped Dariux as he strode into the London corporate offices of ChronoSynthetics. The behemoth building, a towering structure of glass and steel, stood as a testament to both the city’s history and its future. The fa?ade, a mix of classical elegance and modern innovation, hinted at the dichotomy within. Their slogan, Engineering the Future of Humanity, seemed to mock him from the bold red letters of the sign. There was no humanity left inside these walls. And if they kept on their ‘engineering’, there would be no future either.

Damn it, but Kalli’s ideas seemed to have rubbed off on him. He was on edge, uneasy. And every attempt at understanding his feelings only led to more uncertainty. Something momentous was about to happen. He felt it in his bones. Or maybe it had already happened, and he was about to find out the consequences.

As he entered through the sleek, automated doors, a chill settled in the air—a sterile atmosphere that echoed the efficiency of a well-oiled machine. The minimalist design spoke of power and authority, and it had suited him in the past. Now he was aware that beneath the polished surface, a touch of cold detachment pervaded. As cold as the spotless white marble floors.

He stalked through the lobby, eyes in the distance, avoiding eye contact. With any luck, he would make it to the lifts with no one approaching him. No such luck. He had not yet taken a dozen steps when one of their bots intercepted him. The pretty brunette looked in every way like a woman, and were he not aware of her nature (or lack thereof), he would have thought her a real woman. Before, the distinction wouldn’t have registered in his mind. Blurred by years of conditioning. Now, the differences were obvious and getting more conspicuous by the minute.

“Mr. Kincaid! A pleasure to see you, sir. I’m Angelyna. If you would be so kind as to accompany me to the laboratory? We need to run some tests,” she said with a pleasant voice that somehow grated on his already tense nerves. Did all bots sound the same?

“I would like to go see Mr. Greer first.”

“This won’t take but a minute, sir. Mr. Greer was the one who ordered us to perform the test as soon as you arrived.”

“Why? Can’t it wait until after I’ve met with him?”

“I’m afraid not, sir. Mr. Greer expressed great upset we did not test you and Dr. Brooks upon arrival. We have been trying to contact her as well.”

That caught his attention. “Trying? You have been unsuccessful at contacting her?”

Angelyna blinked twice and remained silent for a few seconds. “I’m not sure, sir.” She prevaricated. “I’m not in charge of contacting her.”

“But you know who is. And you know whether they have been successful. Is she coming today?” The idea of seeing Kalli, maybe as soon as a few minutes from now, caused his heartbeat to accelerate.

“I’m afraid I don’t know, sir,” the bot said as she continued to lead the way through the sterile corridors.

Didn’t know or could not say? Either way, she seemed unwilling to disclose that information. Even to him, who had been Kalli’s partner in this mission. Dumb bot.

They had arrived at the testing room annexed to the laboratory, which was nothing more than a small, windowless office with a testing bed in the center. Another bot looked up from her workstation. This one was blond, with shoulder length straight hair. She smiled at their entrance. With the same solicitous expression Angelyna had used.

As Angelyna slipped away and closed the door behind her, she came to him, her hand extended in greeting.

“Mr. Kinkaid! I’m Sandri. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir. I’ve long been a fan of your work.”

He frowned, confused, and she correctly interpreted his expression. “No, I’m not a robot,” she said, not seeming to take offense.

“Sorry. I thought I was becoming better at spotting the difference.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve lived among parbots for so long, it wouldn’t surprise me if I adopted some of their mannerisms.”

“Right.” He didn’t know if the knowledge that she was human pleased or alarmed him. He would have to disrobe for this scan. Two months ago, he wouldn’t have thought twice about it. Hell, he had showered with Kalli without a twinge of discomfort. Now, the idea of being naked in front of her made him vulnerable.

“Whenever you are ready, sir,” she said, gesturing to the testing bed, all professional indifference.

“Right,” he said again.

Bloody hell, he was becoming a monosyllabic and prudish idiot. Taking a deep breath, he stepped up to the bed and removed his clothing and shoes with efficient, almost furious movements. Better to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Naked as the day he was born, he climbed into the testing bed and the cover closed over him. He hated this feeling of confinement even more than being naked and exposed. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The only good thing about this test was that it took but a minute.

“Don’t move, sir.” He heard her voice through the speakers by his head. “The scan will start now.”

A minute later, he was gratefully stepping out of the contraption and yanking his clothing back on. He looked at the screen. Neat rows of information started loading. He craned his head, trying to read the results, but her head blocked the monitor.

“I would like to have a copy of the results,” he informed her.

“I’m afraid the test results are classified information, and I’m not at liberty to give you a copy.”

“Excuse me?” Since when his bloody test results were classified, even from him? Was that even legal?

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kinkaid.” She didn’t meet his gaze, uncomfortable at having to convey this information.

“These are my body and mind we are talking about here.” Indignation burned through him, making him uncaring of her obvious distress. “I have indisputable rights to my own results.”

“Of course, sir. It’s just... Mr. Greer said... although he probably didn’t mean from you. But that’s how they wrote the order. It could be a mistake. If you’d talk to him, I’m sure he’d allow you—”

“I am not leaving this room without my results.” The sentence, uttered in the calm and assertive voice he had honed in his many years of commanding men, brokered no argument.

Sandri paled and stepped back. God, she was so young. A twinge of guilt at bullying this girl percolated through his mind, but he pushed it back. He hadn’t raised his voice or threatened her in any way. But he couldn’t allow her to dismiss him. No fucking way. Once the results were out of his sight, who knew what they could do with them? He smelled foul play.

“I-I’m sorry, sir. I just can’t give you the results,” she replied, standing. “I’ll go fetch the gear for the blood test.” She turned her back to him and walked to the other side of the room. Busying herself by opening drawers and gathering supplies.

What the...? She said she couldn’t give him the results, and yet, left them exposed and accessible to him. Did she have any idea how easy it would be for him to copy them himself? In fact...

With a surreptitious swipe of his hand over her station, he downloaded the information onto his bracelet. By the time she turned back to face him, he had the results copied and saved on his own secure mainframe at home.

She smiled and winked—winked!—at him, confirming what he already suspected. She had done it on purpose. To allow him the opportunity to copy his test results. How amazing! A parbot would have never gone against its commands. Having a human capable of scruples and critical thinking had its uses, after all. And unpredictability had worked to his advantage this time.

He smiled back. “I understand, Miss...Sandri. I’ll speak to Mr. Greer. Thank you for your help.”

It was a matter of a moment for her to collect a sample of his blood, and then he was ready to go.

“It’s been my pleasure, Mr. Kinkaid. Good luck.”

Another bot was waiting for him as he exited the testing room. Blast it all. Did they think he needed an escort to any part of this building? He could have walked around every corner while blindfolded.

And Mr. Greer knew that. The escort was not to help him navigate the building, but to make sure he didn’t deviate from his course, or worse, bolted altogether. The prickle of unease on his neck became stronger. First the insistence he had the test done at once, then the refusal to give him his own test. All that coupled with the obvious reluctance to leave him alone for even one minute. Yes, something was definitely afoot. And if he weren’t so curious to see what was going on, he would turn and leave this instant.

Alas, he needed to see this through, so he followed the parbot, wishing he could just get this meeting over with. After today, he was going to take some time off. He hadn’t taken a holiday in nearly ten years. Before the mission, he had devoted all his energy to developing the TEQT.

And for what? What had they really accomplished by messing with the past? They had meddled with the lives of two people and had left them devastated. In the process, they had also created chaos and unbalance in their own lives.

And had they found the answers they sought? Not in his opinion. Kalli, on the other hand, believed she had. He had read part of her report and knew the conclusions she had drawn. Kalli believed that love existed and that increasing contact between human beings and decreasing interaction with parbots could instigate love in the figurative hearts of people.

Oh, he could only imagine the reaction Mr. Greer and the rest of the board were going to have to such a report. Was she that na?ve? Wasn’t she aware that the president and owner of this company, who had funded the time travel technology, had significant investments in the parbot industry? She had to know. Maybe na?ve wasn’t the word, but idealistic.

Did she think they were interested in her little study about love? The only thing that concerned them was the rapid decrease in the population because of the scarcity of births in the last twenty years.

If they didn’t find a way to encourage people to reproduce, they would put themselves out of business in another twenty years when the entire population of the planet had aged and declined so much that there wouldn’t be enough people interested in their product.

Yes, they wanted to find a solution to that problem. But not by encouraging people to form relationships with each other and mate, foregoing the bots. Oh no, that would be bad for business, and corporations never acted against their own interests. They wanted to find a way to alter the brain chemistry of women, making them want to have children. And then commercialize the entire process. From fertilization to childcare. Once, he had thought this a sound plan. He wasn’t so sure anymore.

He should have warned Kalli. When she presented her findings and suggestions, she would encounter an impenetrable wall of resistance.

But even if he had told her about it, she would have forged ahead with her hypothesis and conclusions. If anything, it would have incited her more. A half smile tugged at his lips, thinking of his little spitfire. The thought sobered him. She wasn’t his anything. She wasn’t his, period.

The voice of the president’s assistant jolted him out of his musings.

“Good morning, Mr. Kinkaid. Mr. Greer is waiting for you,” she said, opening the door to the president’s office.

He spared her a brief glance, noticing she looked similar to Angelyna. Apparently, her boss favored the look. Did Mr. Greer employ her for more than professional purposes? He snorted under his breath. Of course he did. He thought with a cynical twist of his mouth as he entered the lion’s den, or in this case, Mr. Greer’s office.