The Long Way Home

A New Breed

Jane went back to the cave and explored it completely it had many treasures. There was an underground lake and the crystals above shone like diamonds in a night sky.
Her cave as she like to think of it was fabulous it wandered under ground for miles and miles in all directions . One section brought her not far from the air base compound. She had been able , using the tunnels and the cloaking devises to retrieve most of the comforts of home.Many were not needed though. Because this place was phenomenal. Jane discovered she liked to sculpt statues from the huge crystals in the cave. She decided she would call the cave Crystal Cave after Crystal but also for Crystal. Someday she would bring Crystal here. She would make a castle for her to abide.
She so wished Crystal had wanted to stay. She had been able to keep tabs on her. She had seen her ,Mel,and Jenny riding the horses, walking by the lake swimming, and working in the garden. She wanted that to be her, after all she could do anything Jenny could do except have children.
She had reached legendary status with the other robots. She had heard them talking about her escape from the humans. The only thing was she was still alone. Even in a castle alone was still alone.
She had found Sam Tomsum wandering in the woods about a month after she came here. He looked so forlorn. There were no dangerous animals, most of those were gone now. Everything on this planet had been geared to the comfort of the Aston people. Sam was not an Ashtonians he was a robot like her, who it turned out had malfunctioned like her. More and more bots were showing up. It was starting to look like a city in the cave. Jane was feeling uncomfortable with all these bots. She did not want to be discovered. People and thinking or feeling Bots could not live together could they. At this rate the bots would need more space one day. The Bots could not breed but they could make offspring if they wanted. Some of the Bots had worked for the labs that made them and were given work to do creating other bots why not Bot children? Their conscienceless could be put in larger bodies as they matured.
Sam and she had become quite good friends. She found him very attractive. She would have him as a mate but it just seemed a waste and unfair to build a bot that was not developed mentally. Besides how theirs consciousness developed no one understood yet. She had seen the wonder of a human child. The delight they took in learning and growing. Could she settle for a programed child that might not mature emotionally?

Sam was not like Jane. He was not created to nurture, but to be analytical and inquisitive, and he was. He had been in their labs, computer analysis, to strategy rooms etc. he was well versed in the plans for the new earth.

Sam could still travel out and back his cover had not been blown. He did not want the humans to mess with his emotions and brain any more. Sam was smart, very smart, his emotional side was not the same as Janes either. Oh he considered himself a good bot. He was dependable, kind, and could be very affectionate. That was one of his programs, and none of the humans had complained when he had been summoned. . Their sensory was not as good as the humans so he could not enjoy sex as well as the humans did. He did enjoy the power it gave him because human women liked what he did very well. Jane on the other hand, he wasn't so sure of himself, he wasn't real comfortable with not knowing that he pleased her totally. She was the first one to nurture him to care about his happiness and for this he was thankful and wanted to please her in every way possible. She was also a good friend who had taken him in and given him hope and a place he could come to if things got too bad.
Sam enjoyed that Jane was smart , beautiful, funny and very thoughtful of others. They had built a cavern, of the cave that was very sunny, into a garden. One that would rival any human garden. They had created waterfalls and crystal sculptures. One of them was Crystal herself. Jane still worshiped that girl. He wished they could have children but they could not. For now he was happy though. Or at least he felt contented here.
The others who came were like him feeling alone and different, needing to be excepted for who and what they were. Surely they could work out something with the humans, so they could benefit themselves, and mankind. He hoped so because war was not a good option not for the bots not for the humans and not for Astonian.

Jenny and Mel were married and we're getting the horses established through out Ashtonia. The horses were well accepted and fawned over. It seemed they got more and more orders every day. In Ashtonia they did not have money but credits . The people did what they liked doing best and were given credits for participating in the overall good of Ashtonia. There was virtually no crime because all who contributed a lot or a little were considered a part of a whole. Most families are hundreds of years old so they supported their children till they were quite well established in their desired occupation. Mel was a space explorer ,but he also now provided horses for the populous he also grew some of the most gorgeous flowers which he sold to the stores for credits. If you fished you got credits for your fish. If you related things you told stories in the libraries for kids and adults alike. you got credits. You get my drift. But it was what you loved to do. For instance if you read books you either made Audio books or corrected books as you read. No one needed to be bored. The jobs no one wanted to do were given to worker bots who were not given high mental abilities. It actually seem to work nicely food and power were free and land was willed down to you. Jenny taught hair braiding classes. She also continued her photography the Ashtonians loved it. There is just nothing like a fabulous print hanging on the wall.
No one got sick and if they did they were promptly treated and returned home it truly was paradise. No one was put to death their chips might have to be tweaked occasionally but no death of vengeful restitution. This was peace at its finest.
Even so Jenny Mel and Crystal had volunteered to be sent to Meridian to help with the settling of the new planet. It looked like they would be leaving sooner than they thought. The droids had brought back pictures of the new land. There was lots of water there. The air was clear and a scant race of people live their . They would have to use caution but everything pointed to peaceful take over. She was so excited to be one of the first settlers.

Jane was quite pleased as well. Sam had gotten enough tools and talents together to remake Janes looks. She was more stunning now than ever, tall , blond hair, and blue eves. He also got her assigned to the ship headed for Meridian. She could not be happier. !! Now they would all be together again. She left the safety of the caves to her dearest and trusted friend and ask that they they're to maintain a hidden and peaceful existence till they heard from her again.