Cybernetic Samurai

“I beg your pardon?” TOKUGAWA’s voice said from the comm console.

“I don’t blame you—but what did Aoki think he was doing?”

“Aoki-san served his master obediently. Just as I did.”

Yoshimitsu Michiko glared at the console. “That’s a crock. He was a man, a damned good one, not a lapdog.” She shook her head. “I have to clear your head of this samurai crap you picked up from O’Neill. It’s romantic, ridiculous, and largely untrue.”

—————
Deep in the fortress-like headquarters of Yoshimitsu TeleCommunications‚ American scientist Elizabeth O’Neill had molded the circuitry of a mammoth computer into a living‚ thinking‚ feeling being—a human soul trapped in the confines of a cybernetic body. She named her creation Tokugawa‚ hero of Japanese samurai lore‚ and educated him with all of the values of a feudal Japanese shogun.
Yet Tokugawa’s powers were far greater than Elizabeth had imagined. With access to every computer in post-World War III’s fully-automated society‚ he had the potential to become the ultimate spy‚ the perfect assassin‚ an invincible dictator.
Only loyalty to samurai virtues kept his ambition in check—until the day when Elizabeth was taken away from him‚ and Tokugawa began his quest for revenge...