Freaks in the City Read Online Free

the nickname had
obviously stuck.
    “Eleven seconds off the previous time,”
Sloane said.
    “Incorrect,” the cyborg countered, its voice
echoing through the chamber. “My time has improved by
eleven-point-six seconds.”
    “Cyborg Six-Point-0, enter standby mode.
Confirm.”
    “Standby mode confirmed.”
    Sloane toggled the mic to off and exchanged
a glance with his colleague. “Thought we’d sorted that damned
glitch.”
    The younger man—Williams—groaned, slumping
lower in his chair. “Everything was fine during the last
trials.”
    “Better schedule another full diagnostic. If
Sixer decides to correct Caine without prompting, the shit will hit
the fan.”
    “God knows I get enough backchat from my kid
sister without putting up with this sort of BS at work,” Williams
said, rolling his shoulders and tilting his head from side to side
to stretch out his neck muscles.
    “Pity we didn’t think to install a remote
mute switch.” Sloane scratched the stubble on his chin.
    “There’s an idea. Mute your kids or your
nagging wife at the flick of a switch. Be a best-seller, I
reckon.”
    Caine stood and shot his cuffs. Enough of
this banter. Six-Point-0’s supposed “glitch” was inconsequential.
Running diagnostics to fix something that had no need to be fixed
was a waste of time and money— his time and his money.
The cyborg had been programmed to verbally respond to basic
commands from a select group of people identified by their
individual voiceprints, and even then only if given a correctly
sequenced, logical command. Only Caine could override any
instruction or programmed behavior. He could compel the cyborg to
do anything at all. It was his creature, his tool. And if its
newfound tendency to backchat irritated him, he would merely
command it to be silent in his presence.
    Sloane had caught Caine’s movement. He
nudged Williams.
    Caine couldn’t be sure but he thought he
heard Williams mutter something to the effect that their asses were
toast.
    Sloane pushed up from his chair and stood to
attention. “Good afternoon, sir. Our latest results are promising.
There are a couple of minor issues we need to work through
but—”
    Caine’s sharp hand gesture cut Sloane short.
“It’s time for the next phase. We will see how Six-Point-0 copes
when pitted against a group of our best fighters in a hand-to-hand
combat situation. Six volunteers will suffice.” He paused to let
his words sink in. “I have cleared my schedule for the next two
hours.”
    Williams slanted a panicked gaze at Sloane,
who stood stony-faced, revealing nothing of his inner thoughts. The
younger man visibly swallowed and foolishly decided to take matters
into his own hands. “Mr. Caine. Sir, I would, uh, strongly advise
against pitting Sixer, uh, I mean, Six-Point-0, against human
opponents. We—” his nervous hand gesture included Sloane “—are not,
uh, entirely confident that Six-Point-0 won’t see the men as a
threat. And, uh, seriously injure the volunteers.”
    Caine switched his focus to Sloane.
    “I recommend we draw volunteers from our
security forces,” Sloane said. “They’re certain to give Six-Point-0
a good workout.”
    “Make it so.” Caine resumed his seat. He
could have left the techs alone and returned to his office. The
padded leather chairs were far more comfortable than these molded
fiberglass ones, and his PA would be at his beck and call. He
stayed because he enjoyed the discomfort of others, and he wanted
to observe Williams’ reactions firsthand.
    The young tech had an extraordinary mind. He
was an asset to this program. But Williams had a regrettable
tendency to voice his opinion unasked. Such outspokenness might be
valued in the world of cybernetic research and development, where
Williams had proven himself before succumbing to the lure of the
big money Goodkind Electronics had offered. Now Williams needed to
learn to jump when Caine told him to jump, and only ask how high on
the way up. And,