Machines

[Unpublished]


Stellenzicht was perched on the window ledge, standing erect with his hands pressed against the wall behind him. His eyes were staring straight ahead into the distance. He daren't look down. Instead he recollected what had occurred some minutes previously.
Hacking into the security system was simple enough for him. Stuff like that he could perform standing on his head. The picture he obtained on the terminal screen was high quality and in full colour. Those company executives couldn't keep secrets from him, he could always eavesdrop on their clandestine meetings. He wanted to know everything that was happening. At that moment he wished his curiosity hadn't got the better of him.
He could see the huge Fuji-Kodak logo at the top of the building opposite. He endeavoured to concentrate on its garish colours. Anything to prevent himself from looking down. He could hear the hustle and bustle of the morning traffic sixteen storeys below. He was determined to jump, to leap from the window to his death. He knew what the future held.
Three figures were standing at the front of the conference hall. Stellenzicht had peered into the screen. He recognized one of them as Baschendal, the head of personnel. He didn't know the other two. The female was attractive though. A large group of company executives was seated before Baschendal. There was something big going down, he was sure of it.
"Ladies and gents," Baschendal began, "welcome to the meeting. I have some important news for you all. But before I explain, I have some introductions to make." He turned to the two figures. "Say hello to Mitchell and Nederburg." Unenthusiastic applause followed. "A male and a female, right? At least you would think so, wouldn't you? Well, looks can be deceiving, people. Mitchell and Nederburg are not human, you see. They are living mechanical beings. In other words, machines!"
Stellenzicht frowned. The audience didn't seem too sure how to react. There were gasps, and comments, and chattering amongst themselves. Stellenzicht was astounded. Baschendal continued.
"Don't worry, they are completely harmless. No doubt you are wondering about their background and origins. You'll each be given a disk afterwards containing full details." He approached Mitchell, the female. "As you can see, Mitchell has all the features of a human female. We've had our top people working on this project for years now. And this is the result." He touched her cheek. "See the skin. It's been reproduced from DNA samples. It's entirely synthetic, but it appears real. Other parts of her anatomy have been created in a similar way. This is so that she, and Nederburg, can work for the company and appear as just another member of staff. But there is more to it than that." He stepped between the two figures. "Each of them has a computerised mind. We are able to download information into their minds, so that they know everything there is to know about our products. Stock levels, availability, prices, and so on. Essential information for receiving video calls and supplying product details to customers. Instant data. And it's priceless."
"That's incredible," Stellenzicht said aloud.
Just then Baschendal's attention was drawn to a member of the listening group. Stellenzicht couldn't see the perpetrator of the enquiry, but he heard what he had to say.
"I was wondering about Mitchell," said the voice, "can she do anything a human female can?" Infantile giggles ensued.
"Up to a point," said Baschendal.
"So can she fuck?"
Thunderous laughter followed, mainly from the male members of the gathering. Stellenzicht noticed that Mitchell herself was smiling.
"That's for you to find out," she called, "but it won't be from me."
There were catcalls and whistles then, and Baschendal was having difficulty in calming the executives down. He did so in the end.
"Okay, we've had our fun," he said, "now let's get serious. Some of you won't be laughing when I give you the news." There was deathly silence. "We've already had two of them working in the building for the last few months. Now we're going to introduce more of them to the work force. On a non-executive level, of course. If they progress well, then some of you here may be replaced. But for the time being, we plan to lay off all our shop floor staff and replace them with machines."
Stellenzicht heard sounds of commotion from the executive audience. He began to mumble to himself. "Machines? And they're taking over. We humans don't stand a chance."
"This will save the company a fortune in wages," said Baschendal. "The machines do not require a salary, you see. They belong to the company. At the end of the day we just close them down, and that's it. This is just the beginning. We have more of them, you see. Plenty more." "Stellenzicht!"
The voice startled him. He felt the cold air on his face, the breeze blowing around him. His memories of the meeting vanished. He glanced to his left, and saw his working partner Anderson leaning out of the window.
"What are you doing there? Come in here, we've got work to do."
Stellenzicht swayed slightly and almost lost his balance. He thought he was about to fall, but after a struggle he staggered into his previous position.
"I'm not coming in!" he shrieked, digging his fingernails into the brick wall. "I'm going to jump. It's no use, I'm going to jump!"
Stellenzicht sighed heavily, bit his lip and glanced downwards. A large crowd had gathered on the pavement below, several voices urging him not to jump. It seemed like an awfully long way to go, but he was intent on going through with it.
"Stellenzicht," Anderson said, softly this time. "Why are you doing this? Why do you want to jump?"
"It's bad news, Anderson," he said, "we're all being laid off. We're being replaced. By machines. Living mechanical beings. Can you believe it? Bloody machines!"
Stellenzicht's shoe slid a little, and a handful of pebbles fell from the ledge. There was a loud gasp from the group below. He began to panic, and scrambled to regain his footing. Within seconds he was settled again.
"They're taking over, I tell you," he raved on, his feet trembling dangerously on the narrow ledge, "the bloody machines. You can't tell whether they're human or not. They'll take over, that's for sure. The machines!"
At that moment his foot slipped from the ledge. The rest of him followed. The crowd screamed and dispersed in panic. Stellenzicht didn't utter a sound. He tried to grope at thin air with his hands. He strived to grab hold of anything he could, but it was hopeless. He plunged to the ground. His arms and legs were waving around like a rag doll in flight. Still no cry came from his lips. As his body descended the cold air hit his skin. His synthetic skin…