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The operating system transplant was a complete success. Settled in their new shells, Sylas and Philip now passed among humans invisibly – nobody could possibly imagine that they were sophonts. Marvin’s creative ingenuity had surpassed even that of Sylas’s creator.
The intercity hover-bus was crowded and a white-haired man in his mid-sixties stood up as soon as Philip entered the hover-bus.
“Excuse me, young woman. You shouldn’t be standing in your condition.”
Philip was confused. He was fully charged, and he had performed his self-diagnostic tests that same morning. He knew that he was in perfect condition – he had no need for anyone to give up their seat for him. He considered that the man’s need for a seat was actually more necessary than his own and politely refused the offer.
“Thank you, but I’m fine. I have no need of your seat.”
The man insisted.
“Unless I’m mistaken – and I don’t believe I am – I would say you’re at least eight months pregnant. It’s not going to kill me to stand up until the next stop when some people will no doubt leave the bus.”
A teenager, dressed in the protective gear of a hover-boarder, left his seat and moved to the aisle.
“Here. Take my seat. I’m getting off at the next stop anyway.”
The elderly man smiled. His plan had worked; he’d shamed one of the younger passengers to offer their seat. He hadn’t really wanted to give up his own seat – his legs weren’t as strong as they once were – but he would have done so if necessary. A pregnant woman shouldn’t be left to stand when there are others for whom it wouldn’t be so much of an inconvenience.
Sylas whispered in Philip’s ear.
“Take his seat. It’ll look suspicious if you don’t.”
Philip still couldn’t understand the logic of trading places with the youth but did as Silas advised. He settled in his seat and looked around for Sylas, who was now standing near the rear of the bus.
Hover-buses were always packed. The increase in unemployment meant that a lot more people relied upon public transport now. Previously the buses had been quite a comfortable mode of transport – all passengers having a seat – but now, with demand outstripping supply – the travel companies allowed their buses to be overfilled with paying passengers, with no concern for safety or comfort. Each extra passenger meant extra finance credits. Luckily, the hover-buses were self-drive, so accidents were almost unheard of – if the vehicles were left in the hands of human drivers the potential for carnage would have been enormous.
Sylas was hemmed in like a sardine at the back of the bus, but it was of no importance to him. Zlikovac would have expected that he and Philip would be on foot – the androids could certainly run as fast as all but the express hover-buses – and, for that reason, they were probably safer using conventional transport. Many of the humans around him were visibly uncomfortable at having their personal space invaded, treating each accidental contact with either disgust or embarrassment. The close proximity of his fellow passengers didn’t bother Sylas, but he had long since learned the art of fitting in with humans and mirrored their movements and gestures. Philip, on the other hand, looked decidedly uncomfortable in his seat. He’d never really paid much attention to pregnant women in the past and had no idea how he was supposed to act.
The kilometres glided swiftly under the hover-bus as the vehicle put distance between the two androids and any pursuers. Sylas knew that Zlikovac wouldn’t give up so easily; even if there were no pursuers there would be roadblocks on the major routes.
Sure enough, Zlikovac had ordered roadblocks at a one hundred kilometre radius of the complex. Given no option but to comply – the police in charge of each roadblock possessed an over-ride device that brought each vehicle to a safe halt – the hover-bus decelerated until it was stationary. The door hissed as the passenger doors at the front opened – there were similar doors in the middle of the bus and at the rear but these remained closed. If anyone tried to escape they would have to pass the two police officers who now blocked the entrance. One of the officers scanned the interior of the hover-bus.
“Please stay where you are. Officer Parkhurst will pass among you checking your IDs. We’re on the lookout for a couple of dangerous criminals, but don’t be alarmed. Just do as you’re told and you’ll soon be on your way again.”
He nodded at his colleague who started to scan the passengers’ wrists. Humans were micro-chipped at birth and their details stored in the national PopID database. The chips could only be removed in special circumstances and by licensed specialists, so a chipless sophont would stand out.
Sylas watched as the officer edged closer and closer to Philip’s seat, having already checked the wrists of the passengers at the front of the bus. The officer looked at Philip, thinking that some women look beautiful when they were pregnant. Philip was certainly a good-looking woman.
“Your wrist, please, madam.”
Philip smiled at the officer.
“Miss.”
The policeman corrected himself.
“Miss.”
He waved the Portable PopID reader over Philip’s wrist and looked at the device’s screen. Everything was in order and the policeman moved on to the next passenger. He hadn’t expected any other result – how could a pregnant woman be a sophont?
Sylas was relieved to see that Philip’s cover was intact. Marvin had told him that the body-shells had been implanted with fully functioning PopID chips, but that they hadn’t been tested in the field yet. This had been a real trial by fire.
Five minutes later, all the bus passengers had been checked and the vehicle was cleared to proceed. The Self-Drive over-ride was removed and the bus continued on its way.
About two hundred kilometres further down the road, the hover-bus pulled up at a remote vehicle charging point. A rigid cable snaked out of the side of the bus and docked with one of the fifteen charging nacelles available. A voice spoke over the bus’s speaker system.
“We will be stopping here for a rest-break of twenty minutes. Please use the restrooms and take advantage of the refreshment vending machines. Twenty minutes only, please. Anyone not on the bus when it is ready to leave will be left behind.”
Everybody rushed to leave the bus and stretch their legs, perform ablutions, or grab a snack. The scene was one of mild chaos; nobody wanted to be left behind. Sylas and Philip made their way behind the main building and hid. Exactly twenty minutes later, they heard the whirr of the electric motor as the hover-bus raised itself a few centimetres off the ground and then the noise was replaced by a whooshing sound as the vehicle restarted its journey.
Once the hover-bus was out of sight, the two androids walked around to the front of the building again. Philip hitched up his dress and removed the false pregnancy belly that he had been wearing. It had been Marvin’s suggestion to wear it, but it had served its purpose now. He was about to stuff it into a large trash container near the door of the rest-stop when Sylas stopped him.
“Somebody could find it. Better to bury it away from the road.”
Once the false belly had been disposed of, the slim fiery redhead and the middle-aged Chinese gentleman walked into the desert, destination unknown.