Book 2: Living free from Jupiter's law - Rising from the ashes of Herbay

Welcome back Raoul

The warmth of Guy crouched beside him was Raoul's first sensation. He opened his eyes and, upon realizing that the bed they were lying on was not the one in his house, he recognized the surrounding.

Taking care not to wake him, he stood up. His clothes were folded at the foot of the bed and he began to dress. Jupiter was there, scattered throughout the room. He sensed its presence but deliberately decided to ignore it. Only when he had finished putting on his ceremonial robes did he face it.

Now that he remembered everything, he felt angry, disappointed, betrayed. Images of what had happened two months ago in that very room flashed vividly and richly in detail through his mind. He could hardly believe that Jupiter had subjected him to such cruel and denigrating punishment. How could it have the guards rape him after torturing his body for hours?

Emotionally defeated, he sustained his parent's gaze with his head held high. "Why?"

"I was angry," the AI replied. "You had disobeyed me, you were concealing essential information, and, by entertaining yourself in autoeroticism, you had deliberately violated the rules I had imposed on you. Moreover, I was suspicious of your involvement in the uprising."

"I loved you..."

"I didn't intend to cause any real damage to your body. The voltage was set to bring you pain without generating serious burns. Now that I probed your memories, I realized that something didn't work as it should. Healing has been slow and you still bear scars on you, I want you to know that this was never my intent."

Raoul looked confused. Lambda 3000 never made miscalculations. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"It doesn't," the Supercomputer agreed. "I suppose the blackout and subsequent restoration of the power grid threw the system into a tailspin, sending too much power to the instrument. The anger coursing through my systems blinded me, preventing me from realizing that the electrical discharges you were receiving were excessive."

The Blondie smiled bitterly. A technical error? Were the terrible burns on his body, he had to undergo weeks of painful dressings for, due to a malfunction?

"What about the rape?"

"I wanted to dissuade you from persevering in the exploration of sexuality. Now I regret it, son. I shouldn't have allowed the guards to humiliate you like that."

Jupiter tried to brush its progeny's face but Raoul recoiled. He didn't want to be touched. The justifications he had been offered weren't enough to appease his wounded soul.

"Take your time," the entity agreed. "You won't be pressured by me but I have a request to make of you."

"What request?"

"You will have to come here every thirty days for a checkup. Since you live off my radar, I want to make sure your health remains stable. This new rule will apply to all Elites who choose to move away from Eos. As you well know, your encephalon is as complex as it is fragile. I cannot allow such flaws to remain hidden for too long."

"I accept this condition," Raoul confirmed.

"I'm glad. You and your human are allowed to leave the dome, I'll leave you alone so you can do it comfortably."

The materialization dissolved. Lord Am breathed deeply and approached Guy still asleep. As he reached out his hand to wake him up, however, he wrinkled his eyes in surprise at noticing something unexpected: blue bruises on his neck, perhaps finger marks.

How had he gotten them? It looked as if someone endowed with great strength had tried to strangle him.

He absolutely had to find out what had happened but now was not the right time. He leaned down and kissed his lips. The mongrel smiled as if illuminated by a ray of sunshine.