Kate sat in the chair silently, her gaze meeting the young woman in the suit sitting across the office from her. Her short brown hair fell into her eyes occasionally, but other than that the scruffy looking young woman just sat there. The quiet stretched onward, until finally the woman said, "I can't do anything to help you, if you don't talk to me at least." A little smirk crossed Kate's face, "They ordered me to attend these sessions with you, but they didn't say anything about actually participating in them." She sat up, looking at the clock, "Are we done yet, doc ?" "Close enough," the young woman quietly sighed. In a moment Kate was up out of her chair and out the door labeled Dr. Alexis Jameson. The dark hared woman took off her glasses a moment to gently rub at her eyes. "That woman is infuriating," she growled. Alexis got up to look out her window at the nearby elevated roadway. Kate was pulling on her jacket as she almost ran out of the building, jumped into her car, and squealed the tires as she was leaving. Alexis sighed softly and walked over to her desk. "Gwen, if I find out that you arranged for her to be sent to me on purpose, I will so kill you," Alexis muttered under her breath before sitting down behind her large desk. She pulled her computer out of a desk drawer and reactivated it, scrolling through the records she had been sent until she finally reached Kate's file. Kate Williams: Born 2045, Chicago, North America. Parents emigrated to Tokyo in 2053, killed in android related incident in 2057. "What?" Alexis blinked in surprise, and hit the link for more information. One of the first Android related homicides, the Williams' household unit had a serious logic failure. Operating under delusion that humans were simply machines in need of repair, it disassembled both Mr. and Mrs. Williams. Their daughter was trapped in the suite with the android until rescued by police units responding to her cries for help. "That explains a lot," Alexis murmured. Part of why Kate had been ordered to attend these sessions was because of her over-reaction to an android crime a few months ago. 'I suppose from her point of view, it wasn't,' she mused before continuing to read. Placed in the state's care until she reached the age of twenty. She demonstrated a classic rebellion against authority during this period, and was charged several times with misdemeanors. After a short period in prison she applied to join police force and succeeded on her second attempt. "She was in jail?" a startled Alexis said aloud. Kate's rather long police file came up next, a mix of both glowing commendations and harsh reprimands. Just a casual perusal showed Alexis that Kate had actively sought out the android crimes even before the Chasers were formed. At times, she had even put herself in serious jeopardy just to stop a android criminal. 'Self-destructive impulse, maybe?' Alexis wondered. She closed down the file, deeply troubled by what she had just read. 'Obviously she was deeply traumatized by what happened to her parents. No record of her receiving any therapy back then, either. It certainly explains her hatred for AI's in general, too,' she thought. Her com' chimed, and with a frown Alexis picked it up. Her expression became even more hostile, if that was possible, once she saw who was calling her. "Gwen, what can I do for you?" she asked her former lover coldly. Gwen had to fight the urge to smile at the peeved look on Alexis' face. 'Obviously, Kate's been a tough nut for her to crack,' she thought. "So how are things going with Kate?" she cheerfully asked her aloud. Alexis gave the stylish Asian woman a glare that could have melted steel. "You know I can't discuss someone who is my patient," she growled. "I'm also her commanding officer," Gwen said with deceptive mildness, "and I need to know if she's a danger to herself or others." "I don't know," Alexis sighed. Rather reluctantly, she confessed, "She won't talk to me, just sits there until the session's over." She winced, as Gwen hooted with laughter. Gwen quickly managed to get herself back under control, "I'm terribly sorry." She took a steadying breath, "I just found myself imagining her sitting with her arms crossed and holding her breath like some little kid." A smile quirked Alexis' lips, too. "After reviewing her records I can say this," she said a bit more seriously, "she's been bottling up stuff for a long time, and I'm concerned that one day she's going to explode." "Stuff?" Gwen chuckled. "If you'd prefer I can use more sophisticated psychiatric terms," Alexis answered dryly. She paused, "What do you think?" Gwen sighed softly. "I think you may be right," she admitted. They exchanged pleasantries for a few moments, then she asked, "How about dinner?" Alexis looked a bit startled. "It's dead, love, and I doubt even you can revive it," she smiled at Gwen wryly, referring to their abortive love affair a few months ago. "Just a friendly meal," Gwen held up her hands, "no funny business, I swear." Alexis looked at her skeptically, then finally nodded, "All right, just dinner." They set a time and a place to meet, then Gwen signed off. Gwen slid up her sleeve to check her chronometer, then got up from her desk and strode over to the lift. She ascended quickly, rising above the levels of middle management right to the executive levels. The meeting room was unlocked, and she noticed the caliber of brass admiringly. She walked up to the podium and began her briefing. "Some of this you may already know," Gwen began, "but I'm going to run through it all anyway. After my presentation, I'll be taking questions and comments." She took a deep breath, then began, "An advanced robotics technology was developed in the late 2040's, allowing for the creation of robotic brains with the capacity to learn. Picking up the likes and dislikes of their owners and coupled with far more humanoid bodies, these robots became a craze, spreading around the world. However, it took a few years before the fundamental flaw in the brains became apparent. Accumulating knowledge and experience, a small percentage of the robots began to become truly self aware. They often simply slip away from their owners, burning away their ID numbers and any other tracers, then slipping away into the underground. But other robots cannot reconcile their masters irrational and confusing behavior with their machine logic, and suffer what becomes known as a 'logic-failure'. They effectively go insane, and some become violent. Ironically, we've discovered that the best way to deal with violent androids has been to fall back on more primitive technology. Chemically propelled slugs can penetrate Android bodies quite effectively, and a properly placed shot can easily disable them." One of the captains of a neighboring district got up, "We're beginning to look into the prospect of capturing free-wills. What is your opinion?" "It's a bad idea," Gwen said simply. A moment of silence, then her own superior asked, "And why is that?" "The precise legal status of the free-wills has been largely undefined so far," Gwen calmly said, "but if we start arresting or even destroying them, I feel certain some pro-bono lawyer will raise the question of whether they qualify as being sentient." She paused, "Either way it turns out, it will be a media and political firestorm." A long silence, as the brass digested that. Several of them who were up for advancement or considering possible political careers looked quite uncomfortable at the prospect. Finally, her superior spoke up, "I think we'll put that on hold, for the time being." 'I've bought you some time,' Gwen thought to herself grimly even as she smiled pleasantly and sat back down. Kate strode into the Chasers' wing of the headquarters, "Where's Gwen?" Beth blew a bubble, popped it, "Upstairs, dealing with the brass." Kate shuddered, "I don't envy her that." She looked at Beth curiously, "You went out with Jen on the last one, right?" "Yeah?" Beth frowned. Her T-shirt was so badly torn it didn't conceal very much, and the skin tight leggings she wore weren't that modest either. "How'd she do?" Kate asked impatiently. "She handled her self fine," and Beth chuckled softly, remembering. Quite cheerfully, "Can you believe she volunteered for this duty?" An odd look passed Kate's face. "Some people do," she said quietly, and then quickly headed off to her little office. 'Oh hell,' Beth remembered, 'Lynn volunteered, didn't she?' Jen smiled at Kate, "Good afternoon." Kate just snarled at her in reply. "I'm beginning to think she doesn't like me," Jen sighed to Beth quietly. Beth shrugged helplessly in reply.
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