I felt on the verge of throwing up, but I didn't stop her.
"Then came the real pain. They flipped me over and strapped me down fully conscious and started cutting into my back. I screamed, oh God did I scream, but it did me no good. I screamed so hard I blew my eardrums out and hurt my voice. Thankfully I passed out when they started to take off the back part of my skull. When I woke up I was under mind control and am what you see now, a freak."
"You mean the woman that I love."
Flicker looked away from the table to me and said, "You help make all this better somehow."
"Glad to hear that!"
She studied me reflectively, "I did have one miracle happen in this twisted horror of what's become of me."
"What was that?"
She came close then and leaned into me, "I'm still a completely functional woman and one day I will bear your children proudly."
We both kissed each other then with passion. Pulling apart we both knew what we wanted, but this certainly wasn't the time or the place.
"Okay let's get this thingy-ma-jiggy that we need and get the heck out of here!" I said with meaning.
We both started to look through the shattered debris of the room for the device that we had come for. Curiously, as we searched, I asked, "Why is it a miracle that you're still a functional woman as you put it? You're different from the other robot people?"
"Yes. They castrate the men and remove the woman's ovaries. They do it to get rid of the hormones attached to passionate instincts that interfere with mind control. Beyond that they basically lobotomize them as well. The other robot people are basically walking vegetables. Without input they collapse to the ground without any motor or cognitive ability. Sever their link at the back of the neck and their helpless."
"Why did they do it differently with you?"
"The main researcher liked my pre-existing cognitive abilities and thought it would be interesting to compare the composite analysis between those without a mind and someone with a mind to see if there was a noticeable difference in terms of performance."
"Was there?" I asked already knowing the answer.
"A huge difference, but the higher-ups wouldn't give her the go-ahead to make more like me, because they feared what would happen if the control link was severed. They'd lose control of their army and perhaps have them turn on them, which is exactly what I've done so their fears weren't without cause after all."