CHAPTER 1 – A NICE VACATION
21:57 (Greenwich Mean Time)
Friday, May 20, 2332
English Channel coast near Calais
France, Earth, Solar System
Tentative historical portrait of Joan of Arc
Jehanne de Domrémy contemplated for a moment the waters of the English Channel while standing on a pebble beach near the French port of Calais. A rather stoutly-built teenage girl with tanned skin and short dark brown hair, Jehanne de Domrémy was somewhat pretty but could not be said to be a great beauty. She was also fairly short by the female standards of the 24th Century, standing only 155 centimeters-tall. She presently wore a pair of short pants, a T-shirt and hiking boots while also carrying a voluminous backpack of the kind used by young globetrotting tourists, plus a fanny pack which contained her wallet, identity documents and money. After spending a nice two weeks in France, playing tourist and enjoying her first time on Earth while visiting the medieval native house of the celebrated French heroin Joan of Arc, whom she bore the actual name and appearance, Jehanne was now ready to go to England, where she intended to spend some of her remaining two weeks of vacation time before she would have to return to her job as a security officer aboard the giant armed merchant ship NOSTROMO. Presently, the NOSTROMO was on a cargo and passenger run around the seventeen star systems of the Spacers’ League but it was due to return into Earth orbit in time for Jehanne to return to her home in Space.
The Sun had set mere minutes earlier but a half-moon provided some illumination as waves washed over the pebble beach where Jehanne was. The wind was fairly strong and fresh, bringing in the salty smell of seawater. After a quick look around her to make sure that nobody was watching her, Jehanne activated her internal directed gravity propulsion unit and silently lifted off the beach, then took up speed while flying towards the English coast at very low altitude. Since she was legally in France as a visitor, which was like the United Kingdom a member of the European Union, she could have travelled via a number of official transportations means which crossed the English Channel, like an air bus, a ferry or a train running along a tunnel under the seafloor, but recent events in France had brought to her a public notoriety that made her wish to avoid further publicity during the rest of her vacation. Stopping and killing one of Europe’s most wanted criminal had certainly been a sure way to attract lots of media attention on her, most of it quite intrusive and sensationalistic. By flying on her own to England, Jehanne was thus hoping to throw off the army of paparazzi which had been plaguing her vacation since she had killed in Paris the infamous Karl Haussmann, who had tried to kill her as a revenge for foiling a jewelry store heist and for killing in the process six of his gang members. Those gang members and their leader had then learned the hard way that Jehanne, while looking like a typical young farm girl, could be very dangerous if need be. Of course, they could not have known at first who she really was: a sophisticated and intelligent sentient android with a distinct personality, designed and built as a security officer to work aboard the NOSTROMO. However, public video footage showing her in action in Paris while foiling the heist planned by the St-Moritz Gang had quickly made her a media celebrity, something Jehanne had certainly not wanted. Hopefully, by entering England discreetly and without any official travel record would help her regain some privacy during her remaining two weeks of vacation time.
Flying at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour and at an altitude of no more than twenty meters above the waves, Jehanne took only a few minutes to fly the 49 kilometers separating Calais, in France, from Dover, in England. She however chose not to land in Dover proper and instead bypassed the port and city, landing at night in a field near the coast and then continuing on foot along a small regional road running northwest towards Canterbury, Chatham and London. For a Spacer citizen like her who had spent nearly all of her existence aboard spaceships and orbital stations, just the act of hiking along the tree-lined small road was enjoyable, presenting her with an abundance of open nature and vegetation not found in Space. While Jehanne could not actually ‘feel’ enjoyment as an android, the higher temporary levels of activity in her electronic brain caused by external perceptions and sensory inputs could be equated to either excitement, enhanced interest or curiosity in her. While not flying, Jehanne’s pace was a quick, long one, worthy of an Olympian fast walker and she made good progress along the small road, heading in the general direction of Canterbury.
Around midnight, a light rain started falling, making Jehanne stop for a moment under a tree, time to get her raincoat out of her backpack and put it on. As an android, rain could not affect her physically but she didn’t want to have her clothes soaked and eventually damaged by the rain. As for her backpack, its outer shell was waterproof, so she didn’t need to protect it further. With the hood of her raincoat pulled over her head, Jehanne then resumed her hike along the road. Vehicle traffic along the small regional road she was following proved nearly non-existent, partly because of the late hour and partly because, with modern anti-gravity technology, there was less and less need for transport vehicles to roll on the ground rather than fly directly to their destinations, with the resulting air traffic regulated and controlled by automated air traffic systems. Now, one only had to get in an air-capable vehicle, power it up and program its destination, then let the vehicle fly itself to the desired destination. As a result, the existing network of paved road had been falling in growing disuse during the last few decades, with only the ultra-heavy vehicles and those towing non-flying loads and trailers still rolling at ground level. However, things were different inside villages, towns and cities, where the risks of air collisions over often narrow streets bordered by multi-story buildings forced all vehicles within the built-up areas to go on ground rolling mode.
Dawn had arrived, with the Sun now up but partially hidden by persistent gray clouds, when Jehanne arrived at the small town of Chartham, some five kilometers to the southwest of Canterbury. Jehanne actually had a specific reason to come to this town while on her way to London: a graying couple she had met in France while going to visit Joan of Arc’s native house and village lived in a farm near Chartham and she had promised herself to go visit the Farnsworth when she would visit England. Reviewing in her electronic brain the digital map of England where she had recorded the Farnsworth’s address, Jehanne walked down the main street of the town, heading towards its northeast extremity. The people she crossed on her way paid little attention to her, as she looked like so many young hikers of the kind frequently seen along the roads and trails of England. That suited Jehanne fine, as she had gotten her fill of unwanted notoriety in Paris, after she had foiled that heist by the St-Moritz Gang. While walking along the sidewalks of the main street, Jehanne took the time to scrutinize the fronts of the shops and commercial establishments lining the street, pushed in this by the insatiable curiosity programmed into her. If anything, curiosity and the wish to learn new things were the main driving forces of her existence, apart from performing her sworn duty to protect and serve the innocents around her and to prevent and stop crimes. One boutique, which advertised antique items on sale, made her enter a small, narrow store and to slowly walk around its displays. The one article of interest she found and then brought to the cashier was a chess board with painted pewter chess pieces made in the images of medieval soldiers, nobles and commoners. As a game that stimulated mental planning and strategy, chess was popular with Jehanne and the other 801 androids living and working on the NOSTROMO. Putting the set on the sales counter, Jehanne then smiled to the mature woman manning the cash register.
‘’Good morning, miss! This chess set seems to be of old manufacture. Could you tell me how old it is actually?’’
‘’I sure can, miss: it was made by a local artisan here in Chartham some 160 years ago and was then passed down around his family and descendants until the last owner, who was in need of cash, sold it to me two years ago. If fact, I believe that its artisan signed and dated it on the bottom surface of the board. Let me look for it.’’
Turning around the wooden board and looking at its bottom, the woman smiled and pointed some scribbling to Jehanne.
‘’Here you are, miss! A Charles Thornton made this chess set in 2166. This is thus a certified antique. Of course, that fact affects its price, which is 327 Pounds Sterling.’’
Jehanne, who had accumulated for months her pay as a security officer and had ample money with her, nodded her head at the price.
‘’I believe that it is well worth its price, miss. I will take it.’’
Jehanne then took out her wallet and counted the equivalent in Euros of 327 Pounds Sterling, making the saleswoman most happy.
‘’Thank you, miss! I am sure that you will enjoy playing chess with this historical set.’’
‘’I certainly will, miss.’’ replied Jehanne as she opened her backpack in order to put the chess set in it. The saleswoman helped her by carefully wrapping and putting the set inside a plastic bag before handing it to Jehanne.
‘’Thank you for shopping in my boutique, miss.’’
‘’The pleasure was mine.’’ replied Jehanne before closing her backpack and passing its carrying straps around her shoulders. Most satisfied with her newest acquisition, she then resumed her walk towards the Farnsworth’s farm.
After another fifteen minutes of walking and having left the town proper, Jehanne arrived at a small private lane leading to a farmhouse surrounded by a couple of annexes. An old-fashioned mailbox, most probably placed more as a tradition than as a working object, was posted at the entrance of the lane, with a name and door number on it that made Jehanne smile: she was now at the place she had been looking for. Smiling as she imagined the surprise her visit would bring to the old couple, Jehanne gingerly walked up the lane to the farmhouse, where she rang the buzzer of the main door. James Farnsworth opened it after half a minute but froze the moment he recognized her, something that somewhat alarmed Jehanne. Still, she smiled to the graying British man and spoke in her most friendly tone.
‘’Hello Mister Farnsworth! I came to England in order to continue my vacation and had the idea of paying you and your wife a short visit in passing.’’
‘’Uh, that was a nice thought on your part, miss, but you should have called us in advance.’’
The fact that the man had called her ‘miss’ rather than ‘Jehanne’ further worried her and her expression became more sober as she looked him in the eyes.
‘’Is something wrong, Mister Farnsworth?’’
Before the farmer could answer her, a female voice came in from inside the house.
‘’WHO IS IT, JAMES?’’
‘’IT IS JEHANNE DE DOMRÉMY, ELIZABETH! SHE CAME TO VISIT US!’’ Shouted James back to his wife before looking with some embarrassment at Jehanne.
‘’You didn’t tell us in France that you were an android, miss.’’
Now understanding why the British man showed reserve towards her, Jehanne nonetheless stayed openly friendly and polite with him.
‘’That’s because I thought that it was inconsequential in my mind, Mister Farnsworth. I thought while we met in Domrémy-la-Pucelle that you and your wife were a fine couple worthy of visiting when I would go to England. Can I come in?’’
James Farnsworth hesitated for a second before opening the door of his house wide and letting Jehanne walk in. Elizabeth Farnsworth then emerged from her kitchen but froze on seeing Jehanne standing in the entrance lobby. To her credit, she painted a mild smile on her face and nodded once her head at Jehanne.
‘’Welcome to our house, miss. Did you come by air taxi from France?’’
‘’No, madam: I flew across the English Channel by myself, then walked along a regional road to Chartham, which is on the way to London, where I intend to spend a week or so while on vacation.’’
‘’You walked all night and in the rain? You must be quite…’’ said Elizabeth before realizing that Jehanne could not actually become tired. The latter understood her unfinished sentence and nodded soberly.
‘’An android effectively can’t feel fatigue, Madam Farnsworth. As for the rain, I have a good raincoat with me. Look, if my surprise visit makes you uneasy, I can always leave.’’
‘’No! Stay, Jehanne!’’ said quickly James Farnsworth. ‘’While belatedly learning that you were an android rather than a normal girl was a bit unsettling to us, you were always polite and friendly with us, so it is only just that we treat you decently in return. You are welcomed to leave your backpack near the entrance and to sit with us in our lounge.’’
‘’Thank you, James!’’ said Jehanne, partly reassured by his change of attitude.
Putting her big backpack on the carpet near the entrance door, Jehanne then followed James Farnsworth to the nearby lounge, where she sat in a sofa offered by him, while Elizabeth Farnsworth took place with her husband in another sofa facing Jehanne. There was a bit of an awkward silence before Jehanne spoke up.
‘’Look, I am sorry for not being open with you about my true nature but I have experienced too much negative reactions to me and towards other androids like me from Humans and didn’t want to scare you involuntarily when we first met in France. Despite all that was said about me in the medias, most of it false or hyperbole, I am no threat to the innocent people around me. Only criminals and enemies of Humanity need to fear me. I also wish to continue to be your friend, if you will accept me as such.’’
James and Elizabeth exchanged a look before Elizabeth replied to Jehanne in a soft voice.
‘’We know that you are sincere when you say that, Jehanne. It is just that we know so little about you as an android and heard so many things about you.’’
‘’What you heard was mostly uninformed presumptions and outright prejudice, Elizabeth. My programming prevents me from acting with meanness or criminal intent towards others. I was designed and made to fight crime and protect the innocents and I simply am incapable of malice and hatred. Those who spoke ill of me did so out of plain ignorance, intolerance or bigotry. Unfortunately, intolerance of androids like me is steadily growing into a new form of racism, even within Spacers’ worlds, despite the fact that we fought to ensure the survival of Humanity against the threat of the Space Predators.’’
‘’I believe your words, Jehanne.’’ said James as he looked at her in a distinctly softer way. ‘’Tell me: do you feel any emotional reactions at the way others have been slandering you?’’
‘’Well, the way I was designed, I should not be able to have true feelings, James. However, I was also designed with the ability to learn and improve by myself through personal experience and studies, plus benefited from the decades of experience about social interaction with Humans that Spirit, the central computer of the NOSTROMO, gained during contact with Captain Forster and her crew, experience which she then transmitted to me and the other androids built by her. I thus recently started sensing what I think are nascent feelings visiting me from time to time during periods of stress or of significant new experiences. I would say that what I feel about the intolerance shown towards me could be loosely described as a mix of disappointment and of frustration. When I started experiencing that intolerance, I read past books and studies about the history of racism and now understand better what could fuel such bigotry and hatred. While I still believe that racism is both despicable and unjustified, I can understand why it manifests itself so often in Humans. However, whatever some Humans think or feel towards me and other androids, I will still respect the coded laws and regulations directing my programming. So, don’t expect to see me ever fly into some murderous rage because I was treated badly by certain persons. I will still simply protect myself and the innocents around me while preventing or stopping crimes, especially violent crimes committed against defenseless innocents.’’
Elizabeth Farnsworth nodded slowly her head at her words.
‘’I believe you, Jehanne, and understands you better now. For me, you will stay a friend.’’
‘’For me too, Jehanne.’’ added her husband. Jehanne then experienced a brief moment of what she would classify as ‘happiness’ at that twin declaration of friendship.
‘’Thank you, both of you! This truly makes me happy, as much as I can be. Is there something else that you would wish to know about me, my friends?’’
‘’One thing, Jehanne.’’ answered Elizabeth. ‘’Do you have a goal or goals in your existence and, if yes, which ones?’’
‘’I do have personal goals that were programmed in me as I was built and which still direct my existence. They are the desire to learn things of consequence for me and the others around me and the desire to improve myself as an individual through personal experience.’’
‘’The way us Humans do.’’ replied James, making Jehanne nod once.
‘’Exactly! In the long term, I wish to become as human as real Humans, minus the negative emotions and motivations, like greed, selfishness and thirst for power. The one thing I will never achieve is the ability to reproduce biologically. However, with periodic maintenance and refits, I can reasonably expect to exist much longer than Humans can.’’
‘’How long exactly?’’
‘’A couple of hundreds of years or more, easily.’’
Her answer left the couple thoughtful for a moment before Elizabeth spoke softly.
‘’A couple of hundreds of years… Many people would wish they could live that long while staying healthy.’’
‘’And that may be one hidden reason for the hostility we androids face from members of the public: jealousy!’’
‘’That certainly makes sense to me, Jehanne: jealousy can make people do many bad things.’’
‘’Indeed! Well, maybe I should continue on my trek towards London: since I don’t need to eat, there would be no point for me to stay for lunch.’’
‘’Too true!’’ said James, amused. So, what do you expect to do once in London, Jehanne?’’
‘’I intend to visit old places reminiscent of the Middle Ages. I was named and made to the appearance of Joan of Arc and, as such, have a continued interest in all things dating from the period of the Hundred Years War. In particular, I would love to find and acquire a good replica of an arming sword of the kind Joan of Arc used ’
James then surprised her by flashing a grin and jumping to his feet at her last words.
‘’I may be able to help you in that, Jehanne. Just give me a couple of minutes and I may be able to get some useful info about that for you.’’
James then ran upstairs, where his private study was, to return to the lounge some four minutes later, a big smile on his face. He then handed to Jehanne a piece of paper with some notes written on it.
‘’A friend who lives in nearby Canterbury happens to own a medievalist shop where one can find replicas of arms and armor from the Antiquity, Middle Ages and Renaissance. I just talked to him and he said that he presently has one arming sword of top quality in store, which is on sale for 570 Pounds. If that price agrees with you, I will ask him to reserve it for you.’’
Taking the paper and reading the address and shop’s name on it, Jehanne then looked back up at James while smiling.
‘’I will certainly be interested in buying his arming sword, James.’’
‘’Then, I will call him back and say that you will show up at his store today.’’
‘’Uh, did you tell him that I was an android?’’
‘’Me? Not at all! I just told him that you were a young Spacer tourist interested in medieval souvenirs.’’
Reassured, Jehanne got up from her sofa and warmly shook hands with James.
‘’Thanks for that, James. Well, I better hit the road again.’’
Jehanne took the time to exchange a hug with both James and Elizabeth before putting back on her backpack and leave the house, waving goodbye to the couple as she walked out. As they both watched Jehanne rejoin the road outside of their farm and walk towards Canterbury, Elizabeth spoke in a low voice to her husband.
‘’To be friends with a robot… This may certainly sound strange to most people, James.’’
‘’Strange? Yes! Wrong? No! And she is an android, not a robot, Elizabeth.’’
It took Jehanne only one hour for her to enter the old city of Canterbury, with its celebrated medieval cathedral, after following Cockering Road and ending on Wincheap Road. Going right once at Pin Hill Road, she finally arrived at the ‘Blacksmith’s Den’. One look at the collection of antique replicas exposed in its front window display was enough to raise Jehanne’s hopes and she eagerly entered the shop, walking at once to the man standing behind the service counter near the entrance, flashing a smile to him.
‘’Good day, sir! My friend, James Farnsworth, called you earlier to reserve for me a replica arming sword. Could I please see it?’’
‘’Of course, miss!’’
Bending down, the shop owner retrieved from behind his counter a long sword held in a black wood and leather scabbard and presented it to her.
‘’Here is the arming sword I have, miss. It is made of high quality, high-carbon steel and is an exact replica of the kind of arming sword used during the late period of the Hundred Years War. Be careful when you will draw it out: it has been sharpened.’’
‘’Would Joan of Arc have had a similar sword, mister?’’
‘’Actually, this is a replica of the model said to have been used by her, miss.’’
‘’Excellent!’’ said Jehanne before drawing the sword out of its scabbard and examining closely the blade, pommel and handle. Next, she tested its balance and edge sharpness and was well satisfied by them.
‘’This is indeed a fine replica, mister. You did tell my friend that you were selling it for 570 Pounds, right?’’
‘’Correct, miss. However, if you choose to buy other items here today, I would be ready to make a package deal with you.’’
‘’Now, that sounds interesting! Would you have a belt made to support this sword and scabbard, by chance?’’
‘’I do, miss! Let me show you what I have in terms of accessories to go with my swords. Please follow me!’’
As she followed the shop owner towards the back wall of the boutique, Jehanne saw a number of items of possible interest to her but stayed with the man and stopped with him in front of a wall collection of belts, belt purses, tabards and broches. Looking briefly at her in order to judge her waist size, the owner then selected a large belt with sword frog and presented it to her.
‘’I believe that this could fit you, miss. If you could try it on…’’
‘’With pleasure!’’
To Jehanne’s satisfaction, the belt proved to be of the right size, prompting the owner in presenting her a large black leather belt purse and a dagger’s support frog.
‘’This 1400-era belt purse would in my opinion go well with your sword belt, along with this dagger’s frog.’’
‘’I certainly will take both the belt and the purse, mister, but I don’t have a dagger to go with your frog.’’
‘’Not a problem, miss!’’ replied the owner, happy to see such a willing customer. He then led her to a glass counter in which a large and varied collection of daggers, knives, war hammers and maces was on display. One look at the price tags attached to each item then told Jehanne that she would need to use her credit card in order to afford all that interested her here. Going behind the glass counter and unlocking its back panel, the store owner grabbed and presented to her a long, two-edged dagger.
‘’This dagger was designed to go with your arming sword, miss, and would nicely complete your outfit.’’
‘’I will take it! What about this eight-flanged mace? Is its design from the early 15th Century?’’
‘’It is, miss. In fact, the widespread use of plate armor by the late 1300s and early 1400s had made such maces quite popular with knights and nobles, as they were quite effective in dealing with plate armor. Do you want it?’’
‘’Yes, definitely!’’
Jehanne could nearly hear the ‘cha-ching’ inside the store owner’s head as he took out the mace and presented it to her.
‘’Anything else, miss?’’
‘’A couple of things, actually. First, would you have some kind of book or video document about the art of swordsmanship as it pertains to the Middle Ages? If you would have similar books and documents about medieval arms and armor, I would also be interested in buying them.’’
‘’I indeed have such printed books and video documents, miss. Medievalists and amateurs in sword fighting frequently come to my shop for such books. They also often buy pieces of arms, armor and accoutrements for their practice jousting.’’
‘’Then, show me to your books display, then bring the items I already selected while I look at what else you have of interest in your store.’’
As the happy owner brought the belt, dagger, frogs, purse and mace to the sales counter after guiding her to the book shelves, Jehanne quickly reviewed what was on display and grabbed three printed books: one on medieval sword-fighting techniques; one on arms and armor of the late Middle Ages and one on Heraldry. Next, she grabbed their video equivalents before starting to tour in detail the shop, watched discretely by the store owner, who was ready to encourage her in her shopping. The last item she grabbed was a blue and white tabard decorated with embroidered fleurs-de-lis. She made a joke as she brought the books, videos and tabard to the sales counter.
‘’Well, I was not expecting to find a tabard to the colors of the enemy in an English shop, mister.’’
The man guffawed at those words.
‘’Well, the medievalists who come to my shop do need to wear from time-to-time tabards and insignias of other than English knights: we can’t have Englishmen fight only against other Englishmen, right?’’
‘’True! How much for all this, mister?’’
The happy store owner made a quick calculation, then thought things over for a moment before looking back at Jehanne.
‘’Miss, the original total would amount to 1,760 Pounds but, you being such a good customer, I will round it down to 1,600 Pounds for the lot.’’
‘’Deal! Do you accept credit cards from the Spacers’ Star Bank?’’
‘’I certainly do, miss! I will however need to see as well a proof of identity from you to confirm the validity of your credit card.’’
‘’No problem, mister! Here are both my credit card and my electronic passport.’’
Taking her card and passport and quickly examining them brought a surprised look on the face of the owner.
‘’Your name is really Jehanne de Domrémy, miss?’’
‘’It is! I was named in honor of the French heroine.’’
‘’Then, you certainly chose the right items, miss.’’ said the man before scanning her credit card and then making her authenticate the sale with her thumbprint. Thankfully for Jehanne, Eve Silisca had thought about that ‘detail’ and had incorporated distinct sets of fingerprints to each of the androids she had built while at the Avalon Space Yards. That had proved to be an inspired move, as many commercial and legal procedures were authenticated and signed via the use of fingerprints, both inside the Spacers’ League and on Earth. With the authentication accepted by the online banking system used by the owner, the happy man started wrapping the items so Jehanne could carry them out. However, Jehanne looked with some dismay at her backpack, which was already two-thirds full.
‘’Damn! How am I going to fit all this in my backpack, particularly my sword?’’
The store owner thought for a moment before flashing a smile.
‘’I think that I may have the solution to your problem, miss. Just give me a minute.’’
Intrigued, Jehanne watched the man disappear for a moment in his rear boutique, to then reappear while holding a large kit bag of the kind used by professional athletes to carry their sports gear. The owner then put down the kit bag on the counter and smiled to her.
‘’Here you go, miss. This kit bag is well-used but is clean and you can have it for free.’’
‘’Why thank you very much, sir! You are really saving the day for me.’’
‘’Glad to be of help, miss.’’ replied the man. Jehanne took a couple of minutes to stuff her acquisitions in the kit bag, then walked out after shaking hands with the owner. The latter watched her walk away with her backpack on her back and her stuffed kit bag, worn by its carrying strap, and nodded his head.
‘’Hell, I should get customers like her more often. She was also quite cute.’’
10:06 (London Time)
Monday, May 23, 2332
The Tower of London
London, England
‘’…The first stone building erected on the site of this old fortress cum palace and state prison was the square keep named ‘White Tower’, built around 1078 by William the Conqueror, which is still the central piece of this historical site. The fortress was then progressively enlarged along the following centuries, until it reached its final form and size in the Nineteenth Century. We are now going through the Middle Tower, the outer gate leading across the fortress’ moat to the Byward Tower, which gives access to Water Lane, the space between the outer and inner walls of the Tower of London…’’
Jehanne, part of the group of tourists following closely the tour guide describing the old fortress and its ancient history, listened nearly religiously to the guide while recording the sights around her. As a site that was over twelve centuries old, the Tower of London was one of the first places she had elected to visit during her time in London, a city bursting with history. She had left her big backpack and her kit bag locked in her modest hotel room, which still cost a pretty penny thanks to the outrageous prices found in London, so she was unencumbered, and was simply dressed in casual civilian clothes, like the other tourists of her group. Visiting such an historical site was a prime experience for her, as no buildings or structures on the Spacers League’s worlds were older than 250 years, when the first Space installations were built and occupied on the Moon and on Mars. The Tower of London even predated most of the historical monuments she had visited in Paris during the previous two weeks.
11:53 (London Time)
London Metropolitan Police Headquarters
Constable Harry Reeves was one of the dozens of police officers presently watching the views from the thousands of video surveillance cameras covering the territory of the city of London, with some specific sectors being particularly well covered. That camera network was in turn linked to a powerful mainframe computer containing a specialized facial recognition program meant to catch known criminals and prevent crimes from being committed. While Reeves, who was quite knowledgeable about computers and their programming, believed in the efficiency of the video surveillance network to signal automatically any hit on a known suspect or a criminal activity, he was less confident about the judgment of those senior commanders who selected the search parameters used by the network. There had already been a few celebrated past cases where there had been instances of blatant racial or political bias used in how the facial recognition program chose what had to be signaled to the policemen on watch. The London Metropolitan Public Security Network may have been in existence for three centuries now but it still could be used in an abusive way, something Reeves was well aware of. Right now, Reeves was watching camera views covering the areas of the old Tower Bridge and of the Tower of London. After nearly two hours of watching the multi-view screens surrounding him, he had seen nothing suspect nor any automated alarms being triggered. He was about to go get himself a cup of tea when the contour of one of the display screens started flashing red, while a clear but low volume alarm started beeping. Forgetting about his cup of tea, Reeves selected the flashing video view and read the text that appeared at the bottom of the image. That text in turn made him frown.
‘’Potentially dangerous robot circulating in public? What is this about?’’
Zooming in on the face pinpointed by the facial recognition program, Reeves saw a most ordinary-looking teenage girl wearing a T-shirt, a pair of shorts and running shoes and being part of what looked like a typical group of tourists visiting the Tower of London. In this case, the camera that had triggered the alert was part of the security system of the Jewel House, in the Waterloo Block, which contained the crown jewels of England and was under the highest level of security possible. As far as he could tell, that teenager had no weapons and didn’t even have a pack or bag with her, except for a small fanny pack. Punching a query on his computer keyboard and asking details of why that girl had triggered the security program, he got in response some information that left him nonplused.
‘’Spacer security android. Name: Jehanne de Domrémy. Involved in shooting in Paris. May be armed. Did not officially enter Great Britain.’’
Seeing a supervisor pass by, Reeves signaled him to come to his station and showed him the flashing video screen.
‘’What is this bullshit? I heard about this shooting in Paris and that girl: she actually stopped a gang of dangerous and violent criminals from robbing a jewelry store, where those criminals had already killed one private security guard and a French gendarme. So why was her face included as a potential risk in our recognition program, sir?’’
The supervisor, a senior sergeant, had a look at the screen before shrugging his shoulders.
‘’I don’t know why but this was inputted by Assistant Superintendent Rooney, our boss. Feel free to go ask him if you want to but I am pretty sure that he will then tell you to put up and shut up.’’
‘’And on what pretext are we going to possible arrest that girl, sir? Playing tourist?’’
Irritation then showed on the face of the senior sergeant, who hardened his voice.
‘’Look, Reeves, if you don’t like this job, just say so and I will have you reassigned to a street patrol. Just alert one of our standby squads about this girl and get on with the job!’’
Understanding that he was not going to win this dispute, Reeves hid his anger and frustration as his supervisor walked away, then contacted the headquarters quick reaction department. Thankfully, he got an officer whom he knew and respected as an honest, professional policeman, Jim Bayley.
‘’Jim? This is Harry Reeves, at the video surveillance center. I got a hit on a teenage girl presently visiting the Jewel House in the Tower of London but I think that this is some kind of mistake or misunderstanding. However, Sergeant Williams insisted that I send a reaction team to check her out.’’
‘’Oh? Is that girl armed or is she committing some criminal act?’’
‘’No! She is simply part of the group of tourists that is presently visiting Jewel House. She was flagged by the system because she is a Spacer security android named Jehanne de Domrémy.’’
‘’Can you link me with the video camera showing her?’’
‘’Certainly! You should now have that view on your own screen.’’
‘’Got it!... Uh, she looks quite ordinary to me, Harry. You are sure that she is a robot?’’
‘’She’s an android, not a robot, and she helped the French police in Paris by stopping a violent criminal gang as they were committing a jewelry store robbery.’’
‘’Her? I remember her now. And why do we want to arrest her?’’
‘’Beats me! I was told that her picture was inputted in the system by Assistant Superintendent Rooney and was also told to put up and shut up.’’
‘’I see!’’ said Bayley, who apparently had the same low opinion of Rooney as did Reeves. ‘’Well, orders are orders! I am going to take a squad with me to go check out that girl in the Tower of London.’’
‘’Please go easy on her, Jim. She most probably committed no crime by our laws.’’
‘’I will be mindful of that, Harry. I will keep you appraised about this situation.’’
‘’Thanks, Jim!’’
Harry Reeves then cut the link and returned his attention to the flashing screen, where the said Jehanne de Domrémy was shown looking from a distance of a few paces at the armored glass box containing the crown jewels.
Jehanne was eyeing with interest the crown of England, not because it represented a fortune, but simply because it was a beautiful piece of jewelry. Because all the tourists present in the room wanted to look at the crown jewels from as close as possible and take pictures of them, Jehanne had patiently waited for the other visitors to continue on before approaching the armored box and look at the jewels for a short moment, time to record pictures of them via her robotic eyes. With that done, she joined back the other tourists, who were now entering the next room, where the lesser value parts of the royal treasure were exposed. Even with them being of lesser value, those items still proved of interest to her, as they were part of a long history of monarchic power. After another twenty minutes, her group exited the Waterloo Block, which contained the Jewel House, and assembled on the paved surface in front of the building. The tour guide had started to give his final speech to the tourists when an armed policeman wearing a tactical vest approached Jehanne and spoke to her in a low voice, trying not to attract the attention of the other tourists.
‘’Miss Jehanne de Domrémy?’’
‘’Yes!?’’
‘’Could you please follow me, miss?’’
Quickly looking around her and seeing six other armed policemen, all looking tense and pointing their weapons at her, Jehanne gave a suspicious look to the police officer who had approached her.
‘’What is this about? Why are officers pointing guns at me?’’
‘’Just follow me, miss.’’ insisted the policeman. Not wanting to put at risk the other tourists in the case that one of the policemen would prove to have a happy trigger finger, Jehanne nodded her head and let the officer lead her towards a parked air van with its left side door slid open. She however stopped once at the van when she saw that two more policemen were inside the vehicle, pointing their submachine guns at her.
‘’Okay, mister, what is this about? Am I accused of some crime?’’
‘’Please let me ask the questions, miss. First off, do you have any weapons on you?’’
‘’No!’’ replied truthfully Jehanne. She indeed did not have weapons ON her but she did have weapons INSIDE her, including a light disintegrator inside her right index finger.
‘’Please face the van and bend forward while spreading your legs, miss. I am going to make sure that you are not armed.’’
With questions popping inside her electronic brain about why this was happening, Jehanne nonetheless obeyed the officer and let herself be patted down. The officer, not finding anything suspect either on her or in her fanny pack, then let her stand straight and asked her a series of questions, which she answered with complete frankness.
‘’Miss, are you a security android employed by the Spacers’ League?’’
‘’Yes!’’
‘’What is the reason of your presence in England?’’
‘’I came to visit as a tourist. Old history and especially the period of the Middle Ages interest me.’’
‘’You really can have interests in something in particular while being an android?’’
‘’And why not? Did you expect to face some kind of zombie-like automaton? I am a sentient being and am also a full-fledged citizen of the Spacers Leagues. If you insist on arresting me with no valid reasons, then know that I will lodge a complaint to the local embassy of the Spacers League for wrongful arrest and harassment. Also, I happen to be a certified security and law officer. My job is to stop criminals, not to be one of them.’’
‘’You were marked as not having entered Great Britain at an official border crossing point.’’
‘’So? I have a visa good for the whole of the European Union and I have no legal obligation to register my passage from France to England, unless of course you consider that England is not part of the European Union, mister. If I entered England in a discrete way, it was simply to escape the attention of the army of paparazzi hunting me since that kerfuffle in Paris with the St-Moritz Gang. I like my privacy and want to keep it that way.’’
Jim Bayley eyed her in silence for a long moment, truly impressed. Nothing told him visually that this ‘girl’ was in reality an artificial construct. As for her facial and body expressions, they were completely convincing and even her choice of words and arguments sounded like those of an intelligent young woman. He finally nodded his head in salute to her and spoke up in a soft tone of voice.
‘’Very well, miss: you are free to go. I am sorry for the annoyance we caused you. Have a nice time in England, miss.’’
Bayley then went back in his air van, along with his men, with the vehicle then taking off and flying away, watched by Jehanne, who sighed in frustration.
‘’Damn! I hope that every day in England will not be like this for me.’’
18:06 (London Time)
Small youth hostel, Beak Street
District of Soho, London
While Jehanne did not need to rest or eat, she had returned to the tiny room she had rented in a low-end youth hostel so that she could have some privacy while watching the local news on British channels. She had no wish to watch a televised news program in a public place like a café or a pub, only to be recognized by the other patrons if her face ended up on the local television screen. While she did not intend to sleep, she did use her return to her hostel room to take a quick shower and rinse off the air pollutants to be found in the infamous London ‘Smog’. Now, not having bothered yet to dress back, Jehanne was watching her television set while lying naked on her bed in a semi-sitting position. The first minutes of the BBC six o’clock newscast proved of little interest to Jehanne, however things then changed fast, as the two newscasters started showing an amateur video taken by a tourist who had been visiting the Tower of London in the late morning. That video actually showed Jehanne, surrounded by armed policemen and leaning against a police air van while being patted down. The newscasters then cut the video before the police could be seen to let her go, something that immediately rose her suspicions about the motives for showing that amateur video. Her suspicions were then confirmed when the male newscaster put up a giant picture of Jehanne in the studio’s background and spoke with a concerned expression.
‘’Ladies and gentlemen, the so-called teenager you just saw being searched by the police inside the Tower of London is actually an android, a machine with the appearances of a Human, built by Spacers to act as their shock troops and which are also used by them as internal security forces aboard their warships. This particular android calls herself ‘Jehanne de Domrémy’, the historically accurate name of the famous French heroine Joan of Arc. Our archive files on that Jehanne de Domrémy shows that it fought in a number of fierce Space battles against the feared Space Predators and took by assault at least one Predator ship, a feat for which it was decorated by the Spacers’ League. This android, like the other security androids used by the Spacers’ League, may appear completely human to normal people but is in reality a redoubtable war machine which feels no real emotions and is controlled only by its programming, which is set by its builders in the Spacers’ League. As an example of how dangerous it could be in combat, here is a video taken by the security camera of a jewelry store in Paris two weeks ago, when it killed all six members of an infamous criminal gang that was robbing the store in question at the time.’’
The electronic traffic in her artificial brain accelerated as Jehanne watched the video showing her, topless, as she entered the jewelry store and then shot down four armed robbers in a mere second. The newscaster then cut that video before the arrival of the French police, in a manner that Jehanne suspected to be meant to raise maximum shock and controversy about her.
‘’While the reason given by that Jehanne to the police for its presence in London was its wish to visit the city and its historical landmarks, one could ask how a machine, however sophisticated, could show true interest in historical artifacts or locations. The whereabouts of this Jehanne de Domrémy are presently unknown and it may well be still in London at this time. If any of our viewers gets to see or encounter that android, those viewers are encouraged to call us at the number shown at the bottom of the screen and to signal its location to us, so that our investigative team could go ask it questions. Now, in other news…’’
Jehanne, feeling what amounted to growing frustration, then shut off her video entertainment unit.
‘’Nice hatchet job you just did about me, you asshole!’’
She then thought for milliseconds about how she could possibly respond or react to this. The only logical, non-violent way she could figure came to her quickly enough and she then got up from her bed in order to get dressed. Once she was decent, she switched back on her video entertainment unit and, switching it to dual-view mode, composed on her remote control the number she had seen on the screen during the newscast about her. The first person she got on screen was visibly a simple switchboard operator at the BBC studios, who smiled to her as her professional code asked her to do.
‘’BBC central studios! May I help you, miss?’’
‘’Yes, you may! I would like to talk to your newscaster who just asked five minutes ago his viewers to call him if they want to signal the presence of an android in London. I have some information about that android.’’
‘’Just a moment, please: I will transfer you to our evening news producer.’’
‘Not too quick on the uptake, that receptionist.’ thought for herself Jehanne while waiting for the link to be transferred. The face of a man in his fifties then appeared on her viewing screen. Contrary to the young receptionist, the man immediately reacted to the picture he saw of her at his end of the line.
‘’YOU?!’’
‘’Yes, me!’’ replied Jehanne in a sardonic tone. ‘’I am calling to refute the pack of slanderous nonsense just spewed about me by your so-called newscaster. For one thing, I truly came to London as a tourist, for the same reason I previously visited Paris and Domrémy-la-Pucelle: out of interest in historical things, particularly those concerning the Middle Ages. I also noticed that your bigoted reporter refused to call me other than by ‘it’. Know that I am officially listed by the Spacers’ League as a full-fledged citizen and as a certified sentient being. My only shortcoming compared to Humans is that I can’t biologically reproduce myself.’’
‘’Alright, miss: what do you want exactly?’’
‘’What I want is a chance to refute the garbage spewed by your newscaster and to be able to defend my reputation in person, at your studios, mister. Do you think that you could arrange an online interview with me at your studios for, say, nine o’clock this evening, and this without calling in the Army on me?’’
The producer only hesitated for a moment before nodding his head.
‘’That certainly can be arranged, miss. Do you know where our studios in central London are?’’
‘’I will manage to find out, mister.’’ said Jehanne in a laconic tone. ‘’Do we have a deal?’’
‘’We have, miss. We will be waiting for you.’’
‘’With guns drawn?’’
The producer couldn’t help smile at her attempt at humor.
‘’You are quite feisty, miss.’’
‘’Tell that to the Space Predators! See you at about eight thirty, mister.’’
Jehanne then closed the link, leaving the TV producer to look for a moment at his blank screen before he hurried out of his office in order to warn his news staff to be ready for a special nine o’clock show.
20:44 (London Time)
BBC News studios, Fleet Street
The City, London
Detecting some apparent nervousness and tension in her male colleague, the female evening newscaster threw him a dubious look as they prepared for the special interview scheduled for nine o’clock.
‘’Don’t tell me that you are scared, Ian: she is coming to be interviewed, not to kill you.’’
‘’And what makes you so sure that this android will not turn violent on us, Betty? And don’t call her a ‘she’: that thing is only a machine, not a real human being.’’
The said Betty frowned at that response and critically looked at her news partner.
‘’Ian, you are being racist about her and that is most unprofessional.’’
‘’Racist? How could I be called a racist when it concerns a mere machine?’’
The news producer, who was listening to that exchange from the studio’s production booth, didn’t like at all the male newscaster’s reaction: it had the potential to ruin what could prove to be a sensational news broadcast. Seeing that the male reporter was still refusing to change his attitude, Ronald Partridge took a decision and, leaving the production booth, walked quickly to the newscast stage, where he stood in front of the male newscaster while pointing an index at him.
‘’Ian, get off the stage, now! Betty will conduct the interview by herself.’’
‘’WHAT? WHY?’’
‘’Why? Because you appear to be neither able nor willing to conduct this coming interview in a proper, professional manner, thus are proving to be the wrong person for the job. Go back to your desk.’’
Stunned by the tone of his producer, the said Ian tightened his jaws in anger but didn’t reply, instead getting up and storming off the set. Partridge shook his head slowly while watching him go, then looked at the female newscaster.
‘’Betty, this coming interview could prove to be quite an important one. Please don’t antagonize without reason that Jehanne de Domrémy and let her present her side of the story. When she contacted us, she sounded quite reasonable and intelligent to me.’’
‘’I will do my best, Ronald. Still, interviewing a robot: that will certainly be a first for me.’’
‘’An android, not a robot, Betty.’’ corrected the producer in a soft tone.
Less than two minutes later, Jehanne showed up, escorted by a BBC staffer from the reception desk of the building. Ronald Partridge then hurried to greet her with a handshake and a smile next to the news set.
‘’Miss de Domrémy, it is truly nice to have you accept to be interviewed by us. I am Ronald Partridge, evening news executive producer. Our evening newscaster, Betty Blake, will be the one who will interview you.’’
Jehanne looked briefly at Betty, smiling to her, then looked back at Partridge.
‘’And where is the man who said all those things about me earlier on, Mister Partridge?’’
‘’I sent him back to his desk: I deemed him unsuited for this interview.’’
That attracted a satisfied smile on Jehanne’s face, making Partridge wonder how her facial expressions could look so natural.
‘’That is definitely to my liking, Mister Partridge. Before you ask: I don’t sweat, so I doubt that I will need to have makeup applied before sitting for the interview.’’
Her remark made Partridge examine more closely her skin: it looked like real skin from a few feet away but was as smooth as baby skin, with no body hair visible. As for her hair, worn neck-length, he figured that it must have been some kind of wig made of synthetic fibers. Overall, she could fool about everyone about her true nature, even from arms-length, like he was presently from her.
‘’You will effectively not need to have makeup applied before the interview, Miss de Domrémy. If you may take place in that chair to Betty’s right, we will have a microphone fitted to your collar.’’
Jehanne nodded once, then walked on the set of the news stage and sat in a swiveling chair located about one meter to the side of the female newscaster. Once sitting, a technical assistant clipped a miniature microphone on her, then made a quick sound test to prove that it worked well. Seeing that Betty Blake looked a bit nervous, Jehanne, looking relaxed, smiled to her.
‘’No need to be nervous, Miss Blake: I don’t bite… except when needed in combat.’’
Her joke made the desired effect and Betty was able to relax…a bit.
‘’You do have a sense of humor, miss. By the way, how would you prefer that I address you during this interview, miss?’’
‘’Just Jehanne will do. If that would be considered too informal, then Miss de Domrémy will be fine.’’
‘’Then Jehanne it will be. By the way, don’t the French pronounce that first name ‘Jeanne’?’’
‘’They do…now. Jehanne is the old form of the name as used during the Middle Ages.’’
‘’I see!’’ said Betty, who then promised herself to reserve her questions about this for the interview proper.
On a signal from Ronald Partridge a few minutes later, Betty Blake smiled to the cameras and started speaking, while Jehanne simply sat with a mild smile on her face.
‘’Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am Betty Blake and tonight I will be interviewing Miss Jehanne de Domrémy, who is presently touring London while on vacation. Our goal tonight will be to learn more about Jehanne, her story, work and goals in life. Later on, our lines will be open to those who would wish to ask specific questions to Jehanne de Domrémy. Let’s now start with a first question from me to Jehanne.’’
Betty then turned her chair to face Jehanne.
‘’Jehanne, how would you describe yourself to the viewers?’’
‘’In short, I am what would be best called an android, a robotic construct made to look like a Human. However, that term is a bit simplistic and does not describe adequately what I actually am. For one thing, I was not designed to simply imitate human beings: I was designed to fulfill a vital role aboard the starship I work on, the A.M.S. NOSTROMO, captained by Tina Forster. Me and 799 other androids like me act as security officers and are charged with defending our ship against enemy boarders and with assaulting enemy ships when needed. In fact, the reason we were designed and built was to be able to face the Space Predators, who were then representing a mortal threat to all other sentient beings in our corner of the galaxy. In fact, those Space Predators still represent a dangerous threat to us, so we have to keep vigilant.’’
‘’Wait! I thought that the NOSTROMO did destroy the homeworld of these monsters, situated in a distant star system called TOI 1231, some four months ago.’’
‘’The NOSTROMO indeed destroyed the homeworld of the Space Predators, along with quite a few of their asteroid ships, but we suspect that there is a number of remaining Space Predator ships still roaming the galaxy and able to inflict huge damage on us and other races unless we stay on our guards.’’
‘’I see! To return to you, Jehanne, can you tell us about your existence up to now, when and where you were built and what you did since then?’’
‘’I will be happy to oblige, Betty. First, I was built at the cybernetics division of the Avalon Space Yards, which orbits Earth, and was activated on July twentieth of 2328 by Eve Silisca, herself an android, and this as the first of 800 security androids to be built under contract for Captain Forster, who saw an urgent need to reinforce the internal security of her ship against eventual Space Predator boarders. As you may know already, those Space Predators had developed a technology to transport themselves through Space on short distances and to thus be able to board ships, a technology we call ‘teleportation’. The Predators had already used that technology to board and overwhelm a number of ships, both Drazt ones and Human ones, and then eat their crews alive.’’
Betty couldn’t help shiver as she mentally recalled the horrible scenes that had been broadcasted some four years ago about those traumatic events.
‘’We did show to our viewers some of those horrible video recordings. I thus can easily understand the reasons for Captain Forster to have security androids built in order to protect her ship from those Space Predators. You did say that you were activated by another android named Eve Silisca. How so and where did that Eve come from?’’
‘’Eve Silisca was the first sentient android built by Spirit, the master computer of the NOSTROMO. Please understand that Spirit is no mere computer: it is an artificial intelligence of extremely high capability, which has been in existence for over forty years now, first aboard the famous A.M.S. KOSTROMA, then aboard the NOSTROMO, where she was reactivated after the KOSTROMA was destroyed when it conducted a suicide charge that blew up a Space Predator ship which was devastating the Ross 128 System, the homeworld of the Drazts. Eve Silisca, who was basically the daughter of Spirit, managed to duplicate and save on portable memory modules Spirit’s personality and souvenirs before the KOSTROMA was destroyed. Eve is a model of android which is even more sophisticated than me and who has the form of a stunningly beautiful young woman. She also designed me, with the help of Spirit, with Spirit then transferring to me and my other security android comrades her algorithms and experience about her forty years of interacting and socializing with Humans. As a result, I and my brothers and sisters can interact with Humans as well as actual Humans do, better actually if you account for the fact that we can’t be influenced by jealousy, bigotry, racism and other negative traits seen in Humans.’’
‘’You used the terms ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ to describe other androids. Why?’’
‘’Because, while we are made out of the same basic design and cybernetic architecture, we each have a distinct physical appearance and name and, since we are designed to improve ourselves and develop our personalities on an individual basis, we are nothing like some kind of mass-produced clones. We each have our particular interests, hobbies and occupations when not on duty. If you take me, for example, I have developed an interest about the history of the Middle Ages, partly because I was named after the French historical heroine Joan of Arc. I also like to learn about the history of warfare and about military tactics and strategy, something that in turn helps me in my job as a security and law enforcement officer aboard the NOSTROMO. One of my latest hobbies is music and dancing.’’
‘’And do you have a rank or specific position as a security android on the NOSTROMO, Jehanne?’’
‘’Yes! I hold the rank of Senior Centurion and am in tactical command of our force of 800 androids when it is time for combat. However, Captain Forster and Ahmed Jibril, the titular chief security officer of the NOSTROMO and a Human, have overall authority on us. I must stress though that our advice and suggestions are listened to by Captain Forster and Mister Jibril. Overall, I would say that the internal security hierarchy aboard the NOSTROMO is both harmonious and efficient.’’
Nearly overwhelmed by all this, Betty was silent for a couple of seconds before shaking off her surprise and ask more questions.
‘’Jehanne, could you tell our viewers what you actually are able to do, or do you prefer to keep that confidential?’’
‘’I would indeed prefer to keep my full abilities confidential, so that an enemy or criminal could not exploit that knowledge against me or the NOSTROMO. What I can tell you is what I displayed publicly as special abilities in Paris while foiling that jewelry store heist. I have super-fast reflexes, allied with superior hand-eye coordination, which permits me to easily outshoot about any armed Human. I also can’t feel fear, although I am not suicidal about my choice of moves, unless the outcome is so important that it would be worth my sacrifice. My sensory abilities are also superior to those of Humans and I can see farther and hear better than a person. I will however stop at that for the moment.’’
‘’Uh, that is already quite impressive, Jehanne. And what kind of life expectancy can you hope for?’’
‘’If I follow regular sessions of maintenance and upgrades and am not destroyed in combat or in an accident, then I could exist for two to three centuries…or more.’’
Betty opened her mouth on hearing that, genuinely surprised.
‘’Two to three centuries? And you would continue to improve your skills along all those years?’’
‘’Yes, I would, Betty.’’ said calmly Jehanne on a sober tone while looking the reporter in the eyes. Clearing her voice, Betty looked briefly at a paper on which she had scribbled notes before looking back at Jehanne.
‘’Excuse me if my next question may sound to you indiscrete, Jehanne. How anatomically correct are you compared to a human girl?’’
That question actually brought an amused smile on Jehanne’s list.
‘’Your question is actually a most pertinent one, Betty. While I won’t undress right here and right now to prove my words, I was designed to look from the exterior as a completely normal woman, with a vagina, breasts and anus. However, on the inside, things are totally different. While my architecture imitates as best as possible the human skeleton and muscles, power modules, data processors and memory banks take the normal places of living organs. Thus, I don’t eat, drink, defecate or urinate and I don’t need to sleep. Before you or somebody else asks about it, yes, I could have sex with a Human, male or female. However, while I can give pleasure, I am incapable of feeling pleasure in return, so I would simply fake an orgasm if I dated someone. How intense that faked orgasm would look would depend on the degree of sexual expertise and care displayed by my partner on that date. If a man simply drills me while only caring for his own pleasure, then I will probably react like a dead plank. However, if I date someone worthy of being called ‘Casanova’, then I will squirm and moan in a most convincing way.’’
Betty nearly giggled on hearing that, genuinely amused.
‘’And…have you had sex yet?’’
‘’Yes, a few times, all with men. Oh, one important thing to note: our male androids are all very well equipped and know how to use their personal tools. Some of them could probably work as male strippers and escorts if they wanted to and could earn a good living from it.’’
Now quite hot under the collar, Betty blew air out while fanning herself.
‘’Wow! That was some rather unexpected precisions on your part, Jehanne. Maybe some of your, er, brothers and sisters, could indeed end up working part-time in the sex industry, if what you said is true.’’
‘’They could actually retire from security duties when they would wish so, in order to continue their life in another line of work, Betty. One thing that you and your viewers must understand is this: while we were built as security androids for Captain Forster and her NOSTROMO, we androids are all considered sentient beings and full-fledged citizens of the Spacers’ League and can choose to live and work where we want and the way we want, if we wished so. However, we always have been respected and honored while aboard the NOSTROMO and, personally, Captain Forster has my total and undying loyalty. My present job as a security and law enforcement officer is one that I care a lot about and which I wish to continue to do, and this until I die.’’
Betty Blake, like the rest of the BBC production crew present, was left speechless by that passionate declaration from Jehanne, delivered in a most convincing tone of voice and facial expression. What Betty or even Jehanne couldn’t know then was the kind of impact Jehanne’s words did then on the viewers listening to the BBC special program.
16:40 (GMT)
Saturday, June 04, 2332
Las Americas orbital station, Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
‘’…and thank you for flying British Airways’ Orbital Services. You may now leave your seats and pick up your luggage from the overhead bins.’’
Jehanne, still dressed like a young backpacking tourist, got up from her seat in the passenger cabin of the orbital shuttle and, since both of her pieces of luggage were presently in the baggage hold of the large craft, proceeded at once towards the forward exit door. Her flight from London to the Las Americas orbital station had taken only one hour and had been as routine as it could be, bringing some 143 passengers up to one of the largest and busiest orbital stations turning around Earth. Exiting the orbital shuttle and going directly to the luggage hall, thanks to the free access and circulation system of the station, where the only passenger controls were at the docking gates of ships ready to depart, Jehanne was able to quickly retrieve her backpack and her large kit bag, then went up via a mechanical escalator to the level of the departure gates. There, she started walking at a quick pace along the seven-kilometer-long concourse which formed an outer ring around the station’s structure. She could have used either the rolling carpet systems of the concourse or the robotic taxi carts which both passengers and station staff routinely used but, being basically tireless and not being pressed by time, she elected to walk instead while carrying her two large pieces of luggage. One main reason for the length of the concourse was the size of modern spaceships. The A.M.S. NOSTROMO happened to actually be the largest starship presently in existence, with a length of 3,000 meter from bow to stern and a maximum diameter of 1,800 meters. When she arrived at the first of three gates connected to the giant cargo ship, which could also accommodate a large number of passengers, Jehanne stopped for a moment to admire yet again what she called ‘home’. While it wouldn’t win any prize for elegance and beauty, the NOSTROMO breathed power, with its squat cylindrical hull topped by a semi-spherical bow and its cruciform sponsons, which separated its four huge cargo module holds which ran nearly the whole length of the ship and could shelter up to 252 cargo modules of various sizes and shapes, with the smallest such module measuring 120 meters long by fifty meters wide and fifty meters high. Not visible from her location was the stern cargo hold, with a diameter of 1,200 meters and a free height of 420 meters, which was routinely used to carry large, preassembled structures like floating cities and space station elements. Another thing that was not visually evident to those looking at the NOSTROMO was its powerful main armament, which was presently retracted inside covered silos situated inside its cruciform longitudinal sponsons. Those silos sheltered four gigantic disintegrator cannons each measuring 750 meters in length, cannons which had proved able to tear open the huge asteroid ships of the Space Predators like vulgar sardine cans. Those giant cannons were in turn supplemented by dozens of medium caliber disintegrator cannons and missile launchers, plus eight laser batteries with a power of twelve gigawatts each. Apart from being the largest starship in existence and having the greatest cargo capacity of all, the NOSTROMO could also brag about being by far the most powerful warship in service at this time. Combined with its captain, Tina Forster, who was justly celebrated about being the best Space tactician and ship handler in the Spacers’ League, that made the NOSTROMO a ship you didn’t want to face in battle. Jehanne could have added as well that one thing that greatly contributed to the efficiency in combat of the NOSTROMO was its central artificial intelligence computer, named ‘Spirit’, which had often in the past controlled and directed the firepower of the ship with a deadly accuracy and speed of reaction that no human operator could equal or even approach.
With her two packs on her, Jehanne finally walked to the nearest gate giving access to the NOSTROMO and flashed her security badge to the pair of orbital station policemen guarding it, who then nodded their heads and let her go in. She then started walking down the 1,100-meter-long western access tunnel of the NOSTROMO while staying on one of the two sidewalks bordering the vehicle lanes of the tunnel. She however didn’t need to walk all the way to the central core of the ship and turned off the tunnel and into a vast compartment connected via airtight blast doors to the tunnel. That compartment was one of the two reception areas connected to the western access tunnel at the level of the habitat ring of the ship, where her apartment was located. A batch of some 300 incoming passengers was presently being processed in by the twelve receptionists manning the reception and access counters of the compartment. However, being a member of the crew, Jehanne didn’t have to wait in line and simply passed one of the access wickets, where another security android guarding it smiled to her as she passed through.
‘’High, Jehanne! How was your vacation?’’
‘’Nice but also a bit eventful, Otto.’’
‘’I bet! I saw the media reports about your intervention in Paris. Nice job you did there!’’
‘’Thanks! What time do you end your guard shift?’’
‘’At seven this evening.’’
‘’Then, I will see you again at our communal lounge on our ring’s deck.’’
‘’I’ll be there!’’
Jehanne then walked into one of the elevator cabins lining the wall behind the reception counters and went up by some ninety meters, with her cabin stopping at Level 569, the deck level where she and most of the other androids on the ship had their private apartments. Exiting the elevator cabin, she walked for a few hundred meters before arriving at her apartment, Unit # 569-630. Using her security pass, she unlocked the door and entered her home on the NOSTROMO, which covered a surface of 78 square meters and counted five separate rooms, the largest of it being the lounge. That lounge gave a nice view on the 18.2 hectares of European broadleaf forest, which was one of six forest habitats which the apartments and cabins housing the crew and the passengers of the NOSTROMO faced on their inner side. Jehanne first dropped her two pieces of luggage in the storage room next to the entrance door, then went to the small bathroom of her apartment, which contained a shower stall, a toilet and a cabinet with sink. While she herself didn’t need to use a toilet, the one in her apartment was meant to accommodate a human visitor who would feel a sudden need to relieve himself or herself. Shedding all her clothes at the entrance of her bathroom, Jehanne then stepped inside her shower stall and took a quick shower, using a perfumed soap specially designed to be used by female androids and which gave a natural female body smell to their artificial skin, which would otherwise have no smell at all. Drying herself after her shower, she didn’t bother dressing back at once and gathered her used clothes, bringing them into the storage room, where a small combined clothes washer and dryer unit sat, and starting a washing cycle. Still naked, Jehanne crossed the hallway and went into her personal cybernetic maintenance facility, about the most important room of her apartment for her. There, she lay on the reclined diagnostic bed occupying a corner of the room and put around her head the data transfer cap of the unit, then started a memory download and cybernetic diagnostic session while lying on the bed. While the cybernetic diagnostic part of the program started scanning and reviewing every circuit, electronic module and servo mechanism inside her body, checking for any damage, wear or glitches, the computer linked to her diagnostic bed copied her most recent memories, going back to the time of her last diagnostic session. Those fresh memories were then stored and added to all her previous memories since she had been activated some four years ago. If she by bad luck ended being destroyed or irreversibly damaged in the future, for whatever reason, then those recorded memories would be available to be loaded into a new android body similar to the one she presently had. Thus, Jehanne could aspire to something akin to near immortality, one of the oldest dreams of Humanity.
Sixteen minutes later, the voice of her cybernetic maintenance unit computer spoke up.
‘’Recent memories copied and put in your personal archive file. Diagnostic completed: no damage or anomalies found. You are certified as fully functional and good for service.’’
‘’Thank you, Doc!’’ replied Jehanne, using the nickname she had attributed to her diagnostic computer. Leaving her cybernetic maintenance room, she then went next door to her private study, where she kept her wardrobe in a closet, and dressed, putting on one of her favorite outfits, a body-hugging royal blue one-piece coverall made of stretching fabric with a deep ‘V’ cleavage and long front zipper which she favored when going around the ship in her free time. She completed her outfit with a pair of long, shiny black boots with elevated heels and a black belt supporting a belt purse. Seeing that she still had an hour left before going to meet Otto at the communal lounge frequented by her and other security androids, Jehanne decided to go unpack the things she had bought while on vacation and returned to her storage room, where she opened the big sports kit bag given to her by the medievalist shop owner in Canterbury. Taking out first the arming sword she had bought in Canterbury, she slowly drew it out of its scabbard and admired it for a moment while thinking about where she could expose it in her apartment. Her lounge would be the most logical place for that, as it was where she received visitors and friends. However, she would then need to get some proper wall fixtures for it. She then corrected herself: she would need many wall fixtures in order to suspend and expose the three medieval weapon replicas bought in Canterbury. Going quickly back to her private study, she sat at her computer, which was linked with the central computer network of the NOSTROMO, and requested that a maintenance robot be sent with sets of wall fixtures. In return, she got a message saying that the said robot would show up in some twenty minutes. Satisfied, Jehanne returned to her storage room and took her sword, dagger and mace with her and went to her lounge, where she started looking around it to decide the best places where to suspend her three medieval weapons. She had decided about those by the time that the worker robot, vaguely resembling a humanoid moving on a pair of rubber tracks, rang her door. Leading it to her lounge, she then pinpointed for it the exact locations where she wanted the wall fixtures to be installed, along with their orientation, and stood back to watch and guide the robot while it did its work. The worker robot, working with the speed and precision one expected from such machines, did the work in less than five minutes and left with a thank you from Jehanne. Now alone again in her apartment, Jehanne carefully hung her sword, dagger and mace in their new place, then stepped back to judge the final result.
‘’Perfect! This will add nicely to my little place. Well, maybe I could go in advance to the communal lounge now. No point in simply standing here while doing nothing.’’
First transferring her wallet, cash money and security pass to her belt purse, Jehanne then walked out of her apartment and walked some 200 meters to the communal lounge she used with her neighboring android comrades. She smiled when she saw that Officers Patrick Swayze and Norma Jeane Mortenson, who were good friends of her, were sitting together at one of the small, round tables of the lounge. Both of them smiled back at her while watching her approach their table.
‘’High, Jehanne! How was your vacation down on Earth?’’ asked Patrick, whose body and face replicated those of a famous (and very handsome) American actor from the 20th Century.
‘’It was nice and very interesting, Patrick. I got to visit the native home and village of the real historical Jehanne. Believe it or not but her home still exists after over a millennium and is actually in good shape. And you, where did you spend your vacation?’’
‘’I went down to North America with Norma and we visited Los Angeles together, where our historical personas lived and performed as entertainers. We visited in particular the Hollywood Celebrities Museum, where they keep pictures and paraphernalia about hundreds of historical movie stars. We were also able to view old films featuring our personas. I must say that it was a truly enjoyable experience for both me and Norma. By the way, I must thank you for what you said during the interview you gave on the BBC in London.’’
‘’Oh? What for?’’ asked Jehanne, intrigued. Patrick smiled to her in response.
‘’For saying that us male androids were well equipped and knew how to use our tools. Me and Norma were both recognized by fans of our past personas when we walked out of the cinema where we viewed those old movies and were nearly taken by assault by those fans, who wanted to admire and touch us. Dozens of women then said that they wished for me to prove what you said about male androids and I ended bedding most of them during the following days. The same happened to Norma, whose historical persona still has an army of male…and female fans. While we can’t feel sexual pleasure ourselves, giving pleasure to partners is nice and further enriches our social skills, so we obliged our new fans…. repeatedly. When I flew out of Los Angeles, I left behind a whole harem of women who couldn’t get enough of me. The same applied to Norma. And you, Jehanne, were you a bad girl during your vacation?’’
Jehanne giggled briefly, amused, before answering Patrick.
‘’Not really, if you except that episode in Paris where I killed a bunch of vicious criminals. I spent most of my time visiting old sites and buildings dating from the Middle Ages and shopping for souvenirs. I now am proudly displaying in my apartment good quality replicas of three medieval weapons, including an arming sword of the type the real Jehanne de Domrémy used during the Hundred Years War. I would have loved as well to acquire the kind of plate armor suit that Jehanne wore in combat but the replicas of such armor suits were prohibitively expensive and I couldn’t afford them.’’
‘’Why don’t you have such an armor suit built for you right here, on the NOSTROMO. Otto Skorzeni’s personal hobby is amateur blacksmithing and he has free access to the metal machine shop of the ship.’’
Those words brought an instant happy grin on Jehanne’s face.
‘’Norma, you are a genius! I will certainly ask Otto about that.’’
‘’Me, a genius? The men from the 20th Century nearly all thought that Marylin Monroe was just a beautiful but empty-headed bimbo.’’
‘’Which tells you about their own empty heads.’’ replied Jehanne in a sarcastic tone.