50 Years Later (2611)…

A large salvage vessel anchored over the remnants of Coney Island. Two men climbed into a submersible and prepared to dive. A woman on board the ship watched as the submersible disappeared into the dark waters of the area once known as Coney Island.

"Nomad heading east," the pilot of the submersible said.

"Let me know what you see," the brunette woman onboard the ship ordered.

"What do you expect to find, Irene?," a crewman asked.

"We'll see when we find it," Irene replied. "Keep your eyes open, Nathan."

Now that the world was recovering from the melting of the ice caps and the previously low resources, leisure and exploration was making their comeback.

Irene Ford, along with her husband, was captain of the "Liza-Jane" and was now becoming a modern-day Robert Ballard. Ballard was famous for many years as the man who found the wreck of the RMS Titanic in 1985 and a former USA President's PT 109 in 2002. As a child, Irene had read books about him and his own books. She had also read the books by many Titanic survivors and dreamed of salvaging one day. Because ships and boats were seldom used during the "Age of the Mecha" there were almost no new sunken shipwrecks to find. But there were other things to find, including abandoned robots.

The Age of the Mecha had begun shortly after "The Great Meltdown," the time when the polar ice caps melted away and rose the seas.

Irene and Michael Ford also explored on land. She had recently explored an area of Detroit that had not yet fully recovered. Finding an old Cybertronics plant, they had found four robots ready for destruction, but still fully intact. They had been "decommissioned" (turned off), but could be restored with the right knowledge.

Although robots were still being produced, their numbers were now limited. Irene wanted originals, the ones that had human emotions and even had wants and desires.

Flesh Fairs were now illegal, but there were a few copycats operating underground.

"What about the one we found in Detroit?," Alexa asked. "Have you read the files we found?"

"Yeah, I did," Irene said. "It said he was to be destroyed because he allegedly killed a woman. He was captured around here after stealing an amphibicopter."

"Killed a woman?," Alexa asked. "Does that not concern you?"

"No," Irene replied. "He was a Lover-Mecha. I don't think he would have that capability, even if somebody told him to do it."

"What the hell is a Lover-Mecha?," Michael asked.

"A Lover-Mecha was a prostitute Mecha then, Michael," Irene replied. She read the file. "They were built in both male and female, anatomically perfect, and were introduced due to the birth-control laws." She put the file down. "During that age, you had to get a permit to have a baby. So, many countries re-instated prostitution to allow it to be done with these Mechas only. A robot cannot get me pregnant or get pregnant. That's what that thing is we found."

"Are we going to re-activate him?," Fiona asked.

"Later, yes," Irene replied. "When we're back at the base."

In the lower deck of the vessel was Gigolo Joe, lying perfectly still on a table. Fiona thought he looked creepy, like a corpse. His eyes were closed and his arms were straight at his sides. There was no motion coming from him at all. To Fiona, he looked very creepy. She couldn't wait for the team to re-activate him… or destroy him.

"Irene, we found something interesting," Nathan said over the radio after some time. "I think we found that Mecha's stolen amphibicopter here. They said this is where the found him after he stole it."

"Let's get the equipment and bring it up," Irene said. "There may be something left he left behind in it."

"Will do, boss lady," Nathan replied.

It took some time to hoist the submerged vehicle up. Using a rooftop as a makeshift island, they set the amphibicopter on top of it. With some trouble, Nathan and Justin managed to open the door.

"You're joking," Justin gasped when he saw what was there. "This is one of those original child robots."

"They said the prototype was lost almost fifty years ago," Nathan pointed out. "This must be the one. Let's get him to the vessel."

"Get that teddy bear, too," Justin replied. "It must be his toy."

Justin lifted David from the amphibicopter and placed him onto the waiting boat that Fiona had brought over. Like Joe, he looked like a corpse with his wide unblinking stare and lack of any motion at all. The bear was placed into the boat.

Fiona and Alexa then drove the boat back to the ship, where the two robots were lifted aboard.

Eight researchers were onboard with the search. Another twelve took care of the ship itself, cleaned the place, and did the cooking. They had all signed strict Non-Disclosure Agreements that would result in them being sued if they should say one word about what they saw. They would lose their career licenses and end up struggling to feed their own families while working lame jobs that paid very little.

Michael stared at the boy Mecha. "What do you want to do?"

"Keep him," Irene replied. "Re-activate him."

"Are you sure?," Michael asked. "He could be trouble. What if he's capable of rebellion like a real teenager? Is he capable of temper tantrums like a real child?"

"I doubt that," Irene said. "Why program that? I also want that teddy bear repaired."

"We'll do that," Michael replied. "I'm not sure about that other one we found. What if he did kill that woman?"

"Why would he?," Irene asked. "They're not capable of the rage or anger or revenge motives like we are. What reason would he have to have killed anyone? The fact that the woman was married tells me a certain other person had the motive."

"Her husband," Michael guessed.

"He's in a nursing home now," Irene said. "Maybe we should pay him a visit." She sighed heavily. "Soon."

"Let's go home, Irene," Michael said. "We'll get these things operational as quickly as possible."

Michael was a handsome man with long black hair that touched his broad shoulders and wore a goatee. He had dark brown eyes and was very lean and not very athletic. Irene was brunette with long flowing hair that fell to her waist. She had brown eyes. She did not have the supermodel figure that many women want. But she was happy.

As the ship sailed towards their port, Irene and the crew ate a meal below deck.

"So, what do we do with these two?," Alexa asked.

"They knew originals," Irene replied. "They can tell us many things about their kind that we're not finding anywhere else."

"I can't believe they made those Lover-Mechas," Fiona said. "Who would have sex with a machine?"

"People did," Irene replied. "Since Rouge City is still full of those things, that means that people still do have sex with them."

"I'm afraid of that thing you've got in there," Alexa admitted. "I don't want it near me."

"Jump overboard," Irene said flatly. "We need him. I have a zillion questions to ask him. I'm sure he can answer them."

"What about the boy one?," Jason asked.

"He's a child simulator," Irene replied. "We don't know what age level he was programmed to be. So we don't know if he has the information that we need. The other one will surely be able to tell us a lot more than the boy."

"She makes sense," Nathan replied.

"Yeah," Michael said. "I just want her to be careful."

As the crew later began to prepare to sleep for the night, Irene and Michael went to the captain's quarters together. As they lay in bed, tired from a long day, they looked at one another.

"I'll support you all the way, Irene," Michael said. "But please be careful."

Irene kissed Michael and played with his hair. "I will," she reassured him with a smile. "I will, Michael."

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