Chapter 7, Cyberotika
Chapter 7: Cyberotika.
RoboCop and Lewis finally drive a police van to the outskirts of Detroit to return the electronic slot machines to Cyberotika’s CEO Colonel David Thompson.
The Cyberotika company has been up and running for barely two years. Often confused with Sextronica, another company that although seems to have a similar name, the consumer products offered by both corporations have no resemblance among them at all.
Cyberotika started as the dream Thompson held on to, in order to find motivation again in life and not become mentally insane after surviving the Syrian war four years ago.
Colonel Thompson was once a young brilliant mechanical engineer that worked in a secret military base in Syria providing technical support to all the bases that were spread in enemy territory. Eventually his base was tracked down and bombed.
David was the only survivor of his technical crew. He was put in an induced in a comma for months, so he could recover properly. After waking up, Thompson was horrified to see the severe damage his body had suffered.
Thompson was burnt from the waist down, his left arm was gone and the same way both his legs were amputated from the knee down. His right arm was still there, but his hand had lost most of its movement. He had to use a colostomy bag and his sexual life was terminated. David endured a painful operation to replace a great part of his hip with titanium plates, to be able to walk again using prosthetic legs and a cane.
Acknowledged as a condecorated hero, the government had given him a great sum of money to reward his service to the country, and with that money Thompson started his journey trying to find better prosthetic parts that could help him live a more decent life.
Nevertheless, as time passed by, the colonel became bitter and frustrated to realize there weren’t many alternatives for him to have a high quality life anymore.
Whenever he asked physicians about him recovering his sexual life, they would usually shake their heads with compassion, Thompson discovered that sex life was a taboo topic when related to disabled people, not many people cared to know disabled people could not function sexually or that they wanted to be sexually active and couldn’t be.
A generality of people usually believe that getting an artificial limb or a wheelchair for a disabled person is more than enough to make him or her grateful to be alive.
Thompson was proud of his physical appearance and his athletic body for many years, enduring a new life as a disabled veteran was the ultimate humiliation for him.
The horrific experience David went through was a wakeup call that eventually transformed him into a more humane, compassionate man. The colonel made up his mind one day and invested his funds to create his own company instead of wasting his money looking for non-existent alternatives elsewhere
“If you want something well done, you have to do it yourself”
After been to hell and back in between depressions, physical and emotional pain, Thompson found a new reason to live in Cyberotika, a revolutionary company that develops prosthetic parts for disabled people to start or to recover a lost sexual life.
At his private clinic in Prisma city, Colonel Thompson offered himself to be the first patient to be rebuilt from the waist down, the experimental surgery was mostly successful and Thompson could get his sexual life back, but at a high cost: His spine is in constant chronic pain ever since.
The hired medical team although professional and outstanding, were unexperienced on connecting artificial electricity to the human nervous system, a percentage of David’s nerves were burnt by it and he lost myelin, the impact made a hole on his spine the colonel has learned to live with by aiding himself with heavy medication every day.
His new chronic condition is the main reason why he hasn’t dared to offer permanent prosthetic sexual parts to his clients yet. He needs another patient that can overcome the same surgery with success with no collateral damage.
Thompson is in the pursuit of a brilliant physician that has great knowledge on prosthetic parts and knows how those connect those to the central nervous system without causing any harm to the spinal cord that agrees to perform the operation once a volunteer comes up, but so far, no one has applied for the position yet.
Nevertheless, not everything was lost, Thompson and his creative consultants developed many detachable artificial prosthetic parts for disabled people that can connect to the brain by triggering a synapse that makes possible the connection between a human body and a prosthetic unit giving the temporary advantage of having sex in a normal conventional way.
Thompson’s very sophisticated and expensive products can either be bought online or rented at any Cyberotika hotel, where many people with different degrees of disability check-in there daily. The central offices are in Prisma city, but there are small branches in Old Detroit. Needless to say, in only two years, Thompson has become a millionaire with his controversial idea.
Colonel Thompson can be an intimidating character; tall, dark hair and a handsome face, fancy suits and expensive jewels, he enjoys showing off the money that has given him a status as a new millionaire among other entrepreneurs that envy his rapid career to success.
Thompson: Good morning, officers, please come in, I have been expecting you for some weeks now, would you fancy something to drink? A glass of wine? Please, have a seat, feel yourselves at home
Lewis: Thank you colonel, we are on duty, we can’t drink or sit down. I apologize for the delay on delivering the machines, you see, my partner, officer Murphy and I, were very busy with work, I know this is not a justification…
Thompson: Don’t apologize, officer Lewis, actually, I was hoping you would eventually show up, you see, when your sergeant called to let me know other officers were coming instead of you two, I told him I could wait, I was very interested to see…him, in real life and I must say, TV cameras and online videos don’t do justice to him….he is, impressive…to say the least…
Lewis is annoyed to grasp Reed was actually intending to send Riggs and Adams instead of Murphy and her to deliver the machines but Thompson refused. Then again, she is conscious it was their fault for the way they had both behaved lately in front of him.
RoboCop is very uncomfortable to see the colonel gazing at him with a weird twisted smile, as if he was a circus freak Thompson was curious to see up close.
Lewis: You can…say that about him, anyway, colonel, we are here to let you know we did an investigation to find the person that hacked your machines to be able to get illicit money from your company and we want to know…
Thompson: He is not much of a talker, is he? Soldier…? I am so glad to meet you at last…
David smiles and extends his artificial hand to greet RoboCop and both cops are surprised to see that underneath that expensive purple velvet suit, Thompson is also a cyborg.
Although RoboCop is still uncomfortable, Thompson’s extended hand represents for him being treated as a person, as a man and not as a machine or an object. They shake hands, bionic hand to bionic hand.
RoboCop: I am not …a soldier, I am a police officer and the purpose of this meeting is handing you the full report of our investigation, Officer Lewis?
Thompson: Yeah, you are right, please let me know what you guys found out, although I kinda know what you are going to tell me…
Lewis: His name is Fred Daiku, a former employee of yours…his online alias is “The Mighty-Hikaru”, he manages several websites where he uploads videos, teaching people how to hack from vending machines to ATMs, this guy charges per subscription and we are ready to proceed and arrest him as soon as you press charges against him…
Thompson: Daiku slowly became a pain in the ass, at the beginning he was one of my most talented industrial designers, the problem I have, officers, is that people say I am too nice…too generous and I made the huge mistake to let him know he could get as many free drinks as he wanted whilst he was at work…and as a result, Fred became an alcoholic that started to miss deadlines to deliver his designs…
Lewis: Go on…
Thompson: The worst thing he did, was not delivering an electronic set of breasts he had designed for a known politician that had a double mastectomy and decided to try our product, even if it was detachable, to have sensations again, it was flattering she chose us over other prosthetic companies that could offer her just lifeless prosthetic breasts…
Lewis: And what happened?
Thompson: Well, the lady is in the congress, she was a client we didn’t want to lose, so my team made sure she had her product delivered, I had to pay overtime hours to the two designers that offered to work day and night to finish the set on time so she could collect it and fly to Washington afterwards…
…Daiku came to my clinic in Prisma city one night and saw the guys working on his design…he was drunk like hell, he started to yell at the boys, then tried to beat them up and destroy the product, fortunately I was there, I stopped him and fired him…
Lewis: Wow, he is a real piece of work…
RoboCop: We can proceed with the arrest right now.
Thompson: The problem is, officers…I am not pressing any charges against him…
Lewis: Why? Why not? Colonel, listen, this parasite has been hiding for months in a TV store in Cadillac Heights, using your slot machines to break into your network to steal fees from the products you sell on your online catalogue…
RoboCop: He is breaking the law, colonel
Thompson: Well, god bless him but I am not going to press any charges…the money he stole from my company will eventually come back to me in one way or another…
Lewis: What do we do Murphy?
RoboCop: We can still get him for his illegal websites and videos.
Lewis: He has a disclaimer on his websites that those videos are for educational purposes only…the Youtube Media International law won’t let us do much about this…
RoboCop: He still hacks networks and servers to upload his information illegally.
Lewis: That’s a minor offense. If we arrest him, he will be out in less than six months
RoboCop: It is better than nothing…
Thompson: Officers…you are so devoted to your jobs…you make me feel bad…don’t get me wrong, I would like him to pay for everything he did, but are you aware of the degree of sensitivity of everything we do here?
…Daiku knows the identity of this congresswoman…and the identity of many of my other clients, plus he was present in my own operation. I don’t want him to divulge details of my, well, reconstruction… I want things to remain private as they are…privacy; we value that here more than anything…
Lewis: There are ways to protect your privacy; we can get you free legal assistance to prevent this man from broadcasting sensitive information about you, your company and your clients…
Thompson: I appreciate the offer, and no offense, but I have enough money to hire the best lawyers to make him regret to have messed with me, I just don’t want to face him in court, I don’t want to see that guy ever again….I have so much to do here, I am passionate about my company and I don’t want to distract my attention from it…
Lewis: I guess you are entitled to ask for that…
Thompson: Officer Murphy, you and I are not that different, if the lady wasn’t here I would show you how much of me has been reconstructed, to live a normal life…or to at least emulate in an artificial way a normal life that we know is long gone, but that we can get back in alternative ways thanks to modern technology…
RoboCop: We…have to go. We need to proceed with the arrest of Fred Daiku now.
Thompson: Please, don’t be offended, I am trying to compliment you here, what you survived, must have not been easy, however, you are here, standing on your own two feet, defying life and its natural laws…I would love to meet the genius that was behind your design…whoever made you so powerful, masculine and invincible…and you have embraced this new opportunity of life with pride and honor, haven’t you soldier…?
Lewis is finding the moment funny, to see RoboCop so uncomfortable listening to Thompson’s endless compliments, that is something no one saw coming.
Thompson is quite a talker and won’t let them go so easily and proceeds to tour both cops around the hotel and the store, there are neon lights everywhere, dark contrasts that make the illusion to be inside a fantastic place that can make people that check in there forget about the real world outside.
Thompson’s employees are mostly disabled people that have artificial or robotic limbs and have learned to be independent; some of them are funky looking, they have purple, pink, blue hair, tattoos and piercings. It seems Thompson doesn’t have any strict guidelines for his employees to dress at work.
A female employee with blue hair and a prosthetic leg smiles and winks at RoboCop in a flirty way when they walk pass her, and although RoboCop seems impassive, Lewis is silently bothered by the girls’ daring attitude. More than just a company, David created a concept, an oasis where people that live under challenging circumstances can feel normal and complete for a day.
At the hotel’s reception, there are some people that are waiting to check-in for a room and the three of them get to see a couple in wheelchairs that are kissing each other in a very frantic way; the scene makes RoboCop and Lewis feel very uncomfortable, Lewis darts a glance at them again just to notice the girl is paralyzed from the waist down and the guy is paraplegic and despite their circumstances they are daring to live and love each other, Anne thinks that is sweet and sad at the same time, she admires their determination nonetheless.
Thompson: Impressed, Officer Lewis? With everything you have seen here? As you are probably aware now we are nothing like Sextronica, we are often confused with them but we don’t sell lifeless sex-bots to our clients, we sell experiences, we sell new opportunities to people that are alive…and want to feel even more alive…
Lewis: Wait, I am sorry, what did you say…? You are not related to Sextronica in any way? You are not associated with them?
Thompson: No…I thought that was pretty obvious, we are different companies…they are based here in Detroit, whereas my central offices are in Prisma city…
Lewis: Murphy, I think we got this creep now…
RoboCop: I assume the suspect is stealing from their company too, is that correct?
Lewis: All this time…I thought the two companies were connected, maybe he worked for them too and he is doing the same thing to them… do you think they will press charges?
RoboCop: We can find that out today.
Thompson: I am sorry, have I missed something?
Lewis: Daiku is stealing from Sextronica too…he was using the same machines to connect to their network as well and get products for free…how come I didn’t think of this before? I should have done more research into it…
RoboCop feels guilty to realize that the results of Lewis’ investigation would have been more accurate if both of them had been in better terms when she was doing all the research about the case. He wonders if it was it really worth it, risking a police investigation because they were both competing against each other and their personal issues seemed to override the great work they do together as police officers.
Still, RoboCop thinks Lewis is smart and came to the right conclusion in the end, it’s up to him now to proceed with the arrest and finish the case in an efficient way.
RoboCop: We have to go now. This case needs to be closed today.
Thompson: No…you guys leaving so soon? I was expecting you could stay for a little longer…are you sure you don’t want a drink? I have wine, champagne…snacks
Lewis: I am on duty, colonel, and he…he can’t have any kind of alcoholic beverages, it’s been a pleasure, but we really have to go now; we have delayed closing this case for too long…
Thompson: Ah…I feel I need to thank you for your valuable time and for returning the machines to me, how about you try one of our rooms? Officer Murphy, would you like to have fun here with your girlfriend sometime? It’s on me…free for you…you can reserve anytime…
RoboCop: Officer Lewis is my partner and we need to proceed with the arrest…
Thompson: Oh I am sorry, let me rephrase it in that case, Officer Murphy, would you like to have fun with your partner here anytime soon? Free reservation for you two…
Lewis is very curious to hear what RoboCop will reply now; she crosses her arms gazing at him in an inquisitive way with an almost sarcastic smirk on her face.
Thompson identifies with RoboCop and he sincerely wants to be friends with him. Thompson thinks that by offering Robo stuff he might be interested in, he will make him come back sometime.
RoboCop: We… thank you for your attentions. We are on duty, good day, colonel.
RoboCop is the one that extends his hand to Thompson now, to let him know he is serious about leaving and proceeding with the arrest of Daiku. It is an intense day of work for both RoboCop and Lewis, they drive back downtown to the central offices of the Sextronica company in the police van, there is no time to go back to the station and get a cruiser instead.
Lewis calls the CEO in advance, to inform him they’re on their way to let them know about the person that has been hacking their network. The directive board agrees to meet them right away.
Sextronica Inc. is a company that has been operating for at least 10 years. They specialize in creating bespoke lifelike sex-bots and companion dolls for their clients. Unlike Cyberotika, the Sextronica directive board is not afraid to advertise their company in shameless ways by creating controversial publicity campaigns that have been equally loved and hated by the public and the media.
The minute when RoboCop and Lewis arrive to company they notice, it is difficult for them to park outside, as the street is full of protesters and the police from Metro South is already there, trying to contain the situation. Two cops approach RoboCop and ask him to leave; they argue that the situation concerns Metro South and not Metro West.
Lewis is not intimidated by the officers and informs them RoboCop and she are there for a different reason, a classified case that concerns Metro West only. Finally the two officers leave and allow RoboCop and Lewis walk towards the building.
The people protesting outside are part of a known movement called:
“Human Campaign against sex with robots” they are known for their extremist ideas and the repulsion they show against any kind of artificial life form.
The protesters argue that buying a sex-droid objectivizes women and that the development of sex robots will reduce the human empathy that can only be achieved by an experience of mutual relationship, it is a new form of involuntary prostitution that can lead to an insensitive society where there are no boundaries or ethics anymore when ordering a bespoke sex-droid that looks like a living human being is the best alternative to some people to own a replica of the person they secretly desire but are too afraid to approach in real life.
Other clients ask for replicas of their deceased lovers as a desperate attempt to maintain a relationship with someone that is already gone. Sextronica’s bioethics seem blurry, they are more interested in the financial gain rather than their customers’ mental sanity.
RoboCop has to endure a difficult moment as he walks among the protesters, some of them start insulting him, for being an artificial looking man. “Abomination of nature” is one of the insults he gets to hear more than once.
Lewis thinks it is a cruel and unfair situation, since Murphy was rebuilt as a cyborg without his consent. Lewis thinks it is time to return him the favor for the times she has been insulted in nasty ways by street criminals and RoboCop has made sure those delinquents regretted being offensive towards her by threatening them using his size and physical strength.
Lewis firmly tells the protesters to not disrespect a police officer, otherwise she’d proceed to arrest them all; her strategy works well and the people stop the insults. Finally RoboCop and Lewis are alone in the fancy glass elevator that will take them to the 8th floor of the building, where the CEO is waiting for them. Lewis breaks the silence and tells her partner:
“Don’t listen to what they said, they’re fucked up people” RoboCop remains shut and the frustrating guessing game of wondering what is going through his mind and heart is once more played by her.
The directive board of Sextronica is composed by young ambitious executives that unlike Thompson have no problem in pressing charges against Daiku when the results of the police investigation are given to them by Robo and Lewis.
RoboCop and Lewis proceed with the arrest of Daiku, they had previously spotted the hacker’s hideout so it was easy for them to find him, the cops put him under arrest for the theft of Sextronica products and illegal network hacking.
Daiku’s apartment was repleted of stolen sex-droids, making the evidence recollection easier once the suspect was taken to the police precinct. The case is finally closed. RoboCop and Lewis managed to do justice without damaging Thompson’s public image.
It was a day full of contrasts. In the evening, both RoboCop and Lewis are tired but they feel accomplished, they just proved to their sergeant and to themselves that they still work great as a team, RoboCop drives Lewis to her building as usual and she thinks of trying to make him feel better, for the unpleasant moment he endured earlier that day at Sextronica’s corporate headquarters.
Lewis: What a perverted guy, huh, did you see the amount of dolls he had in his bedroom?
RoboCop: Yes, I did.
Lewis: I guess the dolls won’t be visiting him in prison…they might go shopping instead…from what I saw…the poor girls didn’t have any decent clothes to wear or any clothes at all… eh, come on Murphy…don’t you have any sense of humor?
RoboCop: No.
Lewis: You should call your new boyfriend now…and tell him justice has been done, soldier…
RoboCop: That is not… funny.
Lewis: My god…he has this weird crush on you…then he says he wants to know the genius behind your design…why don’t we introduce him to Tyler so he can fuck her brains out while he calls out your name…soldier?
RoboCop: That is not…I don’t want to think of Dr. Tyler…
Lewis: Hey, do I detect a smile? Huh? I am making you laugh!
RoboCop: No…
Lewis: You do have sense of humor!
RoboCop remains silent whilst amused as Lewis contemplates him by thinking if she could ever make him a happier man someday.
Lewis: You should try to smile more often…it suits you
RoboCop: I don’t have…many reasons …we have arrived, this is your stop.
RoboCop’s heart-breaking response gradually dissipates the fun of the moment, Lewis is saddened looking down as her left hand slowly reaches out his right one, the hand he is resting on the gearstick, her hand remains on top of his for some minutes as they both remain in painful silence for some minutes.
Playing the tough cops among them seems to not be working anymore. It is hurtful for both of them to admit that the emotional turmoil caused by them being together but not close enough doesn’t really go away, as much as they try to disguise it or evade it, in fact the emotional pain seems to increase as time keeps passing by. Finally, without saying a word, Lewis steps out of the car and RoboCop drives away.
The moment when RoboCop heads up to the laboratory, he notices Dr. Tyler sitting down at her desk waiting for him. Unlike Dr. Akita, Tyler doesn’t mind to sacrifice some of her personal time if RoboCop’s wellbeing is compromised.
Dr. Rose Tyler is a Bio-technical physician, used to work with machines and not with people. She is reserved and dedicated to her job. A few years ago when hired by Bob Morton to be part of the RoboCop project, Dr. Tyler was unaware that the biggest challenge of her career was still to come, Morton explained to her they needed to design a prosthetic body that would help a severely injured police officer to have a new life as a cybernetic cop, he lied by telling her that the man in question had volunteered for the project.
Dr. Tyler believed Morton and worked intensively with her crew to make RoboCop’s inception possible. When the project was finished, Tyler got a big check from the OCP Corporation and Morton was so pleased with her outstanding job, he renewed her contract, this time; she was hired to be the caretaker of the cybernetic man they had just created.
Things didn’t go along as expected and after Bob Morton being murdered, Tyler felt a big weight on her shoulders once she got a mental hold of that RoboCop had become her responsibility. Nevertheless, bad surprises kept coming, eventually, Tyler was horrified once it was revealed that OCP executives had lied to her, and Alex Murphy was rebuilt as a robot without his consent.
Dr. Tyler is an ethical professional and decided to keep the job regardless of all the problems that resulted in RoboCop’s creation. Relating to a machine-man on a daily basis hasn’t been easy for her; however, Tyler feels responsible of him and doesn’t want to leave him unprotected, as if RoboCop was a creation of hers she gave birth to in a very unconventional way.
Tyler is perceptive and knows something isn’t right; however the doctor knows the problem must be emotional and not physical. Tyler has her own personal reasons to not break into his recorded memories or dreams anymore. If she could only gain his trust and let him know, that besides his technician they could also be friends, Tyler being an introvert herself, is capable to emphasize with RoboCop’s loneliness.
Tyler: Hello…good evening? You are a bit late today, everything alright?
RoboCop: Everything is fine, doctor. Thank you
Tyler: Nice, and how did the Cyberotika case go?
RoboCop: The hacker was put under arrest and the case is closed now.
Tyler: This is good news; hope things are well now with your partner?
RoboCop: Yes they are.
Tyler: I remember that day when Lewis was here arguing about … you driving a van? That she had another partner? I should have tried to help and meddle the situation, but you know… I find her intimidating sometimes…
RoboCop: That is not relevant anymore. Your concern is appreciated.
Although the doctor doesn’t know exactly what the problem is, she guesses who the problem might be. Tyler has been fascinated as a scientist to observe the gradual evolution that RoboCop has been undergoing since he regained his identity, and also, from the friend’s perspective, Tyler wants him to dare to live more.
There is too much of her design imprinted in him and to some degree, Dr. Tyler reflects her life upon RoboCop, to see him fighting for his rights, is a projection of what Tyler would like to do in her own life but she doesn’t dare to.
Tyler: But… have you guys really fixed things between you two?
RoboCop remains in silence for a short while. Tyler hopes this time he gives a more personal answer to her question instead of just protocol replies. She is making an effort to slowly gain his trust. Finally, he replies.
RoboCop: There are things…that will never be completely fixed between her and me.
Tyler: Are you sure? Why don’t you go out and try to find out for yourself, how right or wrong you are? Murphy, are you really going to let them dictate how you live your life as a man…do you really believe in everything they have said to you for years?
RoboCop: No…I don’t
Tyler: There you go…the personal choices you make, outside work, would be yours, as long as they don’t find out huh…?
Tyler sees he is gone silent, reflecting upon things and that means this is all the friendly interaction they will have tonight. She should give him some space now, Tyler felt a great advance was made and perhaps RoboCop will start trusting her from now on.
Tyler: I left your meal and your water bottle on that table, next to the monitors. I will say goodnight for now. Have a good rest.
RoboCop: Thank you.
Tyler wonders if Robo thanked her for the food or for the talk, or maybe for both. She gets her briefcase and slides the steel mesh door to close the laboratory and walks away. He is alone now, with his thoughts. Sometimes RoboCop likes to play a mental game to fall asleep, by challenging his mind trying to recover as many fragmented memories of Alex Murphy as he can until his systems shut down out of exhaustion.
Lately, Robo has forgotten about playing that game, because the recent events of his life as RoboCop have been plaguing his mind and it is scary for him to face the fact he has actually started to live a life, instead of just trying to remember, a life he lived once.
