Human Company | Page 4

Mech had come and gone. She was spreading sawdust on the oil and acid drops and sweeping them into a bucket.
As she moved onto the launch pad, I stepped silently from the alcove, blocking her retreat to the tunnels. Intent on her work she did not immediately notice my presence, giving me time to take a good look at her.
They say that the women who created the Femdom settled on Snowshoe because it was an isolated planet that no one else wanted. The isolation gave them the time and privacy they needed to remake themselves into bios, perfect women that were bigger and stronger and healthier than humans.
And it does make sense that women who could tame a planet and build the elevators could remake themselves. But like their failed elevators, the remake must have been flawed: human births were becoming less rare.
I could see why no one wanted to be human. She was dirty; of course - - old oil stained her clothes; grease smudged her cheek; and black grime hid under her fingernails -- about what you would expect from a mechanic. But the dirty yellow hair and crooked teeth made her look strange. And she was small: about my size and flat chested. Just a kid.
When she turned back to the caverns, the unexpected sight of my feet startled her. She gasped and stood open mouthed while her eyes ran up and down my body.
I gave her my meanest sneer. "So you like to spy on boys, do you?"
"I meant no harm." Her voice squeaked.
"I should thrash you good."
She cringed a little then nodded hopefully towards the big tunnel. "I can show you the mechanicals."
I snorted. The bribe was so flagrant. Who did she think I was anyway? Still... See the mechanicals? Was that what the card meant? Maybe I could ride one. Redblood would have to take me seriously then. She would have to help me save the Elevator.
"I know all the mechanicals," she persisted. "Flasher is nice, you could meet Flash Mech."
I put my fists on my hips and tapped my foot impatiently. "Well, all right. But I should report you."
#
"I know all about the mechanicals," she said as she led me down White Mech's tunnel. "They call me Tiny, I can show you everything, I never talked to a boy before."
"The mechanicals call you Tiny?"
"No, the women, mechanicals don't talk."
We stepped out of the tunnel onto a ledge overlooking the garage. I squinted into the bright sunshine and saw an elaborate system of tunnels, ramps, and ledges covering the steep walls of an open crater. On the crater floor, tanks and vats surrounded the waters of a shallow lake. A confusing network of pipes interconnected the tanks, and from one vat, a torch flamed from a long tube rising into the air. Rainbow colors glinted off islands of oil film floating on the lake.
Several mechanicals lay on the lakeshore with their wings spread out into the sun. A few others crept about their duties among the tanks. One mechanical swam in the water. Its legs spread straight out and rose and fell like oars as it propelled itself forward.
Tiny tugged at my sleeve and I let her guide me down the ramp towards the lake. At the bottom, she released me and disappeared into an opening in the crater wall. I peered after her, and when my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw racks of legs, sensor balls, and other parts for the mechanicals.
"I got batteries," she said when she came out. She had untucked her blouse and pulled the tails into a sack to carry something heavy.
We walked out onto the crater floor past several mechanicals sunning themselves beside the water. They remained motionless as we passed, but I saw their sensor balls turning as they tracked us.
"This is Flasher," Tiny said as we approached a brown mechanical.
Clearly, the name came from the glow of light that slowly rippled under the brown surface of the mechanical. But despite the snappy name, the stir of internal lights, the gentle sway of wings in the breeze, and the slow rotation of sensors gave Flasher a lazy appearance.
Tiny handed me a fist-sized ball. "Throw her a battery."
I examined the dull red ball in my hand. The clay like material deformed when I squeezed it and came apart when I dug my fingers into it.
I smoothed the battery back to its ball shape and looked at Flasher. Up close she looked too big to play with. A dozen feet seemed close enough, so I leaned over and threw the battery underhanded to her.
She was lazy! Flasher's sensors barely moved as she casually opened a manipulator to capture the battery. She stuffed the ball into a hole in her body then resumed her posture of quiet