Machine Man (serial)

“Don’t get me wrong,” said the Manager. “I don’t want to denigrate your contribution.” He smiled. I did not feel reassured. I felt locked up. My brain was trying to remodel the last two months in order to fit new input: these in-house test subjects… we’ve already begun. It was drawing resources away from other functions. I was hanging. “But I’d be a fool to ignore the commercial possibilities. And I hope I’m not a fool.” He smiled again.

“The thing is, Charlie, they’re not really your parts,” said Cassandra Cautery, from somewhere behind me. “They’re the company’s.”

The Manager chuckled. “Nobody’s talking about taking away your parts.” His eyes moved at Cassandra Cautery, and she closed her mouth with an audible click. “As long as Dr. Neumann remains a valuable member of Better Future, he can have all the parts he wants.”

“Of course. That’s what I—”

“What Cassie means is that the time has passed when you were this company’s only design-capable employee. That’s a credit to you, by the way. You should be proud of the way your people have picked up your skills and knowledge. It means we can move you into an area even better suited to your unique skills and experience.”

My brain said: Lola has an Augmentation. That was all it had so far. It was still trying to figure out why she hadn’t told me about it. Did Lola not trust me? How could she talk to the company and not me?

“Our first test subjects… well, they experienced some issues,” said the Manager. His tie matched the drapes. I wondered if that could be coincidence. “Post-traumatic stresses. Psychotic breaks. That kind of thing. It was a real surprise, since you hadn’t demonstrated any such symptoms. It got us thinking about the psychology. And what we decided is that you, Dr. Neumann, would be absolutely terrific at guiding these people through the recovery process. I mean, look at you! You’re inspiring. You could work wonders assisting our test subjects adjust to life with an Augmentation.” Behind him, the sun moved behind a cloud. “Especially… well, that particular test subject who doesn’t know she has one.”

Because the logical part of my brain was occupied, it did nothing to stop the raw, instinctive jolt of rage that burst through my body. That’s my explanation, anyway, for why my Contours twitched, and I kicked the Manager through the window.

88.