CHAPTER 12
Why are products not allowed to exceed a DNA similarity with humans above 96.3 %? Because anything above that threshold is no longer judged a product; rather, it is human. The percentage of 96.3 is not arbitrary. It is the approximate similarity between nature’s closest relative of humans-chimpanzees. I suppose the reasoning is that, historically, if chimpanzees were not considered human, then neither would a product having a DNA signature deviating at least as much as a chimp. Keep this number in mind. Personally, I shoot for no closer than 95 % similarity in the products I design. You know, to give yourself some breathing room.
Having shouted her warning to Todget, there was nothing more Lily could do but run. As she and Todget had discussed before, their hunters were numerous and formidable. To fight them was a fool’s errand, a last resort. Just as she began her sprint, there was a loud boom followed by a low rumbling roar as though lightning had struck dangerously close.
The human she had just met-the one who talked about spankers, angels, and demons-was yelling at her. “Stop! Stop!” he shouted. “Where are you going?”
She glanced back over her shoulder and was alarmed to see the human and his cat-machine running after her. It was no matter. Like every human, he was slow and she would soon lose him. Still, she did not like the attention. He might call upon other, more effective pursuers.
“Stop! Let me help!” she heard him cry beseechingly.
At first she planned on pacing herself somewhat. She knew she would need to be on foot for a while and so did not wish to push her long, powerful legs to their limits. However, this human had to be lost immediately, prompting her to open up into a full sprint. It was shortly after she had turned up the speed when the human’s cat became a problem. The furry, black quadruped machine was far faster than its master and quickly closed in on her, at which point the cursed thing began running underneath her legs as though to trip her.
Lily soon realized she could not effectively escape with this automaton dogging her, so she slowed down and waited for her opportunity. The machine was fast, but not smart enough to anticipate Lily’s well-placed kick. Despite the fear of breaking her foot, Lily put all her formidable strength behind the blow. She was relieved to find the impact soft, as though striking spongy flesh, as her foot connected with the machine’s side. The force of her kick sent the cat through the air, but Lily did not look to see where it landed. Instead, she kept running. But certainly, the cat would recover and be on her again in a flash, or the man would call for aid. She decided that she needed to take the offensive. And so as she rounded a small mound which, although small, was thickly festooned with flowers and bulbous shrubbery, she hid and waited for a few long seconds for the man’s arrival.
Flip, this girl is fast! D_Light thought. He fancied himself fast. He had trained hard and had his share of engineering in his ancestry that gave him an edge in a foot race. Swiftness, after all, was more likely to save one’s life during Rule Seven than fighting ability. But this girl was off-the-charts fast! Clods of grass and soft soil ripped up and were flung behind her with every stride.
As D_Light rounded the mound, he was surprised to see that the girl was nowhere in sight since the path ahead was straight and stretched on for quite a distance. He’d barely had time to contemplate the girl’s whereabouts when he heard a sudden rush behind him, but it was too late. He felt a hard kick and one of his legs was swept back underneath him, sending him face down on the ground. The girl was on his back and he felt a cold, pointed object pressing into the flesh of his neck. His head was turned, his cheek pressed firmly into the grass. In his peripheral vision he could just make out the glint of the blade.
OwnageTM! D’s getting spanked by the hippie! TermaMix texted.
With a thought, D_Light turned off the feed entirely. It would piss them off, but he wasn’t going to let his family watch this in real time. He could resolve the bet later…that is, if he survived.
He spat out his words as fast as he could. “Don’t! You won’t make it! I’ll help you! Listen to me!” Gasping for breath, he sucked in a mouthful of lush grass.
Smorgeous, who had since recovered from the kick, trotted up to them, his stride uncertain. Lily’s face was flushed and her eyes were wide. She shot an upward glance at the machine, at which point he stopped advancing and sat back on his haunches as though entering feline meditation. She straddled D_Light and bent down over him, close, her legs gripping him tightly-more tightly than seemed possible by her toned but feminine legs.
From D_Light’s vantage point, he could not tell if anyone could see them. Even if one of the spankers in the vicinity was not jacked in, he or she would probably just assume that the two of them were actively engaged in a spanker game-perhaps a social networking game with a sadomasochistic bent.
He could call for his companions, Lyra, Djoser, Amanda, perhaps even Brian, but they would certainly not reach him in time. He cursed himself for being so easily duped by this girl who, only moments before, had seemed so clueless. He relaxed as best he could to show her he meant no harm. She was a demon-he was sure of it-and as such, she probably had nothing to lose by plunging that blade down into his throat. He had to convince her otherwise, and he needed to do it fast.
“I will help you, I swear it.” His voice was softer now and muffled, distorted by the fact that his cheek was being crushed into the soft dro-vine grass.
Lily tightened her grip with her legs, pressed her lips violently against D_Light’s ear, and growled, “You did not help Todget.” The girl was breathing hard, perhaps on the verge of panic, D_Light thought. But there was a steeliness in her tone that told him to speak plainly and as truthfully as possible.
“I was sent here to find him. I had no choice,” he stammered. “But not you. I know how to get you out of here, if you’ll let me help you.”
“Help me? You must really think I’m a fool. Now you’re the one who needs help.” She bit her lip hard and pushed the tip of her blade harder against his neck. Her hands trembled.
“Wait!” D_Light begged. “You’ve got to trust me.”
“Trust you? I have no reason to trust you!” she shouted.
D_Light felt her cutting him.
D_Light collected himself as best he could and spit out his words into the grass like a stream of water. “I don’t want to die! Let’s make a deal. I help you escape, and you let me go. Without me, they will catch you!”
There was a long silence that D_Light could not interpret, an eerie quiet that he felt compelled to fill with additional rushed pleadings. “Listen, you have to blend in. You can’t get away by running. They’ll be looking for runners, and you can’t outrun an angel. They have satellites. They could be watching you now! I know how they do things. I swear, I can help you!”
Suddenly, D_Light felt her weight lift from him and the girl was on her feet. “Don’t bother me with your machine or I’ll kill you,” she said flatly as she pointed to his familiar. D_Light quickly sat up and instinctively clutched his neck where the blade had been only a moment before. He felt the wet of his blood, but the wound did not seem deep.
The woman took a quick look around, including in the air, and then turned as though to resume running. D_Light got to his feet quickly and said loudly but calmly, “Don’t, you need to follow me.”