Synopsis: The Machine Who Would Be a Man (a Team Girl adventure)

The girls are enjoying a pleasant walk in a park on a warm sunny day, when they see a robot walking towards them. People run from it, frightened. The girls recognize it as a Mabuse robot, but it is unlike the others they've seen. It's body is a perfectly formed humanoid, seamless and smooth, but with silvery-blue skin. It's face is also extremely plain, with two cameras for eyes and a small, circular speaker for a mouth. It heads straight for them, but it is not acting in a menacing manner, so while the girls are cautious, they stand their ground and wait for it.

When it reaches them, it does not attack, only stares at them for a few moments. Then it identifies them and states that it has confirmed their identities. Sunny asks it who it is; it responds by starting to say that its designation is Model X400 - Generation I, but then it changes its mind and says it's name is Xerxes. When Eile asks what it wants with them, it states that Mabuse has instructed it to seek them out if anything happened to her. Sunny asks if anything has happened to her, and the robot explains that she was taken away by military agents. When Eile asks why Mabuse told it to find them, it states that she claimed they would protect it. The girls are too flabbergasted to respond, but then they hear the sirens of approaching police cars. They decide on the spur of the moment to take a chance and escort Xerxes home. When they express concern about hiding it, it directs them to start walking and it will follow. When they do, it seems to disappear. A closer look shows it has a faint outline, like a heat distortion, and they realize it must be bending light rays around itself. As they walk out of the park, they are detained by soldiers, who scan around them with some kind of device, but finally they are let through. From behind them, Xerxes explains that the device was designed to detect it when invisible, but Mabuse had modified its camouflage ability before she was taken away.

When they reach home, Xerxes reverts to a normal appearance. The girls are uncomfortable having it around but being as it has made no threatening moves, Sunny treats it as a guest, telling it to make itself comfortable and offering it something to eat or drink. It politely declines her efforts at hospitality. Eile asks why Mabuse felt they could protect it; it responds that it does not know because she did not say, only that she was confident they could. Her frustration mounting, Eile asks if Mabuse gave it any instructions at all on what they were suppose to do now, and the robot reveals that she had recorded a message for it to play back. It then raises a hand, palm up, and a holographic image of Mabuse's head appears.

"Sunny and Eile. If you are listening to this recording, it means I am dead, incapacitated, or captured, and that Xerxes has sought you out and contacted you as per my instructions. He represents the summit of my achievements in robotics: a fully-functional, self-aware artificial intelligence. My reasons for sending him to you are two-fold. The first is the hope that you will protect him from those who would seek to exploit him for their narrow-minded purposes. The second is the hope that you will continue his education. I have been training and instructing him myself, but it is difficult for me to gauge his level of development, because while he has the knowledge-base of a postgraduate with a half-dozen doctorates, in many ways he is still just a child. For example, he is severely lacking in social skills, largely based on my own lack thereof, though I have taught him courtesy and etiquette, and ethics. I would understand if you decided to turn him over to the care of Medb, but for as long as he is with you, I would appreciate it if you taught him those things I was incapable of. My goal was for him to be able to fully integrate himself into human society as if he was born and raised human, and I can think of no better teachers than yourselves. It had been my intention to ask you to do this at a future date in any event, but it would appear that some disruptive event has forced an acceleration of my schedule. I am truly sorrow if you have been thrust into this situation completely unaware and unprepared, but please believe me, I had no choice. Also, let me reassure you that he is safe. To demonstrate this, I wish to provide you with the Administrative Override codes. The first will allow you to override all but his most basic, hardwired programming; in short, he will obey your every command without question or hesitation. The second will cancel the override and return him to full autonomy. However, you should know that, as a self-aware being, he will object to being controlled, as either of you would if you were in his place. If he does anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened, simply ask him to stop. I think you will find he is an extremely eager and cooperative student."

When the recording stops, Eile decides she had better contact Medb. Sunny is uncertain, but doesn't object. Sunny then asks Xerxes to stay in the living room while she takes care of something. She feeds Snowshoe Kitty, then stops off in the conservatory to play the piano. Xerxes startles her and she explains that it is polite to announce one's presence. He expresses an interest in her music. While he knows what it is, he has never heard it before; Mabuse has not exposed him to it. Sunny plays a piece, and then he asks if she would teach him. She runs through the basic scales and other preliminaries, which he reproduces without errors. She plays Chopsticks, which he also reproduces. Then she plays the Moonlight Sonata. Partway through he joins in, and as they play he picks up more and more, until they are playing a duet by the end. Eile joins them, saying that Medb will arrive next morning. She and Sunny then jam while Xerxes listens. When he takes over from Sunny, he imitates her exactly. Sunny and Eile explain about freeform expression and play again. This time, when Xerxes takes over he improvises instead of imitates, and he gets better at it as they continue. Sunny picks up her violin and they jam together for some time.

The jam session is interrupted when Kitty jumps onto the piano. Xerxes asks about her, and the girls explain about pets. When he mentions that Mabuse informed him Kitty was sapient, the girls warn him never to speak of it again to anyone, not even them. Though he does not understand, he agrees. The girls then take him to the media room where they play music CDs for him. They start to dance to some of the music, and he asks about that. They show him some moves, but explain it's like freeform jamming. He begins to dance, awkward at first, but with increasing grace. They go to make some lunch and he follows them to watch, so they explain about cooking. Afterwards they go to Eile's office and do some design work; they explain about graphic design to Xerxes, who helps them with a difficult project. Finally they take him into the library and let him read through their books while they go down to the basement to do some exercising.

Later, while Sunny is doing her aerobics and Eile her boxing exercises, Xerxes comes down. He announces his presence, then explains he has gone through their entire library and read every book. Sunny makes an offhand remark that normally they exercise naked, but with him around they decided they shouldn't. He startles them by declaring he already knows what they look like naked, then explains he surveyed their bodies and reconstructed them without clothes, filling in what he couldn't see with what he knew of human female anatomy. Sunny gets angry and tells him he shouldn't do that, but Eile takes it more philosophically, saying men undress them in their minds all the time so why should he be any different. Eile then offers to teach Xerxes how to box. He learns quickly, and they discover that he has immense strength.

After they clean up, the girls have a light supper, then say that they normally take a walk before retiring. Xerxes turns himself invisible so he can go with them, and they take a tour around the cemetery. Xerxes asks about death. The girls explain as best as they can, but it is obvious they have no clue what it really is. He then plays a recording of a conversation he had with Mabuse about personal identity, in which she revealed there were profound mysteries about self-awareness no one knew the answers to. It does, however, convince the girls that Xerxes is telling the truth. When he asks how, they say they are taking it on faith. When he asks about faith, they states that is another concept no one can really explain.

When they return, they teach Xerxes how to play poker. Sunny remarks they normally play strip poker, but tonight they'll play for pocket change. They then retire, after showing him their huge DVD library. Instead of going to sleep, however, they decide to have sex. At a particularly energetic stage, Xerxes bursts in on them. Covering themselves with pillows, Sunny reminds him that he's supposed to announce himself first. He apologizes, but explains he heard their cries and thought they were in trouble, which they actually consider somewhat amusing. He asks what they were doing and they reply they were having sex. He asks why, and they explain they do it to express their mutual affection, as well as for fun. He then states that Mabuse showed him what sex was and asks how two women could do it. Without going into details they explain that sex is simply the erotic stimulation of the genitals and other areas of the body, hence it isn't strictly limited to male-female couples.

He asks that they demonstrate. Eile refuses at first, but Sunny asks if he feels titillated. He explains that he understands what that means, and being sentient he appreciates what that is supposed to feel like, but in lacking sexual organs or hormones, or even a sexual drive in his artificial brain, he cannot feel it himself. His interest is strictly academic, even objective. He is, in a word, curious. Sunny convinces Eile to help her give him a demonstration by reminding her they are suppose to teach him about the human condition, and sex is a big part of that. In any event, he won't be aroused, so it's no different than having sex with Kitty in the room. They start over and proceed all the way to climax, collapsing beside each other. Xerxes thanks them, then comments that while Mabuse's act of sex with her male partner could be described as strictly physical, it is obvious even to him just how deeply the girls love and care for each other. He then leaves them alone. The girls snuggle together and cuddle, and discuss the irony of having a machine tell them what they should have already known themselves.

Mabuse is secured, naked, to an exam table, hooked up to a torture device she invented. Col. Torain Thegn is using it to force her to reveal where she hid her robot. So far she has refused to talk, but she knows that it is only a matter of time. She just hopes the girls turn Xerxes over to Medb before then.

Medb arrives in the morning in time for breakfast. They tell her about everything that happened the day before. She is suspicious, thinking the robot is a mole meant to gain their trust before it then carries out whatever order Mabuse gave it. She might be willing to give it the benefit the doubt if it really were self-aware, but she doubts it's true. She interviews Xerxes using the override code Mabuse gave the girls, trying to get him to reveal his true programming, but he states that if her suspicions were correct, it could be hardwired, in which case he would be no more aware of them than she would her own genetically controlled instincts.

The girls then ask him to play music with them, but Medb declares he could have been programmed that way. Sunny asks if he could be programmed for freeform expression. When she expresses doubt that he could, the girls demonstrate he has that ability by jamming with him. Medb is surprised, but then suggests he could be programmed to play musical phrases from a huge library using an analysis program to determine which phrase is appropriate. She is however sufficiently intrigued to test him herself. She teaches him fidhcheall, an ancient Irish board game, which no one other than the girls should know. He picks it up immediately. They play a game, in which she trounces him. The next game ends in a draw, and in the third he beats her soundly. She decides he must be self-aware, and accepts that he is telling the truth. She asks him to swear on his honor. When he asks, she explains what it means, and about the Irish warrior code. He decides to adopt it as his philosophy of life.

Medb offers to take him away to a place of safety, but he refuses. He instead states that he intends to rescue Mabuse, and he asks Medb and the girls to help him. He states he knows where she is being held, that he found out last night using the girls' computer after they went to sleep. He was even able to download floor plans, details on security measures, and other things needed to break in. He then affirms that he will go after her with or without their help. Medb reviews the information he collected and decides a rescue mission may be possible. Before they leave, however, Xerxes asks Sunny to use the override code, then order him to reveal his secret. When she does, his cranium splits open and he removes a data block, which he claims has all of Mabuse's research notes from the start of her career. He wants the girls to have it.

Col. Thegn consults with Lt. Gen. Morgan Leia Ross. Gen. Ross orders him to use sodium thiopental to loosen her tongue while under torture.

That evening, Eile goes up to the gatehouse of the government facility, disguised as a pizza delivery girl (she has a DiGiorno pizza). She claims to have a delivery for someone in the building, but the guards deny anyone called her. She convinces them to buy the pizza with a sob-story that if she takes it back it'll come out of her salary. After eating a slice each, the guards fall asleep. Medb and the girls enter the facility and proceed to the ventilation system. The girls crawl inside while she goes to the front entrance and demands entry. Col. Thegn lets her in and escorts her to Mabuse. While she distracts him, the girls make it to the interrogation room and drop tear gas into it. Medb places a mask over Mabuse and Xerxes appears, rips off her restraints, and picks her up. The girls join them and they all flee, the girls covering them using tear gas and Medb taking out any guards or robots that try to stop them.

They make it out into the parking lot, but are confronted by a squad of soldiers. Medb creates a distraction and they make it to cover, but they are pinned down. Mabuse recovers enough to realize what is going on. Xerxes tells Medb to get her away; he will engage and hold the soldiers. Mabuse refuses to allow him and tries to use the override code, but Xerxes silences her by repeating the Irish warrior code: loyalty, bravery, and generosity. He then attacks the soldiers, moving fast, turning invisible in quick blinks, and using the boxing skill he learned from Eile. While the girls run interference, Medb carries Mabuse out of the facility's grounds. As they reach the van they came in, the area is rocked by an explosion that destroys half the parking lot and demolishes the front of the building. Medb drives them away as the girls speculate about Xerxes's fate.

Medb returns to the girls' house and Mabuse is installed in the guest bedroom. Medb will stay to nurse her back to health. Gen. Ross arrives, alone, and confirms that Xerxes destroyed himself to allow Mabuse to get away. She then asks Mabuse to work for her again after she has recovered, but Mabuse refuses. Medb offers Mabuse a job at her institute, which she accepts. Medb does make a deal with Ross, however, to work on projects for her, but only those Medb finds intriguing. Before she leaves, Ross congratulates the girls on a successful operation, and hints that she may offer them assignments as well, if they are interested. After she is gone, Sunny gives Mabuse the data block given to her by Xerxes. She explains that she thinks he gave it to her because he planned his self-sacrifice before they even left to rescue her. Medb and the girls then leave her alone to rest. Unknown to them, Snowshoe Kitty is in the room, and she is the only one who sees a tear run down Mabuse's cheek.