SexedUp by Sally Painter Page A

helmet.
“There’s been a breach at the lab. The new lab. There was an explosion. Dr.
Lewis was inside. I’m afraid she didn’t make it. All the product has been
destroyed.”
    Randi’s breath rushed from her as if she’d
been hit in the belly. She doubled over in a wave of nausea.
    “Dr. Mayers?”
    She stared at the officer through blurry
eyes, unable to respond.
    “This is Ellen Forte,” Ellen interrupted.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Are you sure all the product was
destroyed?”
    “Where the building was there’s now a
gigantic hole in the ground resembling a crater, ma’am. See for yourself.” The
screen shot moved over the captain’s shoulder to a smoky scene that revealed a
smoldering charred crater in the ground.
    A low wail vibrated in Randi’s throat. All
that was left of William was gone forever. She hugged herself and rocked
forward, trying to find some hope, some small part of the past few months she’d
spent with him. Everything had been destroyed. William’s legacy to the world
stolen. All hope for the future was gone.
    “Call Drs. Wiesenton and Fields. Make sure
extra security is placed at their homes,” Ellen instructed.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “I’ll call you back in a few minutes.
Computer close call.” Ellen touched her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Randi.”
    “It’s over. Everything is gone.” Randi
shook her head.
    “So it appears,” Ellen pursed her lips
together. “They got through even though we did everything we could to maintain
secrecy and security.”
    “And they waited until we were finished.
Let us go through all this, believing we had succeeded and then destroyed it
all. Why? To show us we can’t beat them? William,” she cried.
    “I know, dear, it hurts me, too.” Ellen
leaned over and drew her arm around Randi’s shoulders.
    * * * * *
    Randi spent the next days poring over the
autopsy report, looking for something that would stand out as the trigger for
William’s death, yet found nothing. Simple degradation of cells. How had she
not seen it coming? Missing him was the worst feeling she’d ever known. When
she thought of the last months and how often they’d been separated, she was consumed
with regrets.
    “If only…” she mumbled, knowing those two
words were now her worst enemy.
    She stared down at the data stream flashing
over the holograph desk. It was as if William had simply stopped breathing. No
cursor markers. Nothing to trace back to the moment it started. She recalled an
ancient saying, all living things have a lifespan, some are long while
others are short. Could it be so simple? Had William lived out his short
lifespan? She wanted to place his death on a single cause, but the only thing
she knew for certain was he died in his sleep when his cells had suddenly begun
to deteriorate.
    “William,” she whispered his name, afraid
to say it louder or she’d surely crumble under the silence when he didn’t
respond.
    Days drifted into weeks and Randi returned
to Sexed Up, no longer feeling the energetic spark about her work. She created
another sex replacement and six months later was working on the next bigger and
better version, but she still pined for William. She would always long for him.
The robots only reminded her of what she had lost and how her heart had died
with William.
    “There is an incoming call for you, Dr.
Mayers,” the office computer announced.
    “Put it through.” Randi sat back in the
chair and stared at the blank screen. Her pulse spiked when no image appeared.
    “Randi Mayers?”
    “Speaking,” she responded.
    “You don’t know me, but I have some
important information for you.”
    “What kind of information?”
    “The William kind.”
    She leaned forward. Now she understood why
the call was in the privacy setting with no image showing. She couldn’t be
certain if the caller was pro-male or anti-male. Either way, she didn’t care.
William was gone. The hope he’d represented for the world—for her—was