The V.I.C.I. Diaries: Valley of the Damned (Part 14)

[DukeNukem 2417]

“There are such things as doors, Agent Lawson,” Elena mused, dodging another piece of wall debris flying her way. “We could just as easily reach the Professor going the 'normal' way as we could through here---”

“And miss out on a chance to pay tribute to one of my favorite video games of all time?” Vicki replied, grinning as her myogel-powered punches tore through another wall. “The thirtieth annivesary is next year, y'know---I may have to make arrangement for Jamie and I to go back to the arcade for it....but I'll stop boring you with the details.” She kicked another chunk of the wall out of the way and stepped through the newly-created opening; “You should be lucky this part of the building's empty,” she added, grinning cheerfully.

Elena rolled her eyes. “I think 'luck' is not the word I would use to describe it...”

“Well, at least we're getting closer---I think we might actually be on top of the lab right now. Just give me a second...” Vicki nudged aside a filing cabinet in the corner of the room. “Stand back...”

“You're not going to kick through it, are you ?”

The brunette gynoid grinned.....then stomped on the baseboards in the corner until they began to crack.

“Why do I even bother asking....” The Russian gynoid turned away, shaking her head.

After a minute or so of myogel-powered stomps through the floor, Vicki made a hole big enough to see through from where she stood. “Time to see if anyone's down there...” She knelt above the whole, took a deep breath (out of habit).....

“ANTON! ARE YOU DOWN THERE?!”

From somewhere below: “Vicki?! What are you doing above the lab?!”

“WELL...I FIGURED IT'D BE BETTER TO GET DOWN HERE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, SO I HAVEN'T BEEN USING DOORS---”

“That would explain the racket I've been hearing for the past half-hour, then...” Even though she couldn't see him, the brunette gynoid could tell Anton was smiling. “You're above the entrance corridor to the laboratory, by the way---which is the only reason why none of us were panicking when we heard the ceiling coming down above our heads---and, for the record, you don't need to yell. The acoustics in here are pretty good as-is, so I can hear you just fine if you talk normally.”

“OKAY, THEN---damnit...thanks for the tip, Anton. So....any chance you could stand back and let me break on through to the----”

“Please don't finish that....I've heard more than enough jokes about that song to last me a lifetime.”

Vicki couldn't help but giggle. “Sorry...it just lends itself to a funny phrase, I guess.” She sighed as she rose to her feet; “Well, Elena,” she mused, “looks like it's time for us to----what?”

“If you say 'make like bodies and hit the floor',” the Russian gynoid muttered, “I may have to kick you.”

“I was going to say that it looks like it's time for us to get down to the lab,” Vicki replied, her annoyed scowl fading into a grin. “Though that 'make like bodies' line does sound pretty stupid.....” She rolled her eyes at the thought, turning her attention back to the hole in the floor. “I have a feeling we won't be needing subtlety for what happens next....”

“Which would be....”

“Dropping through the hole in the floor.”

The Russian gynoid arched an eyebrow, but otherwise stayed calm. “You are sure this tactic will end with us landing on our feet, as opposed to our heads?”

“98.9% positive. I mean, as long as we don't trip, or anything, we should be okay.”

Elena gave another arched eyebrow. “You are worried about tripping? Our reflexes can---”

“I know what our reflexes let us do,” Vicki insisted, “but...it's not the hardware in me that I'm thinking about right now. It's the software.” She hesitated, almost as if she was embarassed to continue; “Ever since Ted gave me the Big Upgrade,” she explained, “I've....this is going to sound stupid, probably, but...I've been trying to be more human. Or at least, to act more human. All the little stuff was tripping me up at first---Ted actually compared it to someone with Asperger's in one of his journals. Making eye contact, showing the appropriate emotional responses, being able to empathize with people, holding a conversation that was actually a real conversation instead of me just throwing out facts...when we had to leave San Jose for a while, after Faceless busted into my room through the window, Ted actually let me read his journals and told me why it was so important for me to be able to integrate with human beings...and after that, it was just like learning how to ride a bike.”

Something about the bluntness of the revelation stunned Elena. “Agent Lawson....Vicki....you....” Without preamble, she stumbled forward and hugged the brunette gynoid. “Ah, okay....I get the whole thing of us being friends now, but....this is a bit random....”

As suddenly as she embraced Vicki, Elena pulled away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “I...forgive me, Vicki, but your words....Boris and the human---the original Elena Vlatko had the same difficulties with Vladimir, and even I had similar problems after the transfer of my organic self's consciousness into this artificial body....but I had never expected to hear such....moving testimony, first-hand, from a gynoid such as yourself....” She smiled. “Vicki Lawson,” she murmured, “you are the most human gynoid I have ever known.”

It was Vicki's turn to be stunned into silence. “You....mean that?” she finally gasped after a full two minutes.

“I do. Alan Turing himself would never have been able to anticipate a machine---a person like you.”

“But....I nearly killed Hannsen, and I flew off the handle at the Starlet Dolls concert...” Memories of her past failures flooded through the brunette gynoid's thoughts. “I've been afraid ever since I got back from the Dawley mission....I barely even feel like myself anymore---”

Elena Vlatko's hands gripped her by the shoulders, steadying her and shaking her out of the morbid reverie.

“Being human is not about being perfect,” the Russian gynoid intoned. “I know this first-hand---the Elena Vlatko who existed before me, the human Elena---she made many mistakes, all of which are still in my own memories. Boris himself failed time and again....and we did have our arguments about it....but in the end, it is not just our strengths that make us who we are. It is everything---strengths, flaws, hopes, fears, dreams, desires, feelings, friendships...families.....all of these, and so much more, are what make us unique....and what make us human.” She smiled again. “Even if our skins are multiplastic compounds and our bones are titanium.....we are just as human as anyone or anything else.”

“No matter how many times and how many versions of that I hear,” Vicki muttered, “part of me still doesn't want to believe it....” She sighed. “....but this does beat the hell out of being a walking appliance, so....I think I'm okay with being the most human gynoid you've ever met.” Her grin returned. “Ever think about getting a job as a motivational speaker, Elena?”

“I will settle for being a demolitions specialist for now,” the Russian gynoid deadpanned. “Or, as you might say, a 'wrecker'.”

“NICE.” Vicki returned her attention to the hole in the floor... “Oh, and thanks.”

“For what?” Elena asked, a bit taken aback.

“For reminding me that being scared isn't something I should hate about myself. Y'know, I've never really had a heart-to-heart about this sort of thing with anyone else before....well, other than Ted, Tell and Mom once in a while. I....I needed this, to help me get through what comes next.”

“And that would be....”

The brunette gynoid winked. “Doing the sort of things that humans only wish they could do.”

Without another word, V.I.C.I. ran towards the wall, jumped, and angled a kick downwards---smashing through the floor in seconds.

“Vicki Lawson,” Elena murmured, “you truly are one of a kind.” She chuckled for a moment before following her fellow gynoid through the newly-created hole in the floor, landing on her feet a few steps behind the Field Agent. “A shame the ALPA has not been able to get androids and gynoids into the Olympics yet,” she remarked. “That would have earned me at least a silver medal.”

“Time enough to think about that later,” Anton cut in. “You may want to take a look at what we've just found...” He gestured for the gynoids to follow him into the lab proper. “Before either of you ask, the fembot we were able to obtain isn't sentient---and if she ever was, she's too far gone to bring back. That being said...I think we can end this without having to physically destroy each individual fembot---and, quite possibly, we could even re-use their.....bodies.....” He stopped. “I can see this is going to be difficult to discuss without making both of you extremely uncomfortable....”

“No worries,” VICI replied. “We didn't get this far by staying in our comfort zones.”

Anton's intended response died on his tongue. “Well....in that case, ah....” He shook his head. “Forgive me for mentioning it, Vicki, but you seem---”

“Different?”

“Well, in a manner of speaking, yes,” the roboticist managed. “Earlier today you were afraid that you couldn't tell if you were still you, or something along those lines.....and now....”

He felt Vicki's arm around his shoulder. “Now, I've cleared the gap with the help of a good friend.”

There was something in the tone of her voice---not just her usual air of finality, but....confidence, or at the very least a newly-found sense of self-understanding---that effectively silenced Anton's doubts. “Well, in that case,” he beamed, “I think we can continue. Now, the fembot shells----their bodies---can effectively be 'cleared out', or emptied of all programming and reused with compatible A.I.s as long as the bodies themselves are still in good condition. Deploying an EMP wave will leave their A.I.s intact, but trapped in the bodies and still posing a threat---”

“So we need a way to delete their A.I.s without physically attacking them,” Vicki finished.

“We have a way,” Anton corrected. “This captured fembot held one half of a binary algorithm that, on its own, is effectively useless. Since the ground floor is in close enough proximity, however, that half of the algorithm has been transmitting to the fembots still stuck there---effectively reprogramming them.”

Vicki stared at the fembot bound to the slab. “So you've figured out how to use that algorithm against them?”

“We have....but it may take some time to explain, and to give you what you'll need to use it yourself.”

The brunette gynoid grinned. “I don't think time is going to be a problem for us, Professor.”
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[DollSpace]

Another great installment, though I've noticed them getting shorter recently I don't mind as long as they're as good as they have been!

[Uhoh]

Guess all she needed was a good confidence talk, great installment, looking forward to more