A/N. - Welcome to 60,000 reads the celebration. It doesn't seem like a month since we are celebrating having 100 extra reads in a week. That's Wattpad for you. Naturally we just make this stuff up you do the voting/reading/commenting. So this spectacle is your achievement.

Photo: Cool building photos check out http://www.bouncecolor.com/2014/09/the-final-frontier-futuristic-look-at-futuristic-fashion.html we liked the cool buildings. The models look like Androids to me ( the lack of eyebrows is a dead giveaway)plus gets our vote for strangest use of Google Glass.

Video: Robert Miles on AI safety ( he's one the Mathematicians Jenny refers to at the beginning of the book ). Anyone else freaked by the fact he's called Robot I mean Robert?

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Kayla and Joe took me to wait for technical support. Normally your collar just forced you to go when it detected a medical abnormality, and there wasn't any waiting. We all sat together in the corridor doing nothing.

"Pity we can't go to the harem technical support. It's really fast they get machines sorted out very quickly to" said Joe while we waited. I'm sure if I had just asked him Joe would tell me that technical support in the harem was just "OK". I wasn't well enough to wonder what technology courtesans needed technical support for. Then I guessed and thought it better not to think about it. There was a buzzing in my head and I didn't feel up to taking this further. After a while Joe's collar ordered him back to 'work' whatever that meant. I watched another one of their signature electric kisses.

"This is to let you know that last months slave of the month award 1969 failed the mandatory performance drugs and perfume tests. Remember random fragrance checks will be carried out on all slaves . The award for slave of the month now goes to 1666 pending aromatic checks. Please stand by for a live streaming of 1969 being forced into in the KCK machine for two weeks this evening at 9.2." said the house speaker system.

"That's a shame I thought Lance was a pretty good winner. It was just nice to see someone who wasn't an Adherent get it" said Kayla.

We waited.

"Do the adherent always get it?" I asked.

"Nearly, their brand of self help promotes extreme selflessness. Thinking of others always before thinking of yourself. Really helps when it comes to obedience time trials - which is what slave of the month ultimately comes down to. That means most of the early retirement positions are held by them which means of course they get more people wanting to become Adherents." Kayla explained glad of an excuse to speak.

"Early retirement?" I asked. Normally I just asked Siri but it wasn't hearing me at the moment.

"Early retirement? You really should try and get yourself on one of the new arrivals courses. You do five years of high-performance service. Then you will get retired early to one of the human reservations. Think of it as time off for good behaviour" said Kayla.

"why would they do that?"

"Well in the presentation they said that they are trying to promote the retire from slavery at 40 thing. Except of course slaves don't believe it." I said. Machines had lied about the doughnuts why not about the reservation? You land on your new home to be and then get a stun bolt to the head.

"It does sound a bit too Cloud Atlas doesn't it?" I said.

"That's good everyone else says 'the Island'ish, guess your not a big Ewan McGregor fan? So they need some people to show that the whole deal is genuine. So they are rewarding the best slaves with early retirement. The only catch is you need to go back and do tours telling other slaves about how you well live." said Kayla. Even if it was a trick they would still have to be good to the early slaves who made the case.

"Is it genuine?" I said.

"It worked for the Romans. Plus a certain owner I know a lot about had her slaves on the scheme. It's genuine" Kayla was referring to herself. I still found it hard to believe that someone would willingly enter all this c**p just to be with the one(s) she loved. It sounds stupid I know but I envied her. Having that element of certainty. My boyfriends were compromises. I always felt that they thought I was a compromise as well. At least I felt I was a living the life like a trade off.

"As soon as Joe and I start dating on Cinder we are going to sign up for it. By my late twenties we could be out together and have kids on some nice reservation" she said. I envied her ability to plan for a happy future shared with someone.

"Well at least you could both share the breastfeeding," I said.

"Why miss 5642..." Kayla began.

A light opened up above a booth and Kayla and I went in. I was sitting in a small booth like a sit down phone box. I wasn't happy, I had a thing about small spaces ever since the KCK machine. I took the receiver off the wall.

"Welcome to Paradise industries medical call pod. Calls to technical support may be recorded for security and training purposes." My heart sunk this really put me off going to the doctor again.

"Hello my name is Rajesh 4032" said the voice on the other end. Apparently, all of technical support staff were called Rajesh. Even if they were from New Jersy.

"I've got this sore throat. My nose hurts, I'm sneezing, I think I'm getting a headache, I feel dreadful" I said.

"OK but before that do you have your UUID code?" said Rajesh 4032. Seriously I had to prove I was from here? Of course, I was legitimate, how else would I be in one of their pods?

Siri wasn't working for some reason.

"My collar isn't coming back," I said.

"That happens sometimes when you're ill. It can't recognize you. The UUID code the one on the bottom of your foot"

"I can't take my shoes off, they are printed on," I said.

"OK no problem do you know your PID the one starting with EE43 ?" said Rajesh.

"NO, I know my Model number does that help?" I said.

"Do you have any of the orginal packaging that you came in available?"

"No. I was made by slave systems inc." I hated the way I had to pretend I was 'manufactured'. I guess the machines couldn't handle the notion of untrained amateurs making the population. It was like discovering your new car was made by the guy down the street in his spare time.

"hmm OK can you put your foot on the scanner," said Rajesh.

It turns out that there is a tiny unique tread at the bottom of every shoe. It's effectively a bar code and is scanned by the floor on occasion to know you are you. It also means if you walk on any soft-ish surface you can be identified later so no short cuts through the roses.

This carried on for 10 minutes eventually a combination of my Model number and slave ID was enough to find me on the house database.

"5" I ended up after all the other digits saying slowly from memory.

"5" said Rajesh

"6"

"6"

"4"

"4"

"2"

"2"

"that's it," I said.

Kayla had left, her collar had reminded her it was time to get back to work. I thought I would be OK on my own.

"Oh, your were with Bank of America. My mother had 64 in her name, nice. I've got your UUID. So your symptoms were?" said Rajesh.

"I've got this sore throat. My nose hurts, I'm sneezing, I think I'm getting a headache, I feel dreadful. I have a buzzing in my ear" I said.

I heard typing in the background.

"Can you plug the cable in front of you into your collar. Its end is in the sterilizing jug."

I shook the cable to get rid of any fluid plugged in. It smelled of hospital.

"Good good hmm. Just hang on a moment." Rajesh put me on hold.

I heard something. steps. A door opened in my pod and a fabulous looking young Indian man reached in with a thermometer and took my temperature.

"Thank you," he said and closed the door. I heard steps again.

Rajesh took me off hold.

"Hello sorry for putting you on hold. I've just been speaking to my supervisor well it looks like you have a virus" said Rajesh.

"Is it just like a winder cold?" I said.

"Have you been out side?" he asked

"I've been to the Mall of Humanity," I said. I didn't remember anyone sneezing on me.

"I'd say then it's not a wet ware virus. It's in your collar. It's not a hardware problem so I'm going to pass you over to someone who can help you in software systems. Is there anything else I can help you with?" said Rajesh.

"No, thanks"

"Thank you. I'll transfer you now"

"Bye Rajesh" I said

"Hello, my name is Rajesh 4032 I understand you have a software problem. Can I have you UUID your collars serial number, your model number and the date of your last virus scan" the voice said.

ugn..