Unfettered Bones Part 2: Liquid Assets
As he entered, the music roared and pounded his eardrums beating a vicious and merciless tune that brought out his perversions.
San Tokyo was a brightly colored city in the night with strange erected buildings held high up above the red sky. Green lightning flashed above, thunder roared in the distance. Drizzling rain came down upon the black concrete all mangled and cracked. He took the trolley car across the city to Liquid Assets to meet his friend. On his way, he messaged Scy.
Scy was already there.
He took it a few blocks down as people from many different races and tongues with their umbrellas filled the busy noisy streets.
Marv got off the trolley with its green neon lights on the sides. Every time it stopped the lights flashed and flowed down the stream of pipes on its side running horizontally. He stepped off and walked one block to the strip club.
In his younger days, he practically lived there seeing all the naked bodies dancing in the darkened red light. The rooms of sexual pleasure for all to see and take in.
As he entered, the music roared and pounded his eardrums beating a vicious and merciless tune that brought out his perversions. He entered and saw young naked women dancing on poles all around the room as men drank, ate, and gave coin to them who lavishly touched their cheeks and called them āBabyā. He shielded his eyes but peeked to see just what he wanted.
Why did he have me meet him here? he thought. And as he came around the bend two girls danced off to a side table in a funky fashion barely clothed. The one to the right saw him and winked. āLike what you see, big boy?ā He didnāt acknowledge her, eying Scy.
Annoyed, he found Scy in a corner in a leather booth with sake drinking it from a wooden cup with Japanese written on it. The full bottle was presented on the wooden table all chipped from men doing knife tricks.
āāAnd here the minstrel comes, riding on his black steed waiting to make love to his wench.āā He said smiling pouring his sake. A red lantern hung up above Scyās thinning hair that was slicked across his round shiny head. His plump face and obese body made him look ten years older. His red cheeks became rosier as he drank and his eyes were brown but had lost color turning an almost hazy yellow. His huge thick fingers grabbed the cup as he drank continuously wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He wore a three-piece suit with his collar ruffed up exposing his hairy chest.
āFrom The Apathy?ā
āYou got it chief. Only book thatās worth reading.ā
āYeah, Aoki was a sex addict though.ā
āWeāre all sex addicts, chief. Especially me.ā He said taking a sip and downing his drink. āWeāre all just swimming in a sea of madness. Try not to get swept away completely.ā Scy poured himself another.
āYou donāt know what else to do thatās the problem.ā
āAnd you? Are you any different?ā
āForget about me.ā
āāThe lost will not be found amid these polluted skies filling the desolate earthā.ā
āStop quoting at me.ā
āWhy are you here if you arenāt like the rest of us then?ā
āBecause you said I had to come.ā
āLetās be clear: I never said that. It was simply a suggestion. We couldāve went anywhere.ā
āUnbelievable,ā Marv said sipping. āWhat did you drag me here for? Have a good olā time?ā
āItās not like anyone marries anymore. Open relationships are the thing now. Get with the program, man.ā
āWell, we havenāt decided that.ā
āYet,ā he said smiling.
āIf thatās what you had in mind, Iām leaving,ā he said getting up.
āCome on, come on, Marv, sit down. If thatās what I wanted you to do Iād have dragged myself to your place with hookers and blow. No, thatās not why I brought you here.ā
āWell, then what?ā
āYou see those girls dancing on the tables?ā He pointed.
āStop it.ā
āIf you really didnāt want to see them you wouldnāt have come at all.ā
Marvās chest tightened and said nothing.
āTruth is stranger than fiction. Look.ā Two girls were dancing on a table with their panties and bras still on.
āYeah, I see āem.ā
āThose two are the first of their kind. Sex bots. Real ones.ā
āCome on, the one spoke to me. Thoseāre real.ā
āNo, theyāre not. You gotta understand one thing: this is what Laix designed. They have a monopoly on this thing.ā
āWhatāre you talking about, Scy?ā
āIām talking about real sex robots that look like real women. Theyāre experimenting with them tonight for the first time and you thinking them real, just made āem pass the test.ā
āBro stop, theyāre-ā
āLetās go over there and talk with them, then,ā Scy got up abruptly and motioned for Marv to come along. Approaching the women not far, they looked young.
āHi, ladies,ā Scy said.
āHi,ā they both said together dancing sensually to the dank music. The one who spoke to Marv came right up to his face.
āHow you doinā, baby? Gettinā over your shyness,ā she asked smiling. She looked like a nice lady who wanted to dance the night away while she was young in her youthful beauty. Flesh and bone were on her artificial face. Sweat dripped from her forehead, wrinkles in the appropriate places. She looked so unique and she smelled divine but in the darkest pupil in her eyes, he could see the shutter. The camera, in her black pupils.
āWha- Wow.ā
āYeah, right?ā
āYou like what you see, baby?ā she said sultrily.
āWhere does that camera go to?ā
āItās stored in a separate server in Hong Kong,ā Scy explained. āNobody knows about it.ā
āExcept China.ā
āOf course, they control everything but theyāll never sell it. Especially if you own one.ā
āAre you advertising this?ā
āSoon, maybe tomorrow. Laix has to say something now before it leaks. They pay me to tell a select few. To see if this is something thatās wanted in the market.ā
āStop staring boys,ā the young lady said. āYou wanna take this somewhereā¦ private?ā
āWhatdya say,ā Scy asked.
āNah, man. Letās go,ā Marv said annoyed.
āSuit yourself.ā Scy smiled as he winked at the robot.
āOh, come on, baby,ā she said pleading. Her voice was so unique. It terrified him but it resembled Zenās. Hurriedly they went back to their booth as the robot made an air kiss with her hand and waved smiling the sweetest he had ever seen. He shivered.
āSo, whatdya think?ā
āI donāt know. Itās a little creepy and wrong.ā
āWrong? The whole damn world is wrong, Marv.ā He laughed heartily. āThis is far from anything being wrong. Yeah, maybe a little creepy but itās the same thing as any porn site. Itās all fake. Jerkinā off to a screen compared to a fake lady. Whatās the difference? Itās probably better than porn. Better than sex. No mess.ā
āIāve given up that life.ā
āCome on, stop kidding yourself! You hardly work, whatād you do in those dreadful hours? You hate work but you love sex.ā
āThatās true but I only make love to Zen.ā
āMake love,ā he said under his breath and smirked. āIf that were true youād have tied the knot with her long ago.ā
āFuck you.ā
āYou got no money, no prospects. Your girl is the breadwinner. Chained to a hag.ā
āShut up!ā
āEasy, Marv. The hag was meant to be you,ā he smiled wryly.
āPiss off. I was gonna tell ya something but now youāre just gonna go on insulting me.ā
āIs she finally leaving you for some bum?ā
āWe just got approved to become parents.ā
āOK, well, thatās something. Progress. The right direction. But then again responsibility. Thatās what these Trad people talk about. Commitment and order, family ideals and values. They preach responsibility. How can a man be responsible? I never could get it. You used to be a man that had balls, now youāre shackinā up with Mrs. Right.ā
āAt least Iām happy.ā
He laughed and poured some more into their cups. āIām not even happy and Iām not chained. Think about it, Marvy. What do you think youāre gonna accomplish by saying youāre better than this?ā
āWhy did this all of a sudden become about me?ā
āEither way, theseāll be in every club in two years. No more slaves. No more human bodies. No murders from pimps, no deaths from some crazed psychopath slashing throats. Just robots that think, feel like us. Lost in a sea of madness being swept away.ā
āYouāre fucking awful.ā
āI like being poetic. Itās the truth and I think itāll be better for society. Any way in five yearsā time theyāll all be holograms.ā
āBetter for society or better for you? You wanna fill your pockets being a manager at Laix.ā
āThese robots want to do what theyāre doing. Theyāre programmed to do what we say. No collateral damage.ā
āDid you ever think to ask about the consequences?ā
āI know you live at your apartment, never to leave your tiny little cubicle where itās safe and nice and smooth and clean with your bitchy maid but China doesnāt care. They see the numbers, the figures with their advisers, and they just do. You of all people should know all about that.ā
āIām just saying. Thinking about the Hundred Year War? Did they ever learn?ā
āNo, just look at history. We never learn. But the real reason I wanted to bring you here is because I need your consent.ā
āTo what?ā
āI want you to be my partner. Tons of Yen in it for you. Trillions. Itās a huge dynasty and you and I could be one of the first small companies to try it out. Itās gonna catch on.ā
āYou slimy prick.ā
āToo soon?ā
āIām not gonna go into business with you.ā
āWhy not?ā
āI donāt know whatās gotten into you but your job changed you.ā
āFor better or worse?ā
āI think you know. Youāre better than this.ā
āThe porn industry fell hard during the War. Prostitution skyrocketed after bringing crime up again. You think this wonāt improve anything? Come on, letās be part of a movement bigger than you or me.ā
āAre you hearing yourself?ā
āOf course. I love my voice. But are you gonna join me? All the coin and sake you ever wanted.ā
āI work less hours for a reason.ā
āSo, you can jerk off to a screen?ā
āStop.ā
āEither way, it doesnāt matter anymore Marv. All you gotta do is agree, sign, and have a little coin to buy in.ā
āAlways about the coin. What happened to you? My friend,ā Marv asked sincerely.
āIām right here.ā
Marv rubbed his face and downed his drink. He put some yen on the table and got up. āNo, youāre not. Youāre lost, Scy.ā
As he walked out Scy screamed, āāEverything surrounded by the sea shall perish. The tides roaring around will consume. One way or another. It will find you.āā
But he paid no attention to it and walked out briskly putting on his hood as he exited. The storms came, the waters roared and the sky opened. Starships sailed in the night sky landing on top of the roof bringing more sex bots to the club.