"You know, for a Personal Assistant, I feel more like a prisoner being transferred," Danyi muttered, breathless.
General A-01's strides were long, precise, and utterly silent on the floors of the penthouse. Danyi, on the other hand, was practically jogging to match his pace, her boots squeaking against the expensive tiles.
"A prisoner implies you are being held against your will," A-01 replied without looking back. "You are free to leave, Danyi. Of course, the moment you step outside that door, your credit balance returns to zero, and you won't get what you want, ever. But the choice is yours."
Danyi glared at his perfect back. He knew exactly which buttons to press.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"A Meeting."
He stopped abruptly in front of a heavy, sealed door that hummed with a low-frequency vibration. A red laser grid scanned the entrance.
"This is the Main Circuitry Hub," A-01 stated, gesturing to the door. "It houses the physical servers for the local grid.."
He looked at her, his expression mild.
"Do not enter this room."
Danyi swallowed hard. "Noted."
They continued down the hall. A-01 pointed out the kitchen, which he never truly needed, the lounge, and the balcony (high enough to cause vertigo). Finally, they reached the end of the corridor, right next to his massive, open-concept office.
"And these," A-01 said, gesturing to a space partitioned off by clear walls, "are your quarters."
Danyi stopped. She stared. Then she blinked and stared again.
The walls were floor-to-ceiling glass. Crystal clear. Transparent. There were no curtains. No blinds. Just a sleek, white bed, a small closet, and...
"Is that the bathroom?" Danyi pointed a shaking finger at the enclosure in the corner of the room.
It was also glass.
"Affirmative," A-01 said, tapping a command on his wrist hologram. "Proximity to my workspace is essential. I need to monitor your sleep cycles, your REM patterns, and your baseline restlessness."
"You need to monitor my— are you joking?" Danyi spun around to face him, her hands on her hips. "I am not sleeping in a display case! And I am definitely not showering in one! I am not an exhibitionist, you pervert!"
A-01 looked at her with that infuriatingly bored expression.
"Perversion requires a biological drive for voyeurism," he said smoothly. "I possess neither. To me, your naked body is simply a collection of skin, adipose tissue, and skeletal structure. I do not derive pleasure from viewing it, Danyi. It is merely... data."
"Ouch," Danyi said, the word slipping out before she could stop it. "Okay, first of all, rude. Second of all, privacy is a basic human right!"
"Privacy is a luxury for those with something to hide," A-01 countered. "And since I already know you are a virgin with zero credits and a questionable survival instinct, you have nothing left to hide."
Is this some kind of rage bait?
He reached into a recessed panel in the wall and pulled out a bundle of shimmering fabric. He tossed it to her. Danyi caught it against her chest.
"Put this on," he commanded. "Your current attire is carrying fourteen different types of bacteria from Sector 4."
Danyi held up the garment. It was a silver bodysuit. It looked impossibly small, like it was made for a child, but the fabric stretched elastically in her hands.
"What is this?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. "A space condom?"
"It is a Bio-Feedback Suit," A-01 corrected, ignoring her jarring words. "It contains thousands of micro-sensors. It will broadcast your heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and hormonal fluctuations directly to my Heads-Up Display."
He tapped his temple.
"If you get stressed, I will know. If you get sick, I will know. If you get... aroused... I will know."
Danyi felt the heat creep up her neck. Great. Just great.
Wait, she thought, panic seizing her. If he can see everything...
Does that mean he's going to watch me take a piss? Is he going to analyze my poopie?
[Oh, absolutely,]
[He's going to have a live feed of your bowel movements on his retina while he's deleting countries. Welcome to the high life, babe.]
That's gross.
Danyi wanted to scream. She wanted to throw the silver suit in his face and run back to the slums.
But then she remembered the alternative: starvation.
"Go shower," A-01 said, turning away and walking toward his massive desk. He sat down, immediately waving his hand to summon a wall of floating screens. "We have a meeting with the sector leaders in forty minutes. I expect you to be clean, dressed, and silent by then."
Danyi stood there, clutching the suit. She looked at the glass bathroom. She looked at A-01, who was already engrossed in a stream of complex code.
"Fine," Danyi muttered, storming into her glass cage. "You want a show? I'll give you a show."
She kicked off her boots. She peeled off her dirty jeans and the oversized shirt he had lent her earlier. She stood there, completely naked in the middle of the glass box, glaring at his back.
A-01 didn't turn around.
Danyi marched into the glass shower enclosure. She turned the water on—it was perfect, hot, and high pressure, and stepped under the spray.
She grabbed the bottle of expensive body wash. She lathered it slowly over her arms, arching her back, letting the water cascade down her curves. She made a production of it, washing her legs, her chest, turning slowly so that if he did happen to glance over, he would get the full view.
Look at me, she thought defiantly. I dare you. Look at the 'adipose tissue' and tell me you don't feel anything.
She peeked through the steam and the glass.
A-01 was typing on a holographic keyboard, his eyes darting back and forth across a spreadsheet. He picked up a cup of coffee and took a sip, completely oblivious to the naked woman trying to seduce him five feet away.
He looked as interested in her as he would be in a lamp.
Danyi slumped against the wet tiles, the steam suddenly feeling less sexy and more stifling.
Well, he actually doesn't care.
She turned the water off and stepped out, drying herself quickly. She pulled on the silver suit. It slid over her skin like a second layer of flesh, tightening automatically until it clung to every curve, dip, and edge of her body.
It was comfortable, surprisingly, but it left a lot to the imagination. She walked out of the glass room, feeling shiny and sexy.
"I'm ready," she announced, trying to sound dignified despite looking like a sci-fi superhero extra.
A-01 didn't look up immediately. He finished typing a line of code, swiped the screen away, and then slowly swiveled his chair to face her.
His blue eyes swept over her, from her silver-clad toes to the top of her damp hair.
Danyi held her breath. Say something. Say I look good.
"Your resting heart rate has dropped to 72," A-01 noted, standing up and buttoning his jacket. "Acceptable. The suit fits within the efficiency parameters."
That was it. No "Wow."
Danyi let out a huff of frustration. As she followed him toward the elevator, the system messages appeared again.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[PHASE 1 COMPLETE: SEDUCE HIM]
[REWARD: 500 CREDITS DEPOSITED]
Danyi blinked. Five hundred credits? That was more money than she had seen in her entire life. A grin tugged at her lips. Okay, maybe being a lab rat had its perks.
But then, a countdown timer appeared in the corner of her eye.
[NEW MAIN QUEST ACTIVATED]
[OBJECTIVE: HAVE SEX WITH GENERAL A-01]
[METHOD: ANY MEANS NECESSARY]
[DEADLINE: 5 DAYS]