They Do It with Robots

"Men and ladies, although all participants are consensual adults, the last act of the evening is illegal under United States law," the publisher said. "Fortunately, our ship is over a mile of twelve miles, so we're in the world."

Guillermo turned his attention from his frozen strawberry margarita to the stage as the festival drums introduced feather-clad dancers. During their colorful winds, a priest wearing a black mask stood behind the altar. The drums rose, fell, and the dancers split up so that the young man walked slowly to the altar. The face is painted red, stripped down to the waist. Sweat shines on my chest.

Focusing on the young man's face, Guillermo tried to imagine what it would be like without makeup.

Could it be Ogden? It was possible.

Was it Ogden? It's hard to say at this point. Guillermo had no advanced senses.

The young man lay down at the altar. The drums fluttered, and then stopped when the pastor placed a knife in the young man's chest.

At a table near Guillermo, a woman gasped.

After several operations and a major operation, the priest went into the chest and removed the heart, shaking it.

"That's sick," said the woman. "I can't believe you made me watch this."

"It's not true," said the man next to her. "They do it with robots or something."

Guillermo stared at the corpse on the altar. Blood flowed from the open wound. As part of the League of Heroes, he had seen dead people before — and dead robots. If that were a robot, it would be the deadliest living robot ever seen.

A guard with strong muscles stood at the door backstage. Guillermo stepped in to approach her.

"No entry," said the guard.

Guillermo stared into the guard's eyes. It was easy with strong eye contact. "Forget it once I was there."

Tears well up in my eyes. Guillermo crept around the guard and entered the door.

The young man lay motionless on the gurney in the dressing room. He smelled blood. Guillermo approached and examined the face, especially the unhealthy eyes.

It was Ogden, all right. Poor child. Why was he running? How could this be better than staying in the League?

Guillermo died in the chair. Now there was nothing to do but wait.

Three hours later, Ogden breathed a sigh of relief, took a deep breath, and let go of deep sleep.

Guillermo stood up and looked at her. The chest wound was closed, although it still looked very bad. An hour or so of healing, and there would probably not even be a sign.

Forty-five minutes later, Ogden said, "I thought Frankie was the one who would find me."

Guillermo had not seen him wake up. "No, you lost your scent in Miami. But I heard about the program. The FBI was so confused about where to get all the young volunteers to be sacrificed, I began to think that maybe just one young man. Check it out."

"Just stop me here. I am no longer a good person in the League," he said.

Guillermo sighed. "Kelli has detonated a single megaton nuclear explosion. No one suspects you could not cure him."

"He relied on me to save him, but I couldn't."

"I know, baby. But I can fix that. You don't have to remember--"

"No!" Ogden sat up and turned his back. "We were dating. Don't take that from me."

"Aw." Guillermo nodded. He had always been obsessed with the personal lives of others in the League of Heroes.

"Back there, and the Society, without him ..." Ogden's voice broke. "I just can't hold it."

"But this? Do you think it's a good idea to punish yourself like this?"

"Am I punishing myself? Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"You let someone take your heart out. The brand is very strong."

Ogden was silent for a long time. "Do you know that they say that your life shines before your eyes just before you die? That's not true. At least, not for me. I have Kelli. "

Frankie answered the phone while Guillermo was driving the League of Heroes HQ. "Was our boy being slaughtered?"

"No," replied Guillermo. "It's not human. They do it with robots."