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Chapter 20 by BronzePlaceWriter BronzePlaceWriter

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The Mechanist of the Red-Light District

San Gasa had been a sight from the sky but from the ground? It was insane! The streets were crowded and thronging with people selling their wares. Stalls had been set up every couple of paces, the cries of merchants rang out loud and clear. Goods of all kinds were being hawked from food and clothing to technology to things of an altogether more lewd nature.

Kara attracted glances. Her face was bright red, though the programming would not allow her to hide her body. Her choker and piercings emitted a soft glow, like a beacon to the curious. Before long, she was feeling swamped as the crowd turned to look. There were murmurs following her, and appraising eyes rested on her chest and between her legs.

Was she really walking down the street naked? But she was! And she couldn’t help it, and her programming was telling her that this was exactly what a little **** like her should be doing. Oh god, her pussy was wet. She was flushing bright red, why was this turning her on so much? The crowd could see!

Not only did they see, but they approved. Whispers followed her down the cobbled streets, praise for her master, and assumptions that he must have been wealthy indeed to afford such a ****.

Richard for his part didn’t turn or acknowledge them. Kara’s humiliation showed clearly on her face, but part of her was also happy. Content to be in its place.

This was what she had been trained for.

“Master,” she said, trotting forward to keep up. “Where are we going? To find this friend of yours?”

“That’s the plan,” Richard nodded. “I don’t know where he is now, but I know where he used to be. We’ll go from there. As a bonus, you’ll blend right in.”

That sounded ominous and a shiver ran up her spine, but Richard shot her a soft smile, his fingers closed around hers.

“You’re doing fine, Kara. You’re doing so well. You still remember what I told you when you were on the table?”

She nodded.

“Good. Hold on to it.”

Soon enough, the meaning of Richard’s words became clear. Kara had never been to a city quite like this, but as Richard led them further into the shadow of the overhanging mountain tops, she began to recognise the sounds which boomed from the buildings on either side of the road. It was music, bassy and loud, played by radios or by automaton bands. The buildings gradually became more gaudy, with flashing signs of different colours. The crowds changed too; they became seedier, the men and women started to look distinctly rougher.

Not only that, but Kara began to see others like her. Women naked or in chains. Their hands bound behind their backs. Soon, large metal frames began to emerge from the side of the road. Kara wondered their purpose until she saw a **** girl chained to one, her arms and legs open. Her head was tilted to the side in shame as a crowd gathered around her.

Further on, someone had assembled a wooden stand. Multiple naked women stood upon it as an announcer shouted to a crowd gathered below. They were being sold!

Kara moaned softly; doing her best not to let it show. Her body trembled; the sounds of the crowd drowned out the beating of her heart. To her left, a woman had a **** girl pinned against the wall. She was trailing kisses across her body as her finger slid between her soaking labia.

To the right, another **** had been strung up by one of the frames. Her master held a whip in one hand, and the crowd was jeering.

Everywhere she looked, Kara saw sights more erotic than the last. She told herself that it didn’t affect her, that she wasn’t turned on by it, but she knew that was a lie. Each time she saw a new punishment or predicament, she wanted it to be done to her. Each new torment filled her with envy. Again and again, her gaze returned to Richard, she wondered if he was keeping notes.

Eventually, they came to a run-down-looking store. Compared to those on either side of it, it was far from ideal. To say that it had seen better days would be an understatement. The thing was half crumbling, the interior was dark and shadowed. The smell of oil and smoke hung in the air.

They stepped inside. As far as Kara could see, there was no one else, but - and here, her eyes opened wide - the shop was filled with machines! Parts and pieces of automatons! Coiling cables and gears and spinning motors! Here there lay a partial Heinberg engine which looked like it was only a few generations behind. There, there was a singed-looking steam-compressor which must have been graded for military use.

“Richard! This is a machinist shop!”

Before he could even answer, Kara was off. Her nudity was forgotten, her shame faded away. She danced between the shelves and the stands, her gaze growing ever wider.

“Look! This is an elite grade syphon! This model hasn’t been used for fifteen years!”

“An optical enhancer! No way, is that a Benchan mark four?! Those were limited production!”

“Oh my god Richard, that’s a high-grade neural core!”

The piece in question looked unobtrusive, sitting on a shelf between an arm mechanism and a steam shunt. In appearance, it was akin to a nest of thin wires, like coiling snakes. Each one was tipped on one edge with a copper head, and led back into a spherical machine. The covering for the sphere had been peeled back and Kara could see the many, many, many intricate layers of cogs and gears and turning wheels which when properly powered and programmed would simulate a living mind. Or at least, as close to one as technology could get.

It was what made automatons able to act.

She gazed closer at it with envy. Very few people could begin to understand, much less had the skill to work on the extremely intricate layers of self-perpetuating machinery that made up the interior of the sphere. Kara herself barely understood the exact details. It was based on principles of amplification, that the thing was more than the sum of its parts.

It was both the most complicated piece of technology in the empire and also the thing that had allowed it to bestride the world. That little sphere and those little wires had been the secret to armies of automatons. Had birthed the conquerors, the servants that toiled tirelessly in the homes of the rich, and every other make, model and breed of automaton.

Someone had worked on this one. Extensively. Tool marks on the cogs and wheels showed her where they had been modified. Old parts had been removed, and new parts fitted in. Judging by the size, it had been a humanoid model, maybe a servant class? But the markings and modifications made her think that there was much more to it than that…”

A coldness filled her gut as she finally realised exactly what it was.

“This is a modified Conqueror neural core. I’m not sure exactly what it does though…”

“Increased aggression,” said a voice from behind the counter. Kara spun! It had been empty when they had come in, but now a man stood watching them with an amused expression. “Improved initiative. Quicker action looping and augmented general intelligence. Sadly, however, it was a failed project.”

“Didn’t work?” Richard crossed his arms.

“Worked too well. Thing overheats in about fifteen minutes. Always meant to do something about the cooling but well, you know me. A dozen projects in the air and not a one of them finished.”

“Bennie.”

“Richard.”

“How’s your gut?”

“Still has a hole in it. Your arm?”

“Still aches in the cold weather.”

For a long moment, the two men looked at each other. Suddenly, Bennie let out a shout and surged forward. Richard froze and the other man dragged him into a bear hug.

“Richard Gearheart! You pretentious bastard! I never thought I’d see you again! And with such a fine **** girl too! Did you finally get that stick in your ass extracted?”

Richard’s laughter filled the small shop.

“Bennie, you absolute madman! What the hell are you still doing here? I thought you hated this old place! I figured I’d just find someone to point the way to you here! Weren’t you going on about ruling the damn city before?”

“Ah, well, you see, I tried that. Turns out ruling cities is work. Couldn’t get anything important done, so I just gave up on it.”

“And how long did that take?”

“About a week.”

Kara stepped back to study the two men as they chattered away. She’d never seen Richard so animated, and his face was almost glowing! His mouth had relaxed into a beaming smile.

Bennie was not how she had imagined him. When Richard had spoken of him, she’d imagined someone taciturn. An ex-soldier with a scarred past. Disciplined, strict, and lawful.

Bennie was the opposite of that. He was dishevelled. His clothes were stained with dirt and oil, but even before that, they had been ill-fitting. His dark hair was wild and untamed. His skin was black, and one side of his face was a network of scars. One of his arms gleamed with metal, and she realised that was because it was a prosthetic. The same was true for his left leg. They were both of high grade judging by their smooth and rapid motion.

He had a belt of tools loosely lashed around his waist.

The two men finally broke apart.

“What are you even doing here?” Bennie asked. “Did you come to enjoy my little world?”

“Thought you said the city was too much work?”

“Not the city! The district! The red light district! She’s mine! My proudest work, don’t you think?”

“Some would say you went a bit far. Saw a lot of naked women on the way here, Bennie.”

“Since when did you ever complain about that?” Bennie laughed. “Besides, it’s willing! It’s all willing! They sign contracts! And if they need help they get it! All above board! All very official!”

“And you enforce the contracts? Who makes sure they get the help? You for all of them? Lot of girls for one of you.”

“I have people! The best people! I’m not exactly a solo act anymore, my man! People like what I’ve made. Doms and subs, you know? They appreciate having somewhere safe to play.”

Richard made a face again, Kara fancied she could almost read his thoughts. A place like this must be so easy to ****. So many things could happen beyond sight, even with the best intentions.

“Don’t worry about it! I have it handled! Not all of my helpers are humans.”

“Automatons,” Richard said flatly. “You’re still making them?”

“Did the room full of parts not clue you in on that already? Everyone wants my pieces. I can sell them for as much as I want now! I’m famous! My work can be seen all over the world! They’re not pretty, they’re not delicate. But if you want something that can take a beating? Something that can give back three times as much? A machine that just doesn’t quit? You know where to go!”

“You’re making killing machines.”

Bennie pulled a face.

“Bodyguards! Soldiers! Not killers! I program them all! Make sure they’re safe!”

“No such thing,” Richard grunted. “Please tell me you haven’t modified any damn Conquerors.”

“I wish! But no one’s selling Conquerors to the likes of me. New models are military only for twenty years and only then filter down. All we can get is the second-hand stuff, and most of that isn’t worth working with. Weapons gone, armour stripped, most of the internals replaced with lower grade stuff….call that a Conqueror? I call it a disgrace!”

“Bennie was an army mechanist,” Richard said with a glance at Kara. “One of the best at the time.”

“At the time? Best ever I’ll have you know! They came begging on their knees for me to come back.”

“Really?”

“Well, no. But they should have! Lost them a treasure just because they couldn’t let some minor issues slide.”

“Minor issues like you taking apart half the automaton crew.”

“To make the other half better! If they’d just tried them out, they’d have seen that I was right! I was showing initiative!”

“Yeah, well this may be a shock to you, Bennie. But initiative isn’t always looked for in the army.”

“Which is clearly their problem! I’m happy here! In my dusty little shop where no one comes because who the hell wants to buy parts in a red light district?”

“Yeah, I meant to ask about that. If you run the district, couldn’t you get a better place than this?”

“Ah, my friend. Wait until you see the benefits.”

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