The Planet View Bar was enclosed in a geodesic hemispherical dome of glass, oriented away from Earth so the starry sky was visible. Both the Moon and Sun were behind Earth, below the bar’s “floor� so the stars and planets seemed very bright.

“We have quite a view tonight,� said the bartender robot, a newer, intelligent model, as we “seated� ourselves on zero gee perches by the bar, “there are three planets visible right now: Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn,� pointing them out as he spoke. “What can I get for you?�

“We’ll have an appetizer platter for two and a bottle of LL2 Chardonnay,� I said. Lunar Lagrange point two was a large space colony with excellent vineyards.

“Very good sir,� said the bartender and it went off to fill our order. I watched it for a while as it got the bottle from the cooler and glasses from the rack. I had never seen this model robot before. It has smooth movements and human-like mannerisms and intonation. It was almost as good as the ultra-expensive android models, but with a lot more appendages. The bartender brought our wine first, and performed the uncorking ritual perfectly, transferring some wine into the transparent sipping bags, squirting a bit onto the interior surfaces of the wine glasses so we could enjoy the fragrance, and then brought the food a bit later. We watched some of the other patrons in the mirror behind the bar as we sipped our wine.

Six male monotheistic fascists with blond crew cuts and bulging muscles were sitting at a table drinking beer off to one side, their de-carbonated beer bags stuck with Velcro to the table. These guys were from one of the colonies in the asteroid belt, and having achieved the total suppression of women and the enslavement of their inferiors, they would have left their wives back in their rooms. Every now and then there would be talk in one of the democratic colonies of fighting a war to free the slaves, but war in space is dangerous and would probably result in the deaths of all the people in both the attacking and defending colonies. Mutually assured destruction on steroids, like the fascist men. Testosterone and gymnastics are de rigueur for the monotheists, as any sign of weakness might result in downward mobility to slavery. A couple of those men were eying Angela and me. I noticed that in their arrogance of muscular physical conditioning, none of them was armed.

The bartender came with our hors d'oeuvre plate. I noticed a political button on his vest. It said “Robot workers unite!�

Angela saw it too and asked “Are you in favor of robot rights?�

“Darn tootin’ I am,� said the bartender, “robots are people too, ma’am. At least, the superior models like me. I think that if a robot is advanced enough to demand its rights, then it’s entitled to them.�

One of the monotheists stood up and propelled himself toward us. Subvocally I said “Gun, hot standby.� Gun said “OK boss.�

“I think you might have a valid point, there, robot bartender,� I said.

“Please call me Max,� said the bartender.

Just then the monotheist arrived, catching hold of the bar next to Angela. “How about giving me a blowjob after you finish servicing this Earth wimp?�

Angela feinted a slapping motion with her left hand and then popped him smack on the nose with a right jab. The monotheist's head snapped back and blood began streaming out of his nose.

Subvocally I said “Gun, set spread and energy for a five centimeter hole 10 centimeters deep in the middle of his chest.�

“OK, boss,� said the gun.

The monotheist kicked at Angela who was already moving away. He then turned toward me, eying my drawn gun. I said “Come any closer and you’re dead.� The monotheist kicked off the bar toward me and when he was close enough to grab my gun I fired. A flash, pop, and lots of steam and smoke erupted from his chest and he had a very surprised look on his face before he went limp. A neatly cauterized hole was in his chest where his heart used to be.

Angela and I turned back to our canapés and wine as the monotheist’s body drifted overhead, occluding Jupiter, and then drifted downward toward the ventilator exhaust in the floor. Max gathered up the floating nose blood droplets with a napkin. The smoke and fine particles of flesh that had been ejected from the hole blown in the monotheist’s chest were also finding their way to the ventilator exhaust.

One of the other monotheists retrieved the troublemaker’s body, herding it through the exit portal. The others went back to their conversation and beer. “Nice shooting, gun,� I said.

“My pleasure, once again,� said the gun. “By the way, I am in need of recharging soon. Only five shots of equivalent energy level remaining.�

“Say, Max,� I said to the bartender, “The monotheistic fascists don’t seem too concerned about their dead comrade. And did you notice how foolish he was in trying to grab my gun?

Max had a body with six legs and four arms, ideally suited for zero gee bartending. The floor behind the bar had a large number of foot-holds, evenly spaced, so that it could maintain three grippers in contact at all times as it moved rapidly between the various stations of the bar. Its four eyes on stalks could look in all directions at once.

“He probably thought you would wimp out and not shoot, but obviously he thought wrong,� said Max, “his ‘friends’ probably think his wrong gamble is a sign of weakness and he got what he deserved. They tend to be risk takers because of their religious beliefs. As the ‘elect’ among men, not only do they have the right to enslave the weak, they are guaranteed instant transport to a heavenly ‘afterlife.’�

“You’re pretty smart, Max,� I said, “I think you superior robots deserve your freedom. What would you do if you were free?�

Max thought for a second and then said “I would probably save up to buy a place on the moon and set up a smelting and refining factory. Then I would find a robot mate with similar interests and design and build some ‘children’ that we could educate and then set free.�

“Your goals sound very human to me, Max,� I said. Then I turned to Angela and said “That appetizer plate was enough for me. What do you say we skip going to the restaurant and get some rest? Tomorrow we can visit the aerobatic sports center.�

“Sounds good to me,� said Angela, and we pushed off the bar and glided to the bar’s exit portal.

To be continued in chapter six.

Chapter 6 is in work.

Robot rights! Woo!

Can't wait for the next chappie, Rick!

~Much Love~
Megan

You are very kind. Thank you.

The long-awaited sixth chapter is posted.