The G. M. Os. - 22. Chapter 22 - Prisoners, Part 2

Chapter 22
Ship Clock 262349
Abner (Abe) 34-793k
Li (Lee) 32-413f
Prisoners, Part 2

Abe sat in his cell staring at the opposite wall of his cell. There wasn’t much else to do. He had just finished a meal that was supposed to be breakfast, but it didn’t resemble anything he recognized as breakfast food. A dry biscuit of some substance floating in a sweet tasting viscous fluid, a cup of some kind of juice, and a pill he assumed to be a combination of vitamins and minerals. Yesterday he had a shower; he wouldn’t get another for three days. In an indeterminable amount of time, he would be cuffed and shackled and taken down to his wired cage to have one hour of outdoor time on nine square meters of artificial stone. He would do pushups, abdominal exercises, quad sets, and a few minutes of running in place. Then he would be cuffed and shackled and returned to his cell. After another indeterminable period of time his second meal of the day would appear in the bottom hatch of his door. It varied between pasta in a cream sauce, another dry biscuit in that sweet, viscous fluid, and a cup of something that resembled milk; a hunk of some kind of fish in a cream sauce, another dry biscuit in that sweet, viscous fluid, and a cup of a sweet bubbly fluid; or, a bowl of a chopped, light colored meat in a cream sauce, another dry biscuit in that sweet, viscous fluid, and a cup of a dark, sour fluid. After a while he would do some more exercises. Then after another indeterminable period of time another meal exactly like the one he had at midday would appear at his cell door. When he was tired he would lie down and try to sleep. After a while the lights would dim probably indicating night. That was his day. The only difference was the variety of food and the two showers a week. He had no idea how long he had been here.

During his outdoor periods, there were other prisoners in adjoining cages, but no one spoke. He wasn’t spoken to and he didn’t want to start a conversation. One day, the day after a shower, frustration had grown to the point where he couldn’t stand it and he slammed his fists into the cell door. The pain was incredible, but at least it was different than what had been going on. His door opened revealing two guard bots; one had cuffs, and the other shackles. He turned around and accepted the metal bindings. They took him to an elevator, which went down two floors. After a long walk he entered a room where there were three med-tech bots. He had his cuffs and shackles removed and a med-tech bot began examining his hands. The process was extremely painful, but it was different from the drudge of repetitive nothingness. The examination stopped, he was taken over to some kind of box where he was instructed to put his hands inside and hold them still, and after a moment he was told to remove his hands. He was directed to a bench and told to sit. Two med-tech bots came over, wrapped his fingers with tape, and told him not to slam his fists into the cell door. If he couldn’t help himself, at least try to use only one hand because he was going to find personal care to be somewhat difficult without the use of two hands, which turned out to be true.

Two days later, after using the toilet and having a bit of trouble using the toilet paper, the bell on his cell door chimed and it opened revealing two bots, one with cuffs and the other with shackles. He was taken to the elevator and it stopped on the first floor. Immediately, fear swept through his mind because the last time he had been on this level he was almost hung, but this time he was taken out a door where there was a Bot Security six place, covered speeder. Abe was lifted up into it, strapped in his seat, and had a black bag draped over his head. He had no idea where they were taking him.

It was a long trip wherever the speeder was going. He almost fell asleep, but was startled when the speeder stopped and the cover retracted. Abe was carried out and set on a surface. The black bag was removed. There was a detachment of guard bots standing around him. The security bots returned to their vehicle and it flew away.

“Abner 34-793k, welcome the Ring 7 prison and mental hospital,” a guard bot said. “No talking, no resistance, and no unnecessary delaying of your progress into the building. You are here for an examination of your brain and a psychological workup. You will be in the care of humans, but that may change if you do not follow instructions as they are given. Do you understand?”

“I will follow all instructions,” Abe said.

“Very well, come with us.”

They took him inside where he was given a body orifice examination by a human and issued pale blue coveralls, underwear, and slippers. Two guard bots cuffed and shackled him and took him to an elevator, which stopped on an upper floor. They went down a hallway and stopped at a barred door. It opened, Abe had his cuffs and shackles removed, and he went inside. The door slid shut and clicked. He turned around and saw a real bed. He went over and sat on it. The mattress was institutional, but softer than the one in his cell back on Ring 5. He lay down and wondered why he was here.

********

In another part of the hospital, Lee lay on a recliner staring at a nano bot in the ceiling. It wasn’t doing anything. Her wrists were cuffed in front. The cell door slid open and man came in. He sat on her right, behind her head.

“Are you Li 32-413f?”

“Yes.”

“I am Dr. Johns 43, I am your psychiatrist. You will answer all my questions to the best of your ability. Failure to answer any question will result in an immediate transfer to the prison here where you will remain until you see fit to answer my questions. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You tried to commit suicide. If given a chance, will you attempt doing that, again?”

“Probably, I have no reason to live. My life is over, so why continue.”

“You had an illicit sexual relationship with a male neighbor who was vulnerable because all of his family was in a medical facility and he was alone, but you are a lesbian. You have a sexual relationship with your wife, but you chose to entice a vulnerable man into having sex with you. Why?”

“I don’t know. Neither of us had anything to do. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have, uh, intercourse with a man. Since I do not have a vagina, it would have to be through my asshole. I didn’t expect anyone to hear us or see us. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to have something I wanted.”

“Was it a pleasurable experience?”

“Oh, yes, very much. Given the chance, I would do it again with any man I happen to meet. It was unbelievable. Not knowing the sizes of men’s penises, I was surprised that Abe’s was so long and thick when it was hard. And we did it the way he liked it, without a lot of lube. Yes, I would definitely do it, again.”

“If that meant ending your marriage, would that be alright?”

“Oh, my marriage is already over. There’s nothing between me and Willy anymore. She slapped my face five times when I admitted it was all my idea. Five times, can you imagine how that felt? No, she will divorce me and get custody of our children. I will have to leave the commune. I’m sure I can find a man who likes to ass fuck. If not, well, I can always kill myself or commit a serious crime and be sent back to prison. Life will be much easier then.”

“What kind of crime do you imagine committing?”

“Well, killing someone would mean I would be sentenced to death or be killed outright by a security bot if I resisted arrest. I suppose I could slap a child on a sidewalk. I’ve heard that if a bot is nearby when that happens, it will kill the attacker. That seems a rather gruesome way to die, but I’m sure it’s quicker than what the bots could come up with in a prison.”

“What would you do if I allowed you to go into a ward with other women?”

“Oh, I don’t know. What would I have to do to be sent back to a cell?”

“I’m the one who asks questions here, not you. I think it’s time we end this initial interview. I’ll have you transferred to a cell in the prison for an indefinite period of time so you can think about your attitude.”

“Whatever.”

The psychiatrist stood up and left. In a moment two guard bots came in and told Lee to stand up, which she did. One took the cuffs off and told her to put her hands behind her back. She looked at and then hit its left eye. There was an unbelievable pain in her chest and everything went dark.

********

Abe sat in a chair in a small room with a helmet over his head that had a screen in front of his eyes. His arms were strapped to the arms of his chair, his legs were strapped to the chair legs, probes had been stuck in his head before the helmet was put on, there was a blood pressure cuff on both biceps, and there were plugs in his ears with wires attached.

“You will see images that you may find to be disturbing, you may hear sounds you do not understand, and I want you to just sit here and go with the experience. If you get angry, that is okay. If you are afraid, you may say whatever you need to make the image or sound go away, though that might not work. We’re testing your emotional response to sights and sounds. I will turn down the lights and leave the room. Do not try to get out of your seat or try to remove the test equipment.”

Abe sat there not knowing what was going to happen, but simply waited for something to happen. Then he heard screaming as if someone was being tortured or something like that. Then he saw a small boy about the age of Petr being skinned by a bot. He screamed. The image changed to the sight of a naked woman showing her genitals. Then there was more screaming and the sight of the little boy being skinned returned. Abe screamed. Then there was the sight of a security bot with a knife like object walking toward him. He consciously tried to back away but the chair stopped him. Then the weapon seemed to come out of the screen and he could’ve sworn he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He screamed. Then there was an image of a small flowering shrub being pulled out of the ground by a farm bot and thrown away as if it was a weed. He just stared at it when it looked over at him. Then the image changed to the sight of two naked men in a passionate frottage. Then there was screaming and he saw a young, naked female mutant that looked like Willy being held down by two security bots while another was slowly cutting her head off. Blood poured from the wound and then the head fell to the floor. He couldn’t scream and he couldn’t imagine what he saw. Then there was an escort bot just standing there. Abe felt revulsion churn his stomach. Then there was nothing to see.

Then someone remove the plugs from his ears. Then the helmet was removed, as the lights had been dimmed he wasn’t blinded by brightness. A med-tech bot began removing the probes from his head while another removed the blood pressure cuffs and the straps holding his arms and legs to the chair. Abe wondered how well he had done on the test. The med-tech bots left the room and a woman in a long white linen jacket came into the room.

“Thank you for participating in this test. The results of which will be compiled with other tests to come in the day ahead. We’ll return you to your room where you will be served a light lunch. This afternoon we will take the first of many images of your active brain. The test will take approximately two hours, so, please empty your bladder before the guards come for you.”

The woman left and in a few minutes two guards bots came in and told him to stand and turn around. They cuffed his wrists and shackled his ankles. When he was back in his room he used the toilet and then lay down on his bed. He wondered what they were looking for. Was he crazy? Was all of this a dream and he was really still back at the bot chemical factory? What was all of this about?

Later that afternoon, the guards took him down into a basement area where there was a box-like structure with a round hole in it. The guards removed his cuffs and shackles and left. He was told to remove his coveralls and lie on a table that slid his head into the hole.

“We are going to scan your brain for activity that may reveal the nature of your impairment,” a young man said. “Lie still and try not to move your head. If at some moment you need to move or readjust your body, raise your right finger and we will pause the test. Then resume when you are ready. Also, try not to fall asleep. If you feel that happening, raise your finger and we will pause the test and give you a pill to keep you awake, but it may distort the images of your brain and make diagnosis difficult.”

Impairment, what did that man mean by such statement. That sounded like there was something physically wrong with him. Were all those tests at the chemical factory so harmful they caused brain damage? Was his fits of anger a symptom of brain damage or did he have some kind of psychiatric condition like Don? Why had he so easily given in to Roger’s desire to be dominated? Was that a symptom of his problem? Well, there was the time he forced Eddy to have sex when he found out about Roger’s death. That was certainly abnormal. As was his desire to dominate Gene; especially, when he raped Gene after Eddy and Moli died. But in both of those instances, he was able to hold back and come to love both men. All of this ran through his mind as he lay there quietly as the machine hummed around him.

He thought of what he and Lee had done. Why had he given in so easily? He could’ve said no and all of this would not be, but could it be that he had a problem and might strike one of the children in a fit of anger? Maybe, being here was a good thing. Maybe, he might find out why he easily fell asleep when bored. So many questions, so many thoughts, was that why he so fucked up? Or was that just normal?

His mind went back to his family. Would they welcome him back? Would they forgive him for what he had done to them? Did they even want him back? Maybe, he should just go into some city and try to find a job there. Or, maybe, he should just try to hit a guard bot.

Unexpectedly, the machine stopped humming and the table slid back to its original position. He lay there waiting for something to happen, but nothing did, which brought back the memory of being on Ring 4 when the bots killed all the people except for him. Had that happened here? There was nothing to do except lay quietly awaiting for someone or a bot to come in and tell him what to do, which happened at that moment when the young man came back.

“The radiologist found something in your brain and you are being transferred up to surgery where surgical bots will perform the operation. Don’t worry; surgical bots can get into areas of the brain where humans will not go.”

“Oh, I’m not worried, surgical bots operated on my husband and my daughter. I have every confidence in them.”

“Good; I didn’t notice your eagle, but now I see you have one. See? I have one, too. Do you have a husband? Is he nice?”

“Yes, we’ve been married nearly fifty years.”

“That’s a long time. I hope I’ll find the right man, but I live here in the compound and it’s hard to get into the city. Sometimes, that’s not a good idea because of the macho problem here on Ring 7. Do you have a macho problem where you live?”

“We had one that nearly killed me and my former husband. I survived intact, but he had brain damage and couldn’t use his left arm and hand, limped, and his left eyelid drooped. Just recently some macho children at daycare beat up my son, sending him to the local clinic for two nights. Then, a couple weeks later two other macho children at the daycare stabbed my daughter so severely she had to be taken to the med center in Ring 5 Central City, but security bots found machos there and all of us were taken to Bot Security headquarters to keep us safe. Bot Security keeps eradicating machos from Ring 5, but they keep coming back. There were even machos at my children’s rearing center. A Bot Security officer told me that it’s the cities where they have the most trouble with machos. Maybe, it’s just the way some people have a flaw that causes them to hate other people.”

‘Yeah, that’s probably it. Well, from what the radiologist said, it looks like you have brain damage yourself, but it’s deep inside your brain and only surgical bots have the tools that can get in there and fix the problem. Oh, here’s the gurney. Maybe, I’ll see you around. Have a good life.”

“You, too,” Abe said. What a nice man, thought Abe. He hoped the best for the man, but suspected he might have a serious run-in with machos. Of course, he didn’t know what the gay scene was in Ring 7 cities, so maybe the man would be safe if he kept around the same crowd.

A med-tech bot told him to get up on the gurney and it wheeled him out into the hall. Two guard bots escorted the gurney down to surgery. There were three surgical bots and a woman who was the anesthetist. She started an IV and Abe dropped into dreamless sleep.

********

Once again, Lee lay on the recliner staring up at the ceiling. She wondered how long this interview was going to last. As she saw it, there was no point in coming over here to the hospital for these psychiatric interviews because she had no intention of getting better. Her only focus at the moment was having sex with a man, preferably Abe because his cock had been so long and thick. Yes, that’s what she would tell the psychiatrist. It would surely get her sent back to the prison. Life was easier over there.

The psychiatrist walked in and sat in the chair. Lee impatiently waited for the interview to begin. The nano bot wasn’t doing anything.

“Are you Li 32-413f?”

“You know that I am.”

“Are you Li 32-413f?”

“Yes! For God’s sake, why can’t you remember who I am?”

“I am Dr. Johns 43, I am your psychiatrist.

“You told me the last time you were here.”

“You will answer all my questions to the best of your ability. Failure to answer any question will result in an immediate transfer to the prison here where you will remain until you see fit to answer my questions. Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

The nano bot was flickering; broadcasting the data of the interview to whatever bot system was interested in monitoring it.

“You seem to be in a foul mood today. Why is that?”

“I want Abe to fuck me or another man with a long, thick cock. You wouldn’t happen to have one of those, would you?”

“Uh, no.”

“Well, that’s what I want. So what are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing, you’re in prison for committing adultery. Are you going to give up being a lesbian and go looking for a man to fuck you?”

“I said I want a man to fuck me. I’ll still be a lesbian. That’s a given. You know, I haven’t taken my medicine in a long time. Maybe, that’s what’s wrong with me.”

“What medicine is that?”

“Oh, an estrogen supplement, my mutation prevents my ovaries from producing a sufficient amount of estrogen.”

“That’s interesting, why did you stop taking it?”

“The bots stopped sending it. I never asked why. You don’t ask bots why they do things.”

“So, you think having less estrogen in your blood is making you desire having sex with a man?”

“Why not, what else could it be?”

“It could be a lot of things, but I think we’ll start with that. I’ll schedule you for an endocrine workup. Reduced levels of estrogen usually don’t have an effect on the psyche, but let’s take a look at it so we can rule it out. Now, let’s talk about your family. I received a message from your wife. Would you like me to read it?”

“Why not, I feel bad enough right now, so what’s a little bad news going to do to me?”

“Well, let’s see what you say about this:”

Dearest Lee

I miss you terribly and I don’t know what I’ll do if you’re gone for five years. You know I will forgive you, eventually. But, right now, I want you home.

Leoni and Leon miss you. At first they were quite angry about what you did, but I think most of that was the ribbing they received from Petr.

Speaking of Petr, he’s gone. Bot Security took him away for making macho statements when a Human Services bot came to interview all of us on how we felt about what you and Abe did. They came to arrest Dorcas, too, but she resisted and the bots killed her. I guess she’d been filling Petr with a lot of macho talk.

Charity and Petra are alone, now. I have them over for supper a lot. Even though Petra is older than Leoni, she’s more than willing to play with her.

Leon has taken Don under his wings and is protecting him from the other kids. I give him extra hugs.

Miss you

Your love

Willy

“What do you think about that?”

“Wow, I never imagined she would be willing to accept me back, but that’s impossible. My sentence is five years. How can I even think of having it reduced? No, I’m just going to have to accept that I’m going to be away for a long time.”

“Would you like me to put you out in the ward?”

“I don’t know about that.”

“You’ll be medicated so you’re not a danger to yourself or others. I’m sure you’ll find it to be a rather calming experience. Though there are rules. Acting out can get you sedated and put in the quiet room. How about it? Want to give it a try?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Good, I’ll have the guards take you up there. I’ll put you on an antipsychotic. You’ll be sleepy most of the time, but still able to function. I think we’ll get back together in a week. Okay?”

“Sure, okay.”

The psychiatrist got up and left the cell. Guard bots came in, cuffed and shackled Lee, and took her out into the hall. They went to an elevator, got off on another floor, and went down a hall to a broad cell door. Lee wasn’t certain she wanted to go through with this, so she turned and bumped into one of the bots, nearly knocking it over. There was an excruciating pain in her back and everything went black.

********

Abe was lying on his back on a recliner in a room with white walls. There was a nano bot in the ceiling, but it wasn’t doing anything. He had no idea what he was doing in here.

The door slid open and Abe saw a youngish man walk in. He went behind Abe’s head and when he looked around he saw the man sitting in a chair.

“Are you Abner 34-793k?”

“Yes.”

“I am Dr. Johns 43, I am your psychiatrist. You will answer all my questions to the best of your ability. Failure to answer any question will result in an immediate transfer to the prison here where you will remain until you see fit to answer my questions. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I guess.”

“You had a mental stress test. It revealed an extreme revulsion of bots. Then you had a brain scan and followed by brain surgery. The results of these three things reveal you have a mild form of schizophrenia. Do you have any idea what that is?”

“No.”

“Your view of the world around you is centered on what gives you pleasure. You get pleasure from your husband because he loves you. You receive sexual pleasure from him. I assume when you have sex, you always orgasm. How often does he orgasm?

“Oh, now and then, I don’t really know.”

“Exactly, you center on the pleasure you receive not the pleasure you give. I have reviewed your personal record and see that you have been married for forty-nine years. That’s a long time for someone with your problem, which tells me you are able to unconsciously control your impulses to some degree. What do you fear most in life right now?”

“Going back home and, in a moment of anger, lashing out at one of my children. A security bot told me that hitting a child would result in summary execution.”

“What do you fear most, hitting a child or being killed by a bot?”

“Hitting one of my children.”

“What about children in your neighborhood?”

“Them, too.”

“I see. So you’re not worried about being killed by a bot?”

“Well, no, but, in a way, I would deserve that if I hit a child in anger.”

“Very good, at least you can tell right from wrong. You had an adulterous adventure with a neighbor. What was your immediate feeling after that event?”

“Pleasure, it was a very pleasurable experience.”

“Given the chance, would you do that again?”

“Probably not, I’ve already destroyed my marriage, so why would I want to do further damage to the man I love. He has enough problems of his own without me adding more to his burden.”

“I received a message from your family, would you like me to read it?”

“Sure.”

Abe

This is Dona typing this for Gene and Don. We miss you. When are you coming home? I sent a message to Bot Headquarters here on Ring 5 requesting you get psychiatric help for your impetuous behavior. I received a message from Bot Security for the whole ship. They said that you were going to be transferred to a mental hospital on Ring 7 for help. I hope they are helping you.

Don wants you to come home soon. He misses you terribly and needs you here.

Gene said you are forgiven for what you did with Lee. He knows you probably don’t believe him, but he said he loves you very much and wants you to come back soon.

That goes for me, too.

Your daughter

Doey

“How do you feel about that?”

“Well, first of all, now I’m not surprised I’m here. Dona is a genius and has already attracted the attention of the bots. It’s nice to know Gene said he forgives me. That gives me hope that our marriage will continue. Don, well, he has his own problems and I probably need to be there for him.”

“I’m going to put you on an antipsychotic and send you up to the ward where you will stay pending the outcome of Bot Security’s review of your prognosis. Next week, you will be given a series of mental stress tests to determine the effectiveness of your medication. Once we find out what medicine in what dosage is needed to control your anger and impetuous behavior, you should be able to go home. We will notify the commune of your condition and that you should not be put under undo stress; other than the stress you are going to experience with your family. How does that sound?”

“Like good news. It certainly gives me something to hope for, but I don’t expect Bot Security to give in easily.”

“That’s your disorder talking, not you. All those years testing pharmaceuticals caused lesions on vital parts of your brain and now you’re suffering from a condition that could, unless strictly controlled, be your undoing. Your family will be given information on the requirements of your care and, considering the intelligence of your daughter, I’m sure you should have a long a prosperous life. Any questions?”

“You know doctor, I probably do, but I’m so excited about having the possibility of going home soon, that I can’t think of them right now.”

“That’s another symptom of your disorder. We’ll talk again before you leave and you will be referred to your local clinic for ongoing psychiatric care. Okay?”

“Okay, Dr. Johns.”

Up in the ward, a nurse gave Abe a small cup with a capsule in it and a cup of water. He took the pill and looked around the room for some place to sit down. There was a vid on the wall and he immediately noticed it was a cartoon that Don liked to watch. Abe didn’t know what it was really about, except that there was some kind of long legged bird that could run very fast and a dog-like creature that kept trying to kill it, but in every attempt it failed horribly, which made it so funny. The background desert scenes reminded him of pictures he’d seen of old Earth before it was depopulated because the rampant weather changed most of its surface to one big desert.

********

Once again, Lee lay on the recliner waiting for Dr. Johns to come into the room and talk to her. She’d been away a long time and the bots had put her on short rations, which meant she was hungry most of the time. She knew it was punishment for bumping into that guard and really didn’t care what Dr. Johns was going to say about it. She was getting bored with this place and wanted to get sent back to a regular prison.

The psychiatrist walked into the room and sat in his place behind Lee’s head. She looked up at the nano bot, but it hadn’t started sending data.

“Are you Li 32-413f?” Dr. Johns asked.

“Yes,” Lee whined.

“Well, Lee, you’re certainly a troublesome patient. What am I going to do with you? What do you want done? Go back and finish your original sentence and give up the chance to go home early or do you want to cooperate?”

“Well, Doctor, to tell you the truth, I really don’t care what you do.”

“I see; well then I see no other option than to send you over to the prison and let you serve your sentence there. If at any time you wish to start cooperating in your treatment here in the hospital, be sure to tell the bots and they’ll contact me. I can’t say that I’ll accept you back into treatment, but I’ll give you the chance that it might happen. If I don’t see you again, I hope you have a good life.”

The doctor got up and left the room. Well, that was that, Lee thought. There was no going back on her decision now. Though, she did wonder if she would ever want to come back. No, that would mean giving up to a man and that wasn’t in her deck of cards. Or was it? What was it about wanting to get fucked by a man? Was that really her who said that; who thought that? She was a lesbian, she loved a woman, and they had children. And now all of that had been thrown away. The guard bots came in, cuffed and shackled her, and escorted her back to her cell in the prison.

The following morning the doorbell chimed and it opened. Two bots came in, cuffed and shackled her, and took her out to an elevator that when down to the first floor. They went outside where there was a line of other prisoners, both men and women, standing under the solar lights. She had her cuffs and shackles removed and told to stand at the end of the line. After a few minutes, the line started moving and Lee walked along not knowing where she was going.

After walking for about two klicks, they went through a gate and walked another four klicks to a cornfield where each of them was given a dull hoe and a row of corn stocks to weed. Lee now saw the meaning of hard labor; she was to be a farm bot.

The day was long and hot with few breaks for a drink of water from a cup dipped in a bucket carried by another prisoner. After around six hours, they exited the cornfield and walked back to the prison where they were cuffed and shackled. Two guard bots escorted each prisoner back to their cells. Lee realized she would have to determine how long she was going to put up with this before giving in to Dr. Johns and his offer of help.

The next day they returned to the cornfield and worked through another quarter of the field. As the day before, the day ended after six hours and the prisoners were returned to their cells. Lee was still debating whether it was better to be punished by being a farm bot, which in her case was quite similar to what she did on her own farm, or go back into treatment. She was tempted to give in, but was reluctant to appear weak in front of a man. No, she was going to stick it out. There wasn’t much the bots could do to her that was different from what she was doing now.

The next day her group was sent back out to the farms, but this time, after passing through the gate, they walked eight klicks out to a field that had been plowed revealing a fresh crop of large potatoes. Each prisoner was issued a basket and given a row to pick up potatoes. Lee hadn’t expected this, but had a suspicion this was only to make her give in. So, she bent over the row and filled her basket. A prisoner came down the row and gave her an empty basket and took her full one. Lee went back to picking up potatoes until a bot came by and told her to pick up her basket and follow it back up to the beginning of the row. It told her to use her hands to dig through the dirt to get out all of the potatoes and not to leave anymore behind or suffer the consequences. Lee didn’t know what those consequences might be, but considering her experience with bots so far in this little period of her life, it couldn’t be anything good and may actually involve something painful.

She dug through the dirt and was surprised at the number of potatoes she had missed. After about an hour she was back to where she had been pulled back to the beginning and noticed she was significantly behind the other prisoners. She began filling up baskets faster than before and her back was beginning to feel the effects of bending over and pulling all the potatoes out of the row. Though, she couldn’t go too fast because she had to be careful to get every potato out of the dirt. After another hour she stood up and saw that she was only a quarter of the way down the row. The other prisoners, who obviously had done this before, were further down their rows. She bent back down and went back to carefully pulling out potatoes, filling basket after basket.

One thing about doing this it gave her a lot of time to think about quitting and going back to the hospital. Doing that meant the possibility of going home early, which, now, didn’t sound like a bad idea. Then Lee began to wonder about Abe. What was he doing? She knew he probably was in prison, but what kind of sentence had he gotten. Was he on hard labor or just solitary confinement?

Lee heard a voice and looked up. It was the water man. She took the offered cup and savored the slightly salty cool water. Looking down the row and back up to the beginning revealed she was not quite halfway, while most of the other prisoners were closing in on the end of their rows. She bent back over and began to dig through the dirt a little faster, which caught the attention of a bot. It came over and started digging in the dirt behind her. She slowed back down to be certain she got every potato. The bot threw seven potatoes in her basket. It told her to go back to the beginning and go through the dirt, again. Surprisingly, she found potatoes deeper in the dirt and began to fill more baskets. Now, the man who did the baskets gave her a stack of them, which meant she didn’t have to wait for him to come down and give her a new basket to replace a full one.

By the time she got back to where she had been taken back to the beginning the second time, she saw the other prisoners lining up to go back to their cells. She stood up thinking she was supposed to go with them, but the bot who was now accompanying her told her to get back to digging for potatoes. She had to finish the whole row before being allowed to return to her cell.

The basket man came down the row with a whole stack of baskets. He set out smaller stacks along the row ahead of Lee. She watched him pick up her last full basket and take it to the start of the row where there was a wagon. He dumped the basket in the wagon and was taken back to his cell. After a long while the water man came down the row and left the water bucket and the cup. He went back up the row and was taken back to his cell. She bent over and began digging up potatoes.

In about an hour, Lee knew she had to pee. In the days before she had been able to hold it until getting back to her cell, but she had to do it now. She stood up and looked at the bot.

“What do you want? Get back to work.”

“I have to pee.”

“Drop your coveralls and underwear and urinate. Then get back to work. Human toilet facilities are at the ends of the rows, you have a long way to get there.”

Embarrassed, somehow Lee got out of her coveralls and underwear, squatted down, and did what she had to do. She needed some toilet paper, but that was out of the question, so she put her clothes back on and went back to work.

She filled up baskets, went to a stack, got an empty and returned to where she had stopped. This went on for unknown hours until she finally got to the end of the row. Evening was close and then the dark of night would be upon her. She looked at the bot.

“You have full baskets, take them and dump them in the wagon.”

She picked up the last basket, walked back up the row, and dumped the basket in the wagon. She put the empty basket onto a stack of empties and went back down the row. She repeated the process and then stood waiting for the bot.

When it came up to where she was standing, it said, “You left the water bucket down the row; go get it.”

She did as she was told. When she got back to the wagon the bot said, “I will take you back to the prison. Walk.”

As Lee walked along the lanes to the gate, she knew she had reached her limit. This was hard labor and it wasn’t what she thought it would be. When guards took her to her cell and removed the cuffs and shackles, she said, “Okay, you win, tell the psychiatrist I’ll go along with what he wants.”

“Very good, human, we wondered how long it was going to take you. You are lucky; those other prisoners do not have an out. They will finish their sentences out there in the fields.”

********

Abe lay on the recliner waiting for the psychiatrist with handcuffs locked on his wrists. The nano bot wasn’t doing anything. The doctor walked into the room and took his seat.

“Are you Abner 34-793k?”

“Yes.”

“How do you feel?”

“Drugged.”

“Yes, that is expected. You have passed all your tests and we have established your medicine and dosage. I will notify Bot Security you are eligible to be returned to your home. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes, Doctor, that is okay with me.”

“Abe, you are basically a good person; you’re just flawed from all those tests at the chemical factory. When you return to your home a local psychiatrist will get in touch with you and set up a schedule for visits. Your medicine will be delivered to your home and you will not have to be there to receive it. It should arrive a week before you will run out. If at any time it doesn’t arrive when you expect it, notify the local psychiatrist for a refill. You will stay here in the ward until Bot Security sets your release date and arranges transport back to your residence. Abe, I want you to have a good life.”

“Thank you Dr. Johns for all that you’ve done for me. I suppose none of this would’ve occurred if my daughter wasn’t so important to the bots or if the bots had just killed me there at the prison. But now you’ve given me a chance to live a full life with those I love.”

The doctor left and Abe waited for the guards to come back. So, he was going home, but when he didn’t know. Could he hope Bot Security would let him go sooner rather than later? Could they be good to him for once?

********

For Abe, the trip home was a long never ending process of guard bots escorting him through prisons and security bots transporting him in their speeders, but, now, with the medicine he was taking, it was a calm and peaceful experience. He left the facility on Ring 7 and was transported back to the prison on Ring 5 where he stayed two days and nights. On the third day, he was taken down to reception and given the casual clothes he had been wearing when he was arrested. A security speeder took him home. It landed in the parking area of the five residences and Abe unbuckled and started to get out.

“Abner 34-793k, Bot Security apologizes for its mistaken treatment of you. Bot Security systems were unable to recognize the brain disability you developed from your residence at the chemical factory. As long as you continue to take your medication, we do not expect to have to visit your residence again. Bot Security wishes you a long and good life.”

“Thank you for your honesty, but to tell you the truth, if you hadn’t arrested me, none of us who have learned that I do have a problem. I hope I never have to answer a knock at my door and have a security bot standing on the porch, but thank you for bringing me home.”

He climbed out and went up the steps to his front door. When he went inside he saw Gene, Don, and Dona waiting for him. They were all over him and he was finally happy that he was home. None of them asked about his experiences in prison, which for Abe was a good thing. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to deal with bots until they came to the farm to pick up his harvests.

Unexpectedly, there was a knock on the door. Don went over and answered it. He turned back toward Abe and said, “Abe, Leon wants me to come over to his house. Can I go?”

“Certainly, little boys can play together, but, please don’t make a big deal about my return. Can you do that for me?”

“Oh, sure, Abe I can do thath. Oops, one slipped outh. Oh, darn, now you’ve goth me excithed and I can’th thalk.”

“Come on, Don, I want you to come home with me, before it’s time for supper and you have to go home,” Leon said.

“Run along, Don,” Gene said.

“Okay, I’ll be back in thime for supper,” Don said and then he went out the door, shutting it behind him.

“Still having trouble with his tees, huh?” Abe asked.

“Only when he gets excited,” Dona said. “If he’s careful, he speaks very well.”

“What’s with Leon coming over?” Abe asked.

“We really don’t know what’s going on,” Gene said. “Maybe, he’s just tired of Willy getting onto him about bugging Don down at the daycare. You know he’s only fourteen years older than Don. That’s not much of a difference.”

“No, it’s not,” Abe said. “So, what’s on the schedule for supper?”

“A barbecue over at Peter and Ben’s,” Dona said.

“How’s Lee doing?” Abe asked. “Has she been forgiven, yet?”

“Well, Abe, Lee isn’t here; she was arrested the day after you were,” Gene said. “She’s at the mental hospital on Ring 7. She tried to commit suicide her first day in prison. Willy has been in contact with the psychiatrist, but Lee’s been fighting against treatment. She doesn’t know when Lee will be back, if ever.”

“Oh, heck, that should make me feel sad, but it doesn’t. Must be the medication I’m on. I have trouble feeling anything, except the love all of you are exhibiting. I never want to go away, again.”