Year of the Dog

                                    

                                              
"I'm gonna feed you to the dogs," said Fred Greenway brandishing a cleaver. He brought it down and cut into the young punk's thigh.

                          
Doctor Gus flinched even though he'd seen this a hundred times. Having taken a Lava pill, his brain perceived the high-def images on the screen as real. The narco-psychotic was formulated to assist with augmented reality training. Mindject users take the drug to help them form neurological pathways inside their head so they can perceive artificial imagery or sound. Ingested without a mindjector, Lava forced visceral emotions to merge with one's logic. The end result is exhilarating for some users, terrifying for others.
                          
"Piece by piece," growled Fred, the self-styled actor.  Dogs barked in the background. 

                          
The sequence ended mid-murder, cutting to Fred's point of view walking through a crowd of partygoers. Every shopfront he passed displayed sordid videos of overt erotica. Doctor Gus knew the location, even when he saw this for the first time.
                          
Robot sex alley.
                          
The place to go if one wanted to experience lovemaking with something that was not quite human. Doctor Gus had frequented these vendors in the past and also owns a second generation sexbot. The newer version still held his fascination. Each upgrade went a step further towards breaking the uncanny valley curse. 
                          
Fred entered one of the shops. A female humanoid approached him and spoke, "I'll need a man for sex. I am ready to be your partner. I guarantee hot sex. I like doing a blowjob."
                          
"Where's Kenny?" growled Fred.
                          
The sexbot's face reacted, programmed to mimic being confused, yet coming across as distraught.
                          
'How can I help you, buddy?" said a short, plump techno-pimp who'd walked up to the camera.
                          
"Where's Kenny?"
                          
"No Kenny here, bud."
                          
Fred reached out and grabbed the guy, bringing down a baton onto the techno-pimp's head. The sexbot stepped in and shielded the stunned guy from the next blow with its arm. The baton smashed the limb, bending it into a right angle. Fred struck the sexbot on the temple, sending out a spray of orange fluid, splattering the techno-pimp. An oily substance, Doctor Gus recalled, circulated via microtubes within the rubber epidermis to give warmth and colour to the fake humans. The sexbot's reaction, the way it instinctively moved to protect a human being, intrigued Doctor Gus. Was it programmed? Or it responded under its own volition? He could not tell, even after repeat viewings, but this video was the only evidence to ever show such behaviour.
                          
The dogs barked again but were nowhere be seen. Doctor Gus knew those familiar canines.

                          
Cinderblock and Madness.

                          
He wondered what had gotten his pups all roused up. When the barking persisted Doctor Gus switched off the screen and headed out into his small backyard. His hip-high Labrador Retriever whined, while his Staffordshire Bull Terrier barked up a relentless frenzy, killing his sore ears, "Shut up! Fucking mongrels." His loud and coarse voice hushed up the boisterous dogs but their alertness remained.
                          
Over the fence, he spotted a parked sedan, a dark green Senator. When he saw the Psychomax fugitive pacing behind it, panic quelled a short-lived glee. He knew he had no choice but the hand this guy over to the Black Dragons. Yet, doing so also threatened his standing with the Blood Ring. He began to regret springing this guy out of the facility.

                          
"That friend of yours brought me a lot of trouble," said Doctor Gus after he leashed the dogs and exited from the back gate. 
                          
"What friend?" said the angry-looking fugitive infamous for his role as the Bad Samaritan.