“Yes. Only this would not be for money.”
“Elasa, I do trust you. You do what you have to, and I won't hold it against you. I know you love me as I love you.”
“Oh, yes!” she agreed, and swept him into her arms and on into bed.
Two weeks later Elasa got the word: the Awares had information for her. She went quietly to the garden with Bunky, and there were Vulture and Python—and Adela, whom they had led in. It was the most private convenient meeting place.
“There are key personnel the Maggots will target,” Adela said. “They will take them over and use them to institute the processes that will convert Earth to a slaughterhouse. We will need to stop those personnel, and not by assassination, because they would simply be replaced.”
“If they are here, the Maggots will take them,” Elasa said.
“There is another way. But not yet. We must get close enough to them to read an essential part of their brain coding so that the Plant will be able to change it slightly, when, with her projective telepathy. This is where we need you.”
“Of course I want to do the necessary,” Elasa said. “But I can't afford to be obvious.”
“Exactly. You will need to have an affair with the American Secretary of Defense.”
“What?” This was shock rather than incomprehension.
“You need to get close to him, and stay close to him, because he will lead you to several of the other targets. We need to have them all primed by the time the Plant arrives, because then we shall have to act immediately. The salvation of our world depends on it.”
“How could I get close to him, let alone have an affair with him?”
“He will need a personal secretary. You will be that, in the form of his ideal figure of a woman. The rest will follow.”
“This is too complicated for me to handle,” Elasa said. “I would be thoroughly vetted before I ever got near such an important figure, and they'd never trust him with a robot.”
“That is why I will go with you,” Adela said. “He must not know you are a robot. This is vital.”
Elasa worked it out. “Because anything he knows, the Maggots will know when they take him over. If he knows my nature, they will realize that this is a devious connection, and they will use me to track down the Awares. Then you won't be able to stop them.”
“That's it. We have to catch them by complete surprise, or we are lost. The path we have found is not guaranteed; it is merely the one most likely to succeed. Bunky is unable to precog the outcome. But any other path is doom.”
Elasa sighed. “My husband will not be pleased.”
“Because he thought your fembot days were behind you?”
“Actually he understands that aspect. But he will have to take care of Bela while I'm away. He doesn't mind, but Bela can get fussy without me.”
“Tell him,” Adela said. “Because tonight you must be with Pauling Hudson.”
“Tonight!”
“You have just time to get to the Temp Agency. Timing is precise.”
Elasa told Banner that the time had come. She had to become anonymous and be a fembot. But first she made love to him, passionately.
“That man you are going to will never know how lucky he is,” Banner said. “I will be here when you return.”
“You know I am programmed to love you, Banner. But I think that even if I wasn't programmed, I'd have come to love you. Because you know me for what I am, an animated machine, and you accept me just as if I were a real woman.”
“You are a real woman!” he protested.
“Legally, yes, since I won my personhood. But--”
He cut her off with a passionate kiss. That was answer enough.
Soon, bemused, Elasa drove Adela to the Temp office. On the way she downloaded a thorough course in personal secretary information, and Adela changed Elasa's wig to make her a peach blonde with curls to her waist. Then she had to change into a slightly too-tight dress with a slightly low decolletage. Adela had come prepared with all the things Elasa had not known she would need. She put in matching contact lenses and enhanced her breasts slightly. The car mirror showed a rather sexy young woman without being obvious about it. Elasa was now a different person, Silver Sessions, with an ID to match. How the Awares had arranged that she had no idea, and thought it best not to inquire. Yon Yonson, the private eye, evidently knew his business.
At the Temp office she registered under the new name, and it checked out. She had just arrived from another city, and her references were excellent. “We're sure you'll do,” the clerk said reassuringly. “We get frequent calls for women with your skills. In fact we have none in reserve at the moment.”
Her skills? She had seen the woman appraising her figure, knowing what counted.
A phone on the desk sounded. The clerk glanced at it. “In fact there's a call now.” She whistled. “An important one! Emergency. Go immediately to this address. The name is Pauling Hudson.” The name Adela had mentioned. Surely Bunky's precognition had figured into this assignment.
Adela had been with her all along, unnoticed. Elasa drove her to the address. “You knew this unlikely coincidence was going to happen,” she said.
“I knew you had to be at the Temp office at the moment the call came in,” Adela agreed. “I did not know the details, just that timing was critical.”
“And my new appearance. I'm the kind of secretary the boss makes passes at.”
“Yes, of course. We spent a long time with the Lamb fathoming exactly what you needed to look like.”
“Well, now you're stuck with whatever I'm doing tonight. I got no chance to return you to your own site.”
“I will be with you throughout,” Adela said. “Just ignore me, unless I signal you. Then follow my directions precisely.”
Elasa sighed. “When I first contacted you Awares, not all that long ago, I had no idea it would lead to this.”
“Neither did we. But when we got into it, it became apparent. This is important.”
The address turned out to be an eloquent suite in a prominent hotel. She rang the bell, and in a moment a portly older man answered. “I am Silver Sessions, a personal secretary sent by the Temp office,” she said.
“You're beautiful!”
By no accident. “You have work for me to do?”
“Oh, yes! My regular secretary had an accident, and I have an important interview tomorrow morning. I have to review the background, and I don't even know how to organize it. My secretary has a system.” He paused. “But I'm babbling. Come in, Miss Sessions.”
“Mrs Sessions,” she said.
He didn't bat an eyebrow. “Of course. Here is her material. Do you think you can--”
“Of course.” Elasa took the package, scanned it, and recognized it as an internal intelligence report. She could handle it.
She sat at the table and got to work, while the man relaxed with the holo news and a glass of wine. She was conscious of his eyes on her, appraisingly. “He's checking you out,” Adela murmured.
Elasa took a deep breath as though girding herself for a challenging effort. This put a strain on her tight decolletage.
“You need to have him in you within the hour,” Adela said. “I will leave you to it.” She departed. What was she up to?
Elasa had the material organized in minutes, then made spot notes to key it in for an extemporaneous presentation. “I believe this is ready, sir,” she said.
“Already? You've hardly started.”
“This kind of organization is my specialty,” she said. “I have prepared a standard format. You will want to verify it.” She leaned forward to hand him the note card.
He almost dropped it, distracted by her cleavage. Then he glanced at the card and was surprised. He was of course familiar with the material; it was the presentation he had needed. “This is it! You have keyed in the salient points I need to make. Remarkable.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Paul,” he said warmly. “Have
a drink.”
She hesitated. “I do not wish to seem unduly familiar and I prefer not to drink on the job.”
“I think you have completed it, Silver. Now you can relax before you go home.”
“If you are satisfied, Paul.” She glanced at her watch. “Darn! It's rush hour.”
“A bad time to drive,” he agreed. He proffered her a glass of wine.
She hesitated visibly. “If you are sure it's all right.”
“Your notes are perfect. You have organized the material in a way I could not. You are a truly competent worker. I would like to know more of you.”
She decided. She accepted the glass and took a sip. She could eat and drink; it merely did not do her any good and had to be eliminated later. “Divine,” she said, settling into an easy chair so that her perfectly crafted thighs were accidentally exposed.
“I always prefer the best.” His pupils dilated as he took in the view. “Your husband is surely a lucky man.”
“He knows my nature.” She crossed her legs carelessly while savoring the wine, and heard the faint catch of his breath. Seduction 101. “He understands when I have to work late.”
“My wife has little interest in my work,” he said. “Or in me.”
“That's too bad.” There was just a hint of a slur to her words, as if she wasn't used to wine this potent. Her inhibitions were clearly fading. “You must get lonely.”
“I do,” he confessed. “But the company of a woman like you can do wonders for my comfort.”
“Why Paul! If I didn't know better I might think you were coming on to me.”
“I would never force myself on a woman.”
She smiled invitingly. “As if force would be necessary. A handsome man like you.” They were getting there on schedule. Men were easy.
“How is it that a woman of your elegance is doing common secretarial work?” Pauling asked. “You obviously have superior skills.”
“My husband is—between jobs,” she said. “I do what I can to assist.” She stretched, at the risk of tearing fabric. “I am feeling warm. Do you mind if I loosen my--?”
“Not at all. In fact I'll join you.” He removed his jacket.
“Thank you.” She loosened the upper contours of her dress, providing her breasts additional exposure. Now somewhat tipsy, it seemed she didn't notice.
Within half an hour they were both naked and on the bed. He was fascinated by every part of her, especially her breasts. He kissed them avidly. He was a breast man, and she had the best that technology could provide.
Looking past him, Elasa saw Bunky. She masked her surprise, realizing that Adela must have fetched him; that was why she had departed. Had she driven the car? Or were other Awares here? Elasa took hold of Paul's head and pressed his face between her breasts while the Lamb came close enough to sniff the back of the man's head. Bunky's telepathy was strongest up close. He was taking the necessary reading of the essential brain coding.
Then Lamb and Aware were gone, their business completed. Elasa let Paul up for air and guided him into her for a powerful climax. She didn't need to make any pretense of a climax of her own, though she was adept at faking it; this was all for him.
“Oh Silver!” he gasped. “You perfect creature! I want to take you with me!”
“With you?” she asked, gently perplexed.
“On my global tour. For your secretarial skills. I have many important men to see, and it would be incredibly dull without your company.”
“But your secretary--” His wife at this point was a non-issue.
“Will be out for two weeks.”
“But if you're traveling globally, I have no passport, no clearance. I'm just a temp secretary.”
“I can clear you with a quick call, as part of my staff.”
“But two weeks—my husband would be concerned.”
“I can arrange for bonus pay that will more than satisfy your husband.” Clearly he had had experience with husbands before.
“Then, perhaps,” she agreed, drawing him back into her bosom. The Awares would keep Banner posted, and actually, the money would be nice.
In this manner she allowed herself to be persuaded to accompany him on the tour. Exactly as the Awares had found necessary. She processed the department notes for each encounter, setting them up so that Pauling had no trouble with his presentations. There were other complications to navigate, because Pauling insisted that she eat well and maintain her health, and they generally ate together. She protested that she was on a diet to maintain her figure; he could not protest, as he much admired that figure. But she still had to eat some. That meant she had to eliminate it, which was not the easiest thing. She could urinate in the normal living manner, straining out the water, and took pains to let Pauling accidentally see that on occasion. As lovers they often shared the bathroom. But defecation would be another matter. Her undigested poop would be a giveaway.
This was where Adela came in. She ate what Elasa removed from her internal pouch, privately. It looked awful, being a jumbled mess, but was quite sanitary, and Adela knew that. So Adela digested it, getting her food that way, and in due course defecated in the normal manner. Once Elasa managed to let Pauling see the turds in the toilet just before she flushed it. They were mutually embarrassed by the incident, but it was a necessary reassurance. There had to be no suspicion whatsoever that she was not a normal woman, poop and all.
*
There followed a rapid succession of flights and meetings. Pauling arranged for sufficient privacy during the dull hours in air so that they could have exuberant sex, and she made sure he was always more than satisfied. She was officially there to take notes during his actual meetings with high officials; no one even noticed her, theoretically, and if they suspected that Pauling was getting some on the side, well, what else was new?
Until Adela gave her the word. “The next contact is critical. He's a womanizer, but we have to have him.” She dressed Elasa in a theoretically conservative but tight outfit that clearly showed her figure. “Be sure to show him your profile.”
She did, and the man practically drooled. She evinced no eagerness to oblige him, being a proper secretary.
“Damn,” Paul murmured, reading a note the translator pressed into his hand. “We really need the favor of this man, but he's on the fence. Except he can be swayed, if--”
“If?”
“If you will cater to him for one hour.” He braced as if expecting her to strike him.
“His support is important?” She knew it was.
“Vitally important. He can sway several other allies we need.”
Adela was there. “We need this man,” she reminded Elasa.
That decided it. “Then for you I will do it.” And for the Awares. She did not expect to enjoy it.
“Oh thank you, Silver!” he said, greatly relieved.
The man was horny as hell, and had some weird notions about what went into where, but she obliged them all and he pronounced himself satisfied. And in the middle of his third climax, which spurted into her ear, there was Adela with the Lamb. Somehow the Awares had managed to smuggle Bunky in to this foreign capital to do his job. She was impressed despite herself; the Awares were demonstrating their amazing abilities.
Back at the hotel suite, as she showered and scrubbed as if trying to scrape off filth, Pauling was effusively grateful. “The public supposes that reason and negotiation account for international deals, but sometimes it's uglier than that. I hope he didn't hurt you.”
“He didn't hurt me,” Elasa reassured him. “But I'd much rather be with you.”
He laughed. “A female baboon would rather be with me than him! But his favor is worth hundreds of millions of dollars to us, and enhanced military security. You have done your country a significant service, though it will never be recognized.”
She emerged from the shower and toweled herself dry. “I am glad for both.” Then she kissed him and aroused and satisfied his own passion.
; Word evidently got rapidly around, because a quarter of the globe away another key man asked for her favor. This one, too, was attended by the Lamb. But there was a surprise, because after the sex, which was accomplished in under five minutes, he brought out a board. “You know Go?”
“Why, by a coincidence, I do,” Elasa said. “But I seldom get to play it in America.” Adela had warned her, and she had downloaded the rules and strategies of the Game of Enclosure. It was said to be one of the oldest and finest games in the world, though largely unknown in the west.
They played, and she played well, but lost. “I think I could have taken you, had you really tried,” he said, not fooled. “But I am impressed, and it was an enjoyable game. If Hudson ever loses the need for your services, keep me in mind.”
“I will,” she agreed. As such contacts went, he had not been bad. And such had been his concentration that he never noticed the visit of the Lamb.
Then they had quick sex again, and the hour was over.
“You played a board game with him!” Pauling exclaimed later. “And converted him to a far more solid ally. You are amazing!”
“Thank you,” she said modestly.
Then she cleaned up and they had sex, as they normally did after a contact. The meetings and dialogues with foreign dignitaries worked him up, and sex was the way he eased the tension. Elasa, of course, could handle it, as any fembot could; she had been crafted for this, before she became a person. But she was coming to like Pauling, who was a decent man with a high pressure job. Their interludes were pleasant.
She confessed this privately to Adela. “Yes, I think that is part of what makes you right for this mission,” the Aware said. “A flesh woman would have trouble with some of those clients, and maybe take it out on Pauling. We can't afford that.”
“So there is more than sex involved here.”
“Yes. It is vital that you maintain your relationship with him.”
“Even after this tour is over?”
“Yes. The Lamb indicates that the salvation of Earth may depend on that association.”
“So it's safe for me to like him.”
“It is essential that you like him, and that you let him know it.”