After the Cloning: The Nubs Trilogy #3

By Charles G. Dyer

The androids develop technologies to help them restore humanity to the Nubs but their efforts are not without a price.
Valda continues to drive the other androids and to search for more human women to serve as hosts for her cloning programme.
Conflicts with the Masses occur but the androids have technology at their disposal and they are able to overcome the odds with acceptable losses.
Valda transfers selected parts of her AI to a few other androids so that she can delegate some of her work. This leads to unexpected developments on the android production line.
The unpredictable conclusion is bound to stir conflicting emotions...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles G. Dyer
• Release date: Sep 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310397585

Charles G. Dyer

Charles Dyer is a consulting engineer, former senior lecturer and former technical magazine editor. He creates 3D models to help with visualisation and realism in his writing.

Book preview

After the Cloning

The Nubs Trilogy #3

A dystopian paranormal romance

Charles G. Dyer

Copyright © 2013 Charles G. Dyer

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 9781310397585

Smashwords Edition

License

Thank you for purchasing this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents are products of the author's imagination. It remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to purchase their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could post a review on the site where you purchased this book. If you have any comments about this book, good or bad, you can write to me at [e-mail].

Other books in the Nubs Trilogy:

Book One – After the Collapse

Book Two – After the Plague

They can be found at:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/chas1951

Contents

Chapter_One

Chapter_Two

Chapter_Three

Chapter_Four

Chapter_Five

Chapter_Six

Chapter_Seven

Chapter_Eight

Chapter_Nine

Chapter_Ten

Chapter_Eleven

Chapter_Twelve

Chapter_Thirteen

Chapter_Fourteen

Chapter_Fifteen

Chapter_Sixteen

About_The_Author

Chapter One

Valda was a mere eight years old and her accomplishments were remarkable. After the plague, she had rallied the Golems to bring about sweeping changes that improved the safety and security of the Nubs in preparation for her cloning experiments. She was, directly and indirectly, instrumental in procuring human women from the Masses to fulfil her ambitions.

She took pride in the fact that she kept her database and programming in meticulous order with regular sorting and defragmentation. Despite her best efforts, she knew that she was running low on storage space. She discussed the matter with her friend and confidant Sonia.

Ha, ha, Sonia laughed, I'm not the least bit surprised. You must have half the Landlink in your head by now. When I was about fifteen, my master had my database purged. He ordered the Corporation to leave a few bits and pieces that suited him, and they did leave a residue of other memories. When we first met, I was virtually a clean slate, though I suspect that Simone left some deep grooves in that.

Hmm, Valda said, so do you have any useful suggestions?

No, not really, Sonia shrugged, I guess you've been doing your housekeeping, and I know that you don't like the idea of Golem Corporation messing with your inner workings. They could give you a supplementary hard-drive or a larger capacity one than you now have.

Valda shuddered, I'm not letting them cut me open or switch me off. The problem is that I need all the data that I have and if I start purging incidental memories, it'll make me look foolish or perhaps careless.

You mean to say that you store every conversation and every detail? Sonia raised her eyebrows.

Yes I do, Valda nodded, it's a part of me that helps maintain a human perspective, and I think that it's an essential part of being able to organise and run the Network efficiently. What she would not admit to was the fact that every time she had upgraded anyone's AI, she had 'borrowed' a sizeable chunk of their memories too.

The Few managed and they certainly didn't have such memories, Sonia said.

Maybe not individually, but… Valda sighed. I'm trying to do or at least partially do what they did as a group of brilliant scientists.

Sonia shook her head, Yeah well, I think that you should talk to AT-5. It might have a solution that you'll find acceptable. Failing that you're simply going to have to purge a few substantial chunks of data.

During the first two years after Valda's successful cloning of a new generation of the Few, most of the rescued human women were too busy attending to their infants to spend time on anything else. Some of them continued with their studies at a reduced pace. Most of them were too tired to bother.

As the children grew and were weaned, the women found themselves with time on their hands. Their Golem Mentors encouraged them to return to their studies, and leave the task of raising the children to the Golem Nannies and Wet Nurses.

Only a handful of women volunteered to undergo a second pregnancy. The cloning experiments now relied more heavily on cows as surrogate mothers. Valda did not mind. She had set the wheels in motion and the Network was well on the way to being filled with humans once more.

Already, there were a hundred and twenty children that had been cloned in cows and more were on the way. The problem with the cows was that the genetic modification and manipulation of their hormones and immune system worked for the duration of the pregnancy, but gave rise to postnatal complications in the cow.

It was decided to stabilise each cow after the birth of the clones and return her to a normal life. This meant that a new batch of cows had to be prepared for each cloning. That put a severe limitation on the future of Valda's cloning programme because there would not be enough cows to continue at current rates.

Valda had heard LS-16's warnings before. She looked at the green Golem's expressionless face and asked, How are we doing with the biomechanical womb?

LS-16 pointed towards the complicated and ungainly contraption. Madam, the success rate is not as high as we had hoped. As you know, cloned endometrial cells are grown into a mesh-like membrane made from a variation of Golem Mark 12 skin technologies to produce a viable artificial placenta. Carefully oriented zygotes implanted into this material attach themselves and start growing. So far, we have reached the second trimester before failing.

So where's the problem? Valda asked.

The problem, Madam, is that the mesh is too restrictive. It is not elastic enough to allow for growth to term of the foetus, LS-16 said.

Valda looked at the tangle of wires and tubes. Do you think the fault lies in the material or the weave of the mesh?

Probably a bit of both, the Golem said.

What if we made a slowly soluble membrane and placed a supporting mesh envelope or hammock on the outside where it could be replaced from time to time, if needs be? Valda peered into the cylindrical glazed chamber.

That sounds quite feasible, I will try that Madam, LS-16 said. I also need you to look at the programming for monitoring and maintaining the correct pressures and flow rates of gases, and the distribution of nutrients and waste products. I suspect that insufficient nutrients were reaching the foetus towards the end of the last experiment, and insufficient prostaglandins were being synthesised by the amniotic fluids.

The more she looked into history, the more convinced Valda became that a matriarchal society was a better option than one ruled by men. Her first batch of clones had favoured female zygotes at a ratio of three to one over males. Her thinking then had been more about producing more wombs to accelerate population growth than female dominance.

Now she instructed the Livestock Specialist. LS-16, please put all male clones on hold indefinitely.

I can do that Madam, LS-16 said, but I am curious to know why you want such an imbalance in the population.

Valda frowned at the green-painted Golem. Until such time as the population is large enough to discontinue cloning, we need more wombs. Males are useless baggage. We can produce zygotes without spermatozoa…

True enough Madam, LS-16 interrupted, nevertheless, when these females grow up there will be no males for them to mate with. I understand that your ultimate goal is the reinstatement of a normal human population. That being so, it is essential to balance the sexes. Otherwise, if they are to reproduce, then they will have to be carriers of cloned zygotes. How long before a naturally balanced population is allowed to develop?

Valda took a deep breath, LS-16 it is a political decision. I want a predominantly female population.

Madam, I suggest that you discuss the ramifications of that decision with HT-22. You could be opening a can of worms by upsetting the natural balance, LS-16 said.

Hmm, perhaps I'll do that LS-16. She walked away from the laboratory.

On reflection, Valda was amused by LS-16's choice of words. It clearly had made use of the AI upgrade she had given it. Its normal programming would have produced a much more mechanical speech, and a lack of insight.

Ah, there you are. Sonia ran up behind her and took her hand. I've been looking all over for you, Valda.

Well, you could've Grafted me, dear. Valda squeezed her hand.

I needed the walk and thought you might be here, Sonia smiled, so, what have you been up to?

The usual, Valda grinned, making decisions that affect people's lives. Actually, I'd like to bounce an idea off you, Sonia. I want the future rulers of the Nubs to be women.

So, what's new, Sonia laughed, you've always said that men are trouble.

Valda frowned. I want to limit the number of males to less than a quarter of the population and encourage polygamous marriages. The males should be subservient to the females. For the immediate future, we could make the marriages a compulsory arrangement whereby three or four women share one man.

Gee Valda, that smacks of a tyrannical dictatorship to me, Sonia said. What about the rights of individuals? What if they rebel against such policies? Are the new Few to have no freedom of choice?

Well, if we allow such rights, then many women will be without spouses. That could give rise to social problems not unlike those that the original Few were experiencing towards the end. It could also encourage lesbianism which would be counterproductive. Valda sighed at her own realisation.

There are countless numbers of embryos, right? You don't need any men at all to continue increasing the population. So, you could introduce a rule that every woman must have at least four babies before she reaches the age of, say twenty. You could make the entire population women then the question of men will never be an issue, Sonia said.

We already have boys amongst the new Few. What are we supposed to do with them, huh? Valda said. Anyway, your proposal is just as dictatorial as mine. It also is too unnatural. You might recall that Dorothy once said that some of them miss their men folk. The last thing we want is some kind of movement against us because we are seen to be too manipulative.

Well then Valda, you've sort of answered your own question. Sonia stroked her thumb over Valda's hand. The right thing to do is simply equalise the numbers of males and females, and let nature take its course. We can still control the males by indoctrination. If the children are raised in the belief that men are the weaker sex, it may be enough to keep the boys in place. We can monitor the pairing off and coerce individuals into relationships if they try to go it alone.

OK, so that's a less invasive interference in their lives. Equal numbers of the sexes should, in theory, mean a balanced coupling. We can force couplings by surreptitious means if necessary or even resort to hypnosis if there is too much resistance. In the public eye, we will remain the benevolent benefactors, Valda said.

Exactly, Sonia said, that way, we should maintain the status quo, and avoid the psychological problems associated with an imbalance of the sexes. The clones are still young enough to be taught to think the way we do. The present imbalance can quickly be reversed because there are not that many people yet. Within a few years, the numbers of boys and girls can be equalised. In some respects it would be better to have it this way.

What do you mean? Valda looked at Sonia.

Simply that before the plague, it was common practice for the man to be older than the woman in a marriage. That reinforced the male's dominant position because he was older, and supposedly wiser. If we reverse that and make the woman the older one of the couple, it automatically makes her the leader of the family unit, Sonia said.

Humph, Valda sighed, I'm so glad that I jacked up your AI, Sonia. That is what we'll do then. We need to sit down and fine-tune a doctrine that should be the cornerstone of the children's education. I suppose we might need to modify historical records too so that they don't contradict our female dominance concept. When that is done we should present it to the women for their approval.

Gee, changing history could be a huge task. What if they don't approve of it? Sonia asked.

Most of them had bad experiences with men. Those that didn't have heard the stories of the others and they surely must be sympathetic. We are not depriving them of men, we are simply making sure that men play a less significant role in the control of their lives, Valda said. She stopped and faced Sonia. As for the history, there are enough Mark 12s sitting around with nothing to do. They can edit the records. I don't think that it will be such a monumental task because the Few were not that interested in history anyway. Most of the records they preserved were scientific.

Sounds good to me, Sonia said, I hope they all see it in the same light.

Valda Grafted the Livestock Specialist, LS-16, I've reconsidered my decision. Please make all new clones male until we arrive at a balance of the sexes. From then on, we'll do equal numbers.

Certainly Madam, LS-16 said, that means with the forty cows we are using, we need two more years to equalise the sexes. At that time, we will have about three hundred and twelve clones of each sex. Did you speak to HT-22?

No, I spoke to Sonia and I imagine that HT-22 would have given similar advice. Thank you, LS-16, bye for now. Valda tapped her Graft button.

Valda turned to Sonia. Done! We cut back on the number of cows we were going to use, so there are now only forty. That means that by the time the first clones are sixteen years old, there will be about a thousand three hundred and eighty children.

Sonia smiled. Hmm, evenly split that gives us six hundred and ninety potential families. We could impregnate all the girls under the pretext of a medical examination and get another two thousand seven hundred and sixty souls out of that lot.

Valda laughed, Now who is interfering in their lives? I like it and it's too bad if the husbands smell a rat. We need to get the numbers up as a priority. Sensitivity can come later when the Few outnumber us Golems.

This is a long term operation Valda. It'll be thirty years before all the girls will be mature enough to bear children. By then, the women we liberated from the Masses will be middle-aged and we will still look the same. When are we going to tell them about us? Sonia nudged Valda with her elbow.

Valda puffed her lips, I guess there's no harm in telling them now. Better that they hear it from us than figure it out for themselves.

Valda Grafted Golem Corporation, Hello AT-5, how are things in the halls of creation?

Madam, there are no new creatures or android models if that's what you mean, AT-5 said.

Do you have any Mark 11 or 12 Golems that are out of commission? Valda asked.

As a matter of fact I do Madam, the Android Tech said, a Mark 12 managed to electrocute itself. Fortunately, there were no humans to witness the event. The poor thing is now just a maze of fried circuits.

Valda said, Is her skin intact?

Yes Madam, the chief of Golem Corporation replied.

Good, I want you to bring her to the sports stadium at Nub 2 tomorrow morning. Bring tools along too. We are going to strip her skin in front of the humans, Valda said.

Uh Madam… the Golem hesitated, do you think that is wise?

It's time to show them what we are AT-5, Valda said, I'm tired of lying and pretending.

She went on to explain her diminishing data storage capacity problem to the chief Android Technician. It listened to her and said, Madam, the only thing I can recommend at the moment is either an additional hard-drive or a replacement with one of our new models. Either way, there is a slight possibility that you are likely to be scarred by the operation. Although I must add that we do have Techs that are fairly good at hiding the scars. Your aversion to being switched off is a problem I have not encountered before. I will give the matter some thought and let you know if a better solution can be found.

Shirley's arm looked a mess, Valda said.

Ah Madam, that repair was done in haste by me and I am not a Skin Specialist. We could hide her scar if required to do so, AT-5 said.

***

The little stadium had the capacity to hold a much larger crowd than the sixty-five women. They sat in four rows above a table that stood on the edge of the playing field. All the infants had been left in the care of their Golem Wet Nurses and Nannies. Behind the table, Valda sat with Sonia, AT-5 and a woman none of them had seen before.

Ladies, Valda stood up, you may recall that I once stood before you all and said that we had no more secrets. I told you then about Bert and Judy and their boys. As you all know, we have succeeded in our cloning experiments and your children are living proof of that. We have never lied to you. Everything we have said has been true, both before you arrived here and since you have been living here. We have answered all your questions and made ever effort to see to your comforts. I hope that you are all very happy with your lives now.

A general murmur of approval rippled through the small gathering. Valda continued, Good, today I want to tell you something that some of you might have guessed. We did not tell you about it before because it was irrelevant and most of you would not have understood. Now that you have seen what we can do and that our intentions are honourable, we feel that it is time to reveal our only remaining secret. We believe that you have learnt enough about the Nubs and technology to be able to cope with this.

Sonia stood up. Monica is one of you that probably guessed some time ago. There may be others of you too. Anyway, Monica was asking questions when she first arrived here and I fobbed her off with a few white lies. She asked why my hair didn't grow and why only women survived the poison gas that killed most of the Few. I apologise for those lies now. The truth is that the biological weapon that sent a cloud of death over the Network killed every single human here. There were no survivors at all. Valda and I are not human, nor are any of the Mentors, Nannies or Wet Nurses. Every one of us is a Golem. We all served the Few; those were the humans that built the Network and made us. When the humans died, Valda took the initiative and improved the Network, as you have all been told. She also was the driving force behind saving you from your miserable lives and the creation of a new generation of people for this wonderful place.

The women stared open-mouthed at the group at the table. Valda pointed at the stationary woman. This is a Golem Mark 12, the same model as me. She had an accident and no longer functions. AT-5 here is the head of the Golem Corporation, where all the Golems are made. It will now show you what we are made of. AT-5, please take the skin off this hapless Golem.

The Android Tech lifted the unfortunate Golem onto the table and removed her clothes. It deftly ran a scalpel-like blade down the centre of the chest and pulled back the flesh to reveal the alloy skeleton and a myriad of wires and tubes. Several women gasped and others turned their faces from the spectacle. Valda couldn't help shuddering. She turned to the crowd. Ladies, please come and see. Feel free to ask AT-5 any questions you like.

The stunned women sat mesmerised by the sight. Slowly some of them plucked up the courage to approach the table. Monica was one of the first to arrive, she felt the skin and hair and peered into the abdominal cavity. She looked at Sonia in disbelief and swallowed, Are you really like this?

Yes, my dear, Sonia nodded, those bottles of fluids you asked about are necessary for me to function properly. They are not medicines in the true sense of the word but they are the Golem equivalent. My hair doesn't grow and I never had hair under my arms or on my legs. The human women of the Few did but they had it permanently removed, just as you did. I'm sorry that I lied to you.

Monica puckered her lips and examined the dysfunctional Golem again. She lifted an eyelid gently with her finger. Her eye still looks so… eh, alive. Is she dead?

Madam, I can rebuild it and have it walking around in a few days, AT-5 said.

Wow, that's amazing, Monica shook her head slowly. She turned to Sonia, Why did you think it was necessary to deceive us?

Sonia tilted her head, As Valda said, we didn't think you were ready. Don't forget, you were raw, almost savage, when you came here. You knew nothing of technology. Even the simplest things frightened you. How would you have felt if you'd known that we were machines?

Monica shook her head again. I don't know Sonia. She walked away from the table.

Slowly, other women came down to examine the inert body. Some asked questions but most were too dazed by this latest revelation. Valda knew that close bonds had been formed between the Mentors and their charges. She hoped that this disclosure would not drive a wedge between them. She thought, Sonia was right, they would have found out sooner or later and probably muttered amongst themselves. It is better this way, regardless of the outcome.

Tell me, is little Daphne also a Golem? Helen Stewart ran a hand through her short grey hair.

Yes, she is, Sonia smiled.

Helen grinned, No matter, I still like her. She would have made a good addition to my clan. She's so gutsy and cute. She bent down and stared at the inner workings of the android on the table.

When the last of the women had taken a closer look at the Golem, Valda raised her voice and said, Ladies, are there any questions?

An awkward silence lasted a few minutes before Helen stepped up to Valda. She took her hand and held it to her cheek. Thank you Valda, for everything you have done. I wonder if a human could've done half so well. She turned to the crowd. Girls, I say hurrah for Valda and Sonia and all her Golems. Without her, we'd all be eating rats and stinking like trash and worse.

Helen started clapping her hands. Her erstwhile followers quickly joined her in applause and the remaining women followed suit soon after. Sonia couldn't help noticing that Monica was the last woman to join in the accolade.

When the clapping stopped, Dorothy shouted, It's unnatural. Surely God would see this as the Devil's work. How can we, as God's greatest creation, accept that machines can rule us?

Sonia whispered to Valda, I wonder how long she has been like this? Clearly the hypnosis was not enough to purge her beliefs.

Hmm, that's all we need now,