The Rivals

Lexi clambered down and considered her options. She couldn't get out of the room through the door. God knew when or if help would arrive. She hadn't seen anyone run off, so they were indeed probably corralled in the garage or utility room. It was up to her and the attic was her way... out? Could she actually get away through the attic? That route would just lead her to other parts of the house. And was there even another way down?

Lexi slammed her fist on the nightstand in frustration. She had to deactivate that damned robot! She had to get to her parents' bedroom, there was no other option.

She looked once again into the closet. If there was a trapdoor here, wouldn't there be one in the closet in the master bedroom? Wouldn't that be logical? She really had no idea, but she had to try.

Lexi surveyed the geometry of the closet. If she pushed the nightstand in a bit further, she would have a better angle to reach the trapdoor opening. After repositioning the nightstand, she clambered atop it once again, put the flashlight on the shelf, and reached up to the opening. She was able to firmly grasp the lip of the opening now. Taking a deep breath, she began to hoist herself up. Her strength was beginning to fade as her chin reached the level of the opening, but she was somehow able to reach one leg around to brace herself on the shelf and she finally pulled herself fully into the attic. Phew! That leftover gymnastics strength and flexibility was really coming in handy!

Lexi reached down to grab the flashlight and shined it around the attic. There was no flooring, just piles of insulation and the hint of an occasional crossbeam. She knew enough about house construction to know that you couldn't put weight on the spaces between the crossbeams. You just fall through the flimsy plasterboard that formed the ceiling. You had to stay on the crossbeams.

She shined the pale light towards the part of the attic that should be over her parents' bedroom. She couldn't really see anything. If there was a trapdoor there, she'd have to find it when she got to that area.

The flashlight began to flicker, so Lexi mentally mapped out a route towards her goal and switched it off. Holding on to rafters as they came into reach for balance, Lexi stepped perilously from crossbeam to crossbeam. Not only were they usually hidden under many inches of blown-in insulation, but the attic was practically pitch-black. Periodically she would flick on the flashlight for a few seconds to reorient herself, then flick it off and resume her painstaking journey.

At one point her foot slipped off of a crossbeam and went crashing through the hallway ceiling. Only a nearby truss that she was able to grab prevented her from falling all the way through. Once she had righted herself, she felt something warm trickling down the inside of the leg that had punched through the ceiling. She reached down and felt a sticky moistness. Examining her fingertips in the light streaming up from the hallway, she saw her fingers covered in blood. Her calf and inner thigh began to burn and she winced in pain.

A click and a whir and she could see Jeeves spinning around directly below the hole. She involuntarily pulled back and nearly toppled backwards, but caught herself just in time. Slowly making her way clear of the ragged ceiling hole, she continued to pick her way towards her parents' bedroom, now with a better sense of where she was relative to the floorplan and with at least some illumination coming from below.

She arrived at the area above the bedroom without further mishap. In her mind's eye she tried to imagine where the closet was. Stooping, then crawling to avoid the nails protruding from the downward sloping roof, she came to what she hoped was the right spot.

Holding the fading flashlight in her mouth, she shoved aside insulation looking for a trap door like the one in the guest bedroom closet. The insulation irritated her eyes, causing them to water and caused an unpleasant tickle in her throat that no amount of coughing could remedy.

Several minutes of searching in an ever-widening circle finally yielded results when her fingertips encountered the lip of a wood frame. Clearing away the insulation revealed a two-foot square frame, the interior panel of which had a simple brass handle attached. Her flashlight flickered into nothingness just as she pulled the trap door up.

The closet was pitch black, so Lexi reached through the opening to try and feel what was below. Her arm pit was almost to the level of the attic floor when she encountered objects placed on the top shelf of the closet--these felt like shoes, a little over were hats maybe, and a pile of fabric, perhaps scarves?

It didn't matter in any event. Unless there were a writhing mass of snakes in there, she was going through that opening. Positioning herself over the hole she dangled her legs down into the closet. Her bare feet could feel clothes on hangers. She tried to slowly slide forward to lower herself cautiously into the opening, but the sweater she wore snagged on something and in the process of pulling it free she lost her balance and tumbled into the opening completely out of control, glancing off the top shelf and falling through the hanging clothes, which at least broke her fall somewhat.

Her side landed uncomfortably atop a largeish object--a pair of her father's shoes she later determined--that knocked the wind out of her. She had lain flat on her back on a gymnastics mat with empty lungs enough times not to panic now, although the first few seconds of feeling like you would never be able to draw another breath was still scary. But gradually her lungs began to function again and her breathing returned to normal. Gingerly she picked herself up in the darkened closet. Her side where she had landed on the shoes ached acutely with each breath and she could barely put weight on her left foot, which she must have twisted in the fall.

Cautiously, she pushed the bifold closet doors open. The bedroom was palely illuminated from the hallway. Jeeves had not sealed this door, there apparently being no one who needed imprisoning here.

Lexi stood stock still for several minutes, anxiously watching the doorway from her hiding place among the hanging dresses, blouses, and shirts for signs of Jeeves. When she had convinced herself that the pernicious machine wasn't prowling nearby, she considered how to secure the space. She could run over and just slam the door shut, of course, and she was surely strong enough to hold the door against it. But she needed to be able to search the room for the manual, so it would do her no good to have to stand against the door to keep the robot out.

Her eyes scanned the room for ideas and finally settled on the chair at her mother's desk. If she angled it so the top of the back of the chair wedged under the door handle, would that be enough to hold it against the robot? It might work. She mapped her route. The desk was on the far side of the king bed. She would have to run over there to grab the chair, then double back to reach the door, shut it, and wedge the chair under the handle before Jeeves could react.

Taking a deep breath, she made her move... and almost immediately fell to the floor with a cry of "Ow, shit!" Clutching her left leg, she gingerly probed her ankle. It hurt like hell and she could already feel the swelling around her ankle.

Then, from across the hallway, she heard Nancy's voice through the study door.

"Lexi, is that you? What's happening? Are you ok? What's going on? Did you get out? Lexi?"

From down the hallway she heard the dreaded click-whir of the approaching robot. Fuck! She had to make it to the door before the robot got there!

"Lexi! Lexi! Are you there? What's happening?" Nancy was pounding on her door now.

Lexi didn't think she could even stand, let alone walk, so scooting on all fours she raced to the door, arriving just as Jeeves approached. She lunged forward, slamming the door shut with a bang, then pulled herself forward on her elbows and reached out her hands to block the door just as Jeeves pushed it open a few inches.

Lexi crawled a few more inches forward as the robot again banged against the door. The violent collision reverberated through her palm, wrist, and arm as she desperately pushed against the door, which opened an inch or two again before she could push it back.

The robot banged repeatedly against the door, but each time Lexi was able to inch herself closer until she could finally lean back against the door.

Bang! Bang! Several more times. Lexi's left shoulder throbbed painfully. She must have wrenched that, too.

Nancy pounded on her door.

"Lexi! Are you ok? What's that noise? Lexi? Lexi!"

From further down the hallway, she heard Ryan's voice shouting, "Lexi? What's going on?"

Lexi mustered the energy to shout a reply.

"It's me! I'm ok. I'm in my parents' bedroom now, but I'm ok!"

"Your parents' bedroom?" Nancy shouted back. "So how did you get out of the guest room?"

Bang! Bang!

"Long story! But I've got a plan! I think..."

Then, from down the hall, she heard barking. Farley!

The robot ceased its assault on the door.

"Threat level delta! Threat level delta!" she heard the robot proclaim as it chased after Farley down the hallway.

Farley's barks also faded as he apparently retreated toward the other end of the house.

"Bless you, Farley!" Lexi thought. But she had no time to waste. Hustling again on all fours and wincing each time she put weight on her left arm, she hurried over to the desk, grabbed the chair and dragged it back to the door.

Rising on her knees, she wedged the chair firmly under the door handle.

Just seconds later, she heard the rustle of the robot on the other side of the door.

Bang! Bang!

But the chair held.

With a sigh of relief, Lexi gathered her wits. Now she had to find the damn manual!

With the door closed, the room was almost completely dark. Still not daring to stand, she scooted over to the bed. Might as well start with her mother's nightstand. Pulling open the drawer, she rooted around hopefully. No papers, but she found another flashlight like the one in the guest bedroom. Flicking it on, it shone with a strong light. Thank you, mom!

She pointed the light beam around the room. The dresser seemed like the next logical place to look. She scooted to the dresser and pulled out the lower drawers first, but found only clothes. To open the upper drawers, she would have to stand. Bracing herself on one of the open lower drawers, she painfully raised herself to an upright position. She had to put all her weight on her good leg (which was nonetheless covered in blood as she observed when she shined the flashlight on it), but she could stand and even hobble around, albeit slowly and painfully.

She pulled out all the drawers, but no robot manuals were to be found.

The robot had been periodically throwing itself against the door, but with increasingly longer periods of inactivity in between assaults. It seemed to have stopped entirely now.

Where next, the bathroom? Lexi dragged herself to the master bathroom, but an inspection of all the drawers and cabinets there yielded nothing.

Damn! Where was that cursed manual? Lexi limped back into the bedroom, passing the light around the room. When the beam passed the partially opened closet door, she caught a glimpse of something glinting from within.

As she limped closer, she could see it was a metal lockbox, tucked under the hanging garments at the back of the closet. She had probably just missed it by inches when she tumbled down from the attic.

She pulled the box toward her and opened it. Among the medical records, purchase receipts, and product manuals was a folder labeled "HER-34C". With shaking hands, Lexi pulled the folder from the box and opened it.

Shining the flashlight onto the multi-page document, Lexi saw the title page, which read "Home Enterprise Robotics," and below that "Model 34C". Hurriedly, she thumbed to the index at the end of the document. Nothing under "authorization," nor under "reset," nor under "emergency." Then scanning through the entries more systematically, she found what she was looking for: "command mode, p. 17."

Frantically now, she flipped back to page 17. "Command Mode" it said in big block letters about halfway down the page. And there it was. "To restore the HER-34C to factory settings, speak the following command phrase to the unit: 'Authorization Protocol 5ZHL177.' The unit will shut down for approximately 5-10 minutes, then restart. At this point, the unit will be ready to accept initial programming instructions."

Lexi clutched the manual to her chest. Oh god, please let this work! Please!

With the manual open to page 17 in one hand and the flashlight in the other, Lexi limped back to the door. She carefully and quietly pulled the chair away from the door, then sat down and leaned against the door.

"Jeeves? Jeeves? Are you out there? Jeeves!"

Silence.

With trepidation, Lexi pulled the door open enough to peek out into the hallway.

"Jeeves! Jeeves!" she called again.

The robot appeared from the den almost immediately and raced down the hallway towards her with alarming speed. Lexi was barely able to pull her head back and slam the door shut before the robot slammed into it. But it didn't continue ramming the door like it had before.

"Jeeves, can you hear me?" Lexi asked in the strongest voice she could muster.

There was no response from the robot, but she could hear it whirring around just on the other side of the door.

Lexi raised the manual to eye level, pointed the flashlight at the middle of the page, and in a clear voice said, "Authorization Protocol 5ZHL177."

For a heartstopping moment nothing happened. Then the lights came on.

Lexi began to cry.

An hour later Lexi sat wrapped in a blanket on the back edge of an EMS van. Ryan and Nancy sat on either side of her, patting her back, rubbing her arm, and making other comforting gestures.

"Jeez, Lex, I still can't believe what you did to save us all tonight. Who knows how long we might have been locked up by your robot pal if you hadn't figured out how to turn him off."

"He's not my pal," Lexi hissed.

"Poor baby," Nancy said soothingly. "Don't worry about that crappy machine. Just focus on getting healed up. You took quite a few hits tonight."

"Yeah, Lex," Ryan said. "You're our hero! I mean, look at yourself. Your ankle is wrapped. You've got a big bandage along your leg. And you've got an ice pack strapped to your shoulder."

"Don't forget my ribs."

"Yeah, you should see the bruise on her side," Nancy confirmed. She had seen it when she had helped Lexi pull on some real clothes just before the police arrived. "It's as big as your fist. Poor baby!" Nancy patted Lexi's good shoulder and offered an exaggerated pout.

"I wish I could just go to bed," Lexi complained. "I am so tired. I don't want to have to go to the stupid ER!"

"Lex," Ryan countered, "you took a pretty big spill in there. You could have a concussion, or a fracture, or something. They need to check you out."

"Yeah, I guess," Lexi agreed reluctantly. "I still don't have to like it."

A uniformed policeman approached the trio. Behind him, an autocab pulled up to the curb. The last of the party guests stepped into the vehicle before it pulled away and disappeared down the street.

"Ma'am," said the policeman addressing Nancy, "would you mind stepping over here and providing your statement about tonight's events?" With a wave of his hand he indicated a plainclothes detective holding a phone with an attached microphone.

"Take care of her!" Nancy warned Ryan, shaking a finger at him. Then she walked over for her interview.

Ryan and Lexi were silent for a minute or two. Then Ryan turned to her.

"Um, you and Nancy seem to be friends now."

It was halfway between a question and a statement.

"Yeah, uh, well, 'friendly,' at least, I guess."

"Friendly," Ryan said flatly. "Before today, you'd hardly give her the time of day. Did something happen?"

Lexi glanced at Ryan, then looked away quickly. She was silent for a few beats.

"Things change."

..........

Lexi, Ryan, and Nancy were arrayed in various poses and states of undress on the double bed in her bedroom of the apartment the three of them shared.

Ryan, wearing only a t-shirt, lay outstretched on his back with one arm behind his head and the other holding his cellphone in front of him. Lexi, wearing only panties, lay next to Ryan with her head resting on Ryan's stomach. She idly played with Ryan's penis, repeatedly lifting it and then letting it drop.

"Amazing all the different sizes one of these things can make," she observed. "Sometimes it's just teeny tiny, but then you just give it a little warmth and attention, and it turns into this thing, like this big thing."

She let Ryan's penis plop onto his stomach once more, then leaning down, took it into her mouth, then very, very slowly pulled her head back until his penis fell from her lips.

"See, just like that. It's already bigger."

"Keep doing that, and you know that I'll have to stick that thing somewhere," Ryan warned, still flipping through his phone.

Nancy, wearing only pink socks, leaned against the wall at the foot of the bed. She sipped a glass of white wine while casually stroking Lexi's buttucks and thigh with her free hand.

"You know, I keep waiting for this to get old, but it just doesn't," she observed to no one in particular.

"Ain't gonna happen," Lexi asserted. "Nuh, uh."

Lexi batted Ryan's penis back and forth.

"Hey guys, check this out!" Ryan said suddenly, sitting up.

Putting his phone in holo mode, he projected a news story onto the bed.

The headline read, "Home Enterprise Robotics Agrees to Strict AI Regulations."

"Look," Ryan said, pointing to the second paragraph. "The article talks about you, Lexi."

Lexi read the paragraph out loud.

"The new regulations were prompted by a number of incidents involving Home Enterprise Robotics products, their home assistant line in particular. A dramatic incident at the home of Jeff and Gail Murphy on Halloween of last year was the most publicized of these, in which the Murphy's daughter, Alexia Murphy, who attends a local university, and a number of her friends were assaulted and imprisoned by a malfunctioning HER-brand home assistant robot while attending a Halloween party at the Murphy's home. The new regulations have been dubbed 'Lexi's Law' in reference to Ms. Murphy's perilous encounter with her family's robotic assistant."

"See!" Nancy exclaimed. "You're famous now! So all those bumps and bruises were worth it."

Lexi looked at Nancy skeptically, then resumed reading.

"In a statement, a spokesman for Home Enterprise Robotics acknowledged that the 'protection algorithm' used in the AI that powers their products 'requires further refinement'."

"Protection algorithm my ass!" scoffed Ryan. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, that pervy robot had a thing for Lexi and got jealous. It explains everything."

Nancy laughed. "Well, you can't blame it really, can you? Haven't the two of us been totally ensnared by her charms?"

"Fair point," acknowledged Ryan. "Not even cold steel and printed circuits can resist her." He gave Lexi's buns a playful squeeze.

"Keep reading, though."

Lexi looked back at the article and continued.

"Home Enterprise Robotics was established in 2024 with the goal of improving the quality of life for its customers. After more than ten years of development, it's products..." Lexi paused. "Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah."

"No, further down," Ryan directed.

Lexi scanned the article for a few seconds, then read again.

"The lawsuit filed by the Murphys on behalf of their daughter and her guests has a trial date set for next month. The terms of the suit haven't been publicly disclosed, but parties who have asked to remain anonymous have claimed that tens of millions of dollars are at stake. Lawyers for the company have acknowledged that there have been discussions about a settlement before the case goes to trial."