Trifecta (38 page)

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"Of course.  My getting killed bothers me more, though."

Sabrina turned so she was facing Mark and hugged him. 
"I really do appreciate what you did tonight, Mark."

Mark hugged her back.  "The bottom line is, I don't
want you alone with her.  I don't think it's safe.  Stay with me tonight."

"Do you think Eve will be all right? Alone and everything?"

"You'd better believe it.  With her accelerated healing
and strength, I don't think anything could hurt her.  Unless she starved to death
without her syrup.  She's just too unpredictable."

"She does anything I ask."

"I told her to do some things tonight and she didn't
obey me.  She was overriding my suggestions because of her priority to you.  Right
now, you're one of the most powerful people in the world.  She would probably kill
or steal for you."

"She's programmed to obey." 

Mark was quiet for a moment.  "If she got in the wrong
hands and started obeying it could be disastrous."

Sabrina nodded.  The one thing she wanted, Eve could not
get for her.  Mark had had plans for tonight with another women, Sabrina just knew
it, and if she was going to stay with him tonight, it might be her last chance to
have his baby.  The thought made tears come to her eyes, and her throat was suddenly
very sore.

"We better get her some syrup.  Lots of it.  I don't
want her to be hungry,"  Sabrina said.

They bought a case of syrup, a big tin of honey and some
jars of jelly.  It was interesting that Eve did not have pain receptors but could
taste food and beverages.  Probably so she wouldn't drink lye or eat detergents. 
It seemed that Ferd had thought of just about everything. 

But Sabrina wondered about Eve's lack of pain receptors.
 The thoughts were ominous.  What if they wanted Eve to perform some task that was
so dangerous and potentially hazardous it would cause injury or pain.  Pain might
keep her from obeying.  It was an awful thought.

D
etective Sergeant Montgomery decided that the
story the two lawyers told him, of being attacked during a burglary attempt was
unlikely.  They had been rushed to Ceder's Sinai Hospital along with their father.

Considering the strength necessary to break shin bones,
and the angle of the attack, which appeared from the X-rays to have been from below,
it did look like powerful kicks from a karate expert.  But a burglar? Even though
two huge men had been rendered incapable of protecting the property, nothing had
been stolen. 

The nurses caring for the two lawyers also considered the
injuries quite extraordinary, but their gossip mainly concerned the men's obnoxious
behavior.  The overworked staff had been ordered about like servants.  There had
been complaints about the hospital's horrible food, lack of privacy, (what did they
expect, it was a hospital) their terrible, unremitting pain, and the lack of skill
evident in all hospital personnel. 

The nurses nodded among themselves.  What could they expect
anyway; the men were lawyers.  Everyone knew lawyers were obnoxious and thought
themselves second only to God because they had the powers of law and litigation. 
Lawyers, in the nurses' experience, were even worse patients than doctors, who merely
considered themselves Gods. 

The two brothers, who had been X-rayed, inspected, injected,
stitched and splinted, and were finally ensconced in the private room that they
had insisted on, were angry.  Irate the computer clone had escaped.  Angry that
their plan to eliminate the original body had been foiled.  Furious that their legs
were broken and that they had to anticipate months of hobbling around on crutches. 
They were totally frustrated, furious, and still in considerable pain.  Of course,
under the circumstances, they wanted revenge.

"Obviously Dad didn't give the woman adequate gas
to keep her unconscious long enough,"  Stephan said, when they were finally
alone in the bare hospital room.  He was the one with two broken legs.  "For
a genius, our father can really be stupid."

"The nerve of that idiot bitch.  Who did she think
she was, taking a valuable experiment like that? " Alexander said.

"She knew we were planning to kill her." 

"When I get my hands on her, I'm going to do a lot
more than that.  Did you get a look at that computer? Some babe." 

Alexander tried to scratch his cast, which was already
itching.  "It's too bad Dad saw the gun and guessed what we had it for.  But
now I have better plans for the broad.  Before we get an agreement with Hashimoto."

Stephan smiled for the first time in hours.  "And
we will find them.  I'll put our best investigators on it.  The girl and computer
are together.  With their looks, they'll attract attention."

Stephan used the bedside phone to wake up one of the Steinbrenner
firm's investigators.  It was just after one o'clock in the morning. 

"Lets see if I got this right,"  the investigator
said after listening for a while.  "They're about six feet in height.  Blond
hair.  Blue eyes.  Very thin.  Early twenties.

"You got it."  Stephan slammed down the phone.

"I'm hungry,"  Alexander complained in a whiny
tone.  He used the bell to call the night nurse and ordered her to call out and
get them some pastrami sandwiches.  She told them that the deli would not deliver
to the hospital.  Stephan cursed the stupidity of all hospital personnel audibly
enough for the nurse to overhear as she walked from the men's hospital room down
the long hallway.

"Obnoxious creeps,"  the nurse said as she went
back to her lonely vigil at the nursing station.

D
r.  Ferdinand Steinbrenner, in the intensive care ward,
was adored by the hospital staff.  He was hooked up to machines which monitored
his heart and respiration.  He examined the machinery with delight and told the
nurses they were beautiful.  His white halo of hair was shining, his cheeks were
pink; he resembled an old fairy-tale gnome. 

When he slept he dreamed of the beautiful young girl that
was used to complete the body of his computer.  The only sub-conscious thought that
disturbed him concerned the duration of the copying process.  It might not have
come to a conclusion at the correct time to complete the computer's brain.  It was
scheduled to terminate exactly when the woman, Sabrina, awakened.  He had attached
electrodes to her scalp so that he could monitor her brain wave rhythms, as they
went from the delta waves of sleep, through the resting alpha waves, to the waking
beta brain waves.  Sabrina had gone through several sleep cycles and had awakened
briefly a few times.  He had not anticipated that she would come to full consciousness
so quickly.  Near the termination of the process he had had to take the electrodes
off of Sabrina's head.  Then his sons had interrupted him.

If Sabrina did wake up too soon, it might mean that the
nervous system for the computer was incomplete.  It could also mean that the brain
would be more primitive than he had anticipated.  The process of chemically hooking
the computer to the brain's neurons had finished, so that part of the system would
be fine.  But the brain stem, the primitive part of the brain and the first to evolve,
might take precedence over the evolutionary newer parts of the brain, like the frontal
lobes.  When the computer did get emotions, he dreamed that the computer was a primitive
throwback to early man, with more violent tendencies. 

Even in his dreams Dr. Steinbrenner was a genius.  His
mind argued logically that the function of the computer was to promote more reason
into mankind and encourage less violence toward others.  That was the justification
for the whole experiment.

Ferd awoke in the middle of the night and spent the rest
of it wide awake, wondering how he had been such an errant father to produce two
men who would even think of killing that beautiful girl, Sabrina.  He had given
his sons everything to make them happy, bright and responsible young men.  They
had never lacked for anything tangible.  They both received the best education. 
When they had decided to become lawyers and had passed through college and then
law school without any difficulties he had been very proud.  Maybe it was because
he had doted on them so after their mother, his beautiful Angela, had died.  He
did not have anything but his sons, and he guessed he had spoiled them.  Ferd nodded
and sighed.  He had spoiled them rotten.

Ferd thought he should have recognized the deficit in his
sons long ago, before they had forced him do the experiment.

As Ferd drifted back to sleep in the early hours of the
morning he had pleasant dreams about his hope for the improved human race through
his robotic-biological breakthrough.  He saw a peaceful world with happy people
who would make improvements that would save the planet and the environment; a world
without war and hunger.  A marvelous new future for mankind.

Y
ou'd make a smashing redhead,"  Mark said.  He had
stopped at an garishly neon-lit drugstore on Sunset Boulevard.

"Right,"  Sabrina said.

"You need a disguise.  Those goons might be in the
hospital, but they could put out the word to their thug-friends to be on the lookout
for tall blond twins.  Have someone else do their dirty work."

Sabrina didn't like it. 

"They know what you look like, now,"  Mark said. 
"They want to kill you."

When they arrived back at Sabrina's apartment, Eve was
watching television and reading a book.  She moved the pages so rapidly Sabrina
couldn't believe she was really reading; merely glancing at the pages.

"The range of human behavior is amazing, isn't it?" 

She was actually reading.

"Do you mind stopping for a while?"  Sabrina
asked.  "We need to change our hair color."

"Trimmings?"  Eve asked.

Mark shook his head, "A disguise.  So the thugs won't
find you." 

"We got you lots of syrup,"  Sabrina said.  "Your
very own supply.  Would you like to taste it?"

They went into the kitchen and Sabrina cleared off one
shelf for Eve's provisions.  Then they watched as Eve tried each of the different
sweets.  She liked them all, but her favorite was Marmalade.  She ate half of the
jar.  Sabrina told her that after she opened something it had to go into the refrigerator.

"Microbes.  Bacteria.  Virus.  Mold.  Dirt.  Parasites. 
Disease,"  Eve said rapidly, nodding and spooning up another glob of the preserves.

While Eve was eating, Mark explained very seriously that
it was imperative for her to remember to blink.  All the hair color in the world
would not disguise her if she forgot.

The hair dye was very messy and they ruined a couple of
towels, but the results were quite striking.

Sabrina didn't think she would have a chance at that toothpaste
commercial tomorrow with bright red hair.  Her agent said they were looking for
blonds.  Oh well, she would try for it anyway.  She thought that maybe Eve could
watch the store while she was away, and then reconsidered.  Sabrina did not trust
Bea, who would be working there tomorrow.  Bea was an adorable air-head and Sabrina's
best friend, who could not keep a secret for a minute if her life depended on it. 
And Bea's life wouldn't depend on secrecy, but Sabrina's would.

As Sabrina blew Eve's hair dry, she explained that she
was going to Mark's apartment to stay with him.  She cut bangs for Eve and thought
they didn't look very much alike anymore.  "You look like Cleopatra, Eve, with
your hair black." 

"Egyptian Queen,"  Eve said.  "She tattooed
her body so that no man would feel he had seen her naked, and had possessed her."

"Really?"

"Yes.  Are you going to copulate with Mark tonight?"

Sabrina looked at Eve, but her expression was bland.  "Maybe."

"I would like to watch."

"It's something most people consider very private."

"Would Mark copulate with me, too?"

"You'll have to ask him,"  Sabrina said smiling. 
She could hardly wait to go into the living room and tell Mark that Eve had a question
for him. 

Mark nodded and smiled when they went into the living room. 
"You still look exactly alike, except for the hair.  Turn around, Sabrina."

Eve, watching Sabrina's pirouette, turned around too.

"Mark, I think Eve has a question she wants to ask
you,"  Sabrina said, trying to keep her face neutral.

"Sure.  What is it Eve?"

"I asked Sabrina if you would copulate with me.  She
said I would have to ask you."

"What!"

Eve recited the sentence again.  Much louder.

"She took you literally.  Thought you didn't hear." 
Sabrina was biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"I would be too heavy in the superior position," 
Eve said.  "To prevent injury, I would stay below.  Ferd said I should learn
all of the human behaviors, and that's evidently an important one.  Every time I
read a book they mention it."

Sabrina had watched Mark's coloring turn almost white and
then an interesting brick color.  He was evidently very embarrassed and Sabrina
was a little surprised.  Eve was just like a curious child and didn’t have any idea
of the emotions involved.  She watched as Mark's eyebrows bunched.

"Eve, when people um...copulate, it's usually because
there is strong feeling between them.  Sabrina is like my best friend, and I care
about her very much.  You are very attractive, but I can't have sex with you because
I don't feel that way about you.  I hardly know you."

Sabrina felt relieved.  She wouldn't have to be in such
a rush to have Mark's baby.

"I am Sabrina.  With some additions.  And I am a little
confused, Mark.  In books it seemed like people desired to go to bed with the opposite
gender quite frequently.  Evidently they were overwhelmed with a strange desire."

"Sounds like Ferd had an extensive library," 
Sabrina muttered.

"He has shelves of books in his living room," 
Eve said.  "Very necessary stimulation for the computer.  I absorbed all his
medical texts, the books on quantum physics, mathematics, biology, chemistry, lasers,
geology and physiology.  Those were easy, because they are logical.  But the psychology
texts are not logical.  Or sensible.  Their theories seem totally irrational.  As
do the novels."

"It sounds like you've read some trashy stories," 
Mark said.  "People make emotional bonds and want committed relationships,
most of the time.  But sometimes they want variety, or are unsure of their feelings,
and they sleep with other people.  It's a very complicated subject."

"It's perplexing because I don't have emotions yet."

"I don't understand,"  Mark said slowly, eyebrows
bunching again.  "Are you going to get emotions?"

"In all probability, very soon.  Sabrina's hormones
are in my system now.  It will be very helpful in understanding human behavior."

"Do you think you could have a baby?"  Sabrina
asked.

"Yes.  I have your eggs, so the baby would be yours,
Sabrina."