“Badly burned by the cold, and I may have needed artificial limbs to replace the damaged ones. So no matter which way I looked at it, your nanites, or a fake arm or leg, I would have become a cyborg anyway.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.
She opened her mouth to say yes, of course but stopped herself. Why was that her first impulse? That it was a bad thing to have cybernetic parts?
And she realized it was because of the war. The Terran War Machine’s propaganda against the Rhimodians. Making out the idea of cyborgs to be the enemy against the purity of the Terran Empire.
“There is a difference between having cybernetic parts and being a cyborg,” Harbin added. “One is an added repair or benefit. The other is a co-dependency.”
“Are you co-dependent?”
He nodded. “Every Rhimodian is dependent on their cybernetic parts and Master System.”
“I cannot imagine that kind of control.”
He looked her up and down. “Are you dependent on your Emperor to live?”
“Of course not. He does not dictate—” And she paused, because in a way, yes, he very much dictated what she could and could not do. “In certain ways, he does dictate what I can or cannot do. But I also make my own decisions.”
“We can make our own choices as well. If those choices go against the collective group benefit, however, there are consequences for those decisions.”
“What would be an example of that?”
“I could choose to negotiate a peace treaty with only you. Determine the best actions based on my own wants.”
"And ignore your people?"
"When one is disconnected, it is easy to ignore. When you are connected, it is not."
She smirked. “And what would your terms be?”
He shrugged. “To mate with you.”
She blinked. “Well, that’s putting it bluntly.”
“You asked.”
“You would be willing to ignore the needs of your people to mate with me?”
He nodded. “The Craving is strong.”
“What is that?”
“Our desires. The primitive side of a Rhimodian. The parts the cybernetics attempt to control.”
“I do not think it is doing a very good job.”
“Usually, I have no problems. You, however, seem to bring it to another level.”
“I cannot be sure if I should be flattered or insulted by that.”
“Be flattered. I rarely bother with primal relations with humanoids. There always seemed no point in it beyond temporary sedation.”
“Have you been thinking about me?” She asked.
He rose up, so they were eye level. She could see that even with his suit on, every muscle was defined.
And she hoped that lump there on his stomach was not his manly bits.
