Read The Cyber Chronicles IX - Precipice for Free Online Page B

emperor
turned his head. "Warrior One, come here."
    Tassin drew a
sharp breath as a cyber emerged from behind a knot of people and
moved closer with a swift, gliding gait to stop beside the emperor.
His gentle, familiar face was impassive, and his eyes stared ahead.
Endrovar drew a jewelled dagger from somewhere in his opulent
clothing.
    "Roll up your
sleeve and hold out your arm," he ordered.
    "Sir, cutting
him won't prove anything," Tarl said. "The control unit won't allow
him to show any pain. The host is completely helpless. He can't so
much as focus his eyes."
    Endrovar
gripped the cyber's arm and drew the dagger across his skin. Bright
blood to oozed from the wound, and he gestured to the clone’s
impassive face. "See? No pain."
    "As I just
said, they can't show any emotions, but they do feel."
    The emperor
snorted. "If they felt something, they'd show something."
    "The brow band
controls them completely, but the host is fully aware. He can
think, feel, hear and see, to a certain extent, but he can't speak,
move or focus his eyes."
    Endrovar tucked
the dagger away. "That's your theory, but impossible to prove, I'd
say. Anyway, let's see how good you are. What grade is Warrior
One?"
    Tarl approached
the cyber, studying him. Tassin noticed that one of his cheek scars
was lower than the other, there was a tiny bald patch on the side
of his scalp, and, after several moments, his right eye
twitched.
    "He's a
high-quality grade B," Tarl said.
    "Rubbish! He's
a grade A!"
    Tarl shook his
head. "His plating is imperfect. Looks like a Monday or Friday job.
He has scalp damage, and nerve damage in his face. I could probably
find more flaws if he was wearing less clothing."
    Endrovar
scowled at Tarl, then the cyber. "Warrior One, strip down."
    Tassin bit her
lip as the cyber removed his uniform jacket and folded it over the
back of a chair, revealing a torso covered with scars, then pulled
off his shiny boots and stepped out of his trousers. Under them he
wore only tight silk shorts.
    Tarl walked
around him. "He has more imperfect plating on his legs, judging by
the misaligned scars, and on his back. Looks like they didn't plate
his left little finger, and the boots are giving him blisters, by
the way. I'd need an analyser to tell you more, but he's a B-grade,
no doubt about it."
    Endrovar glared
at the cyber. "Get dressed, return to your station. Warrior Two,
come here."
    The second
cyber left his post beside the cushioned chair and stopped in front
of it.
    The emperor
glanced at him. "And this one?"
    Tarl inspected
the second cyber, peering at his face, then walked around him.
"I'll need access to touch him."
    "Warrior Two,
allow this individual to touch you."
    The cyber
turned his head towards Tarl, his blank eyes staring through him,
and the brow band flashed. "Acknowledged."
    Tarl prodded
the cyber's cheek and pried open his mouth to peer inside. He ran
his fingers over the clone's face and stared into his eyes, covered
them with his hand, then removed it.
    "This one's not
so obvious, but is actually a lower-quality grade B. His plating's
okay, but he's blind, and he has missing teeth, which sometimes
happens during early combat training. He's also got a crushed
cheekbone, probably from combat training, which they've plated over
to try to hide. With this much damage from his training, I'd have
to say that he's got slower reflexes than normal, probably a birth
defect or brain damage. I take it you bought them as A-grades?"
    Endrovar
nodded, looking angry. "Warrior Two, fetch the other two." The
cyber left, and the emperor raked Tarl with a measuring look. "You
sound like you know what you're talking about, but you could be
making it up."
    "If I had
analyser I could show you the flaws. This sort of thing happens a
lot. There are suppliers who buy nothing but B-grades, then sell
them as A-grades. Customers who don't know about the flaws, or who
don't know that A-grades are supposed to be flawless, buy them as
A-grades. Even some