An Android's Tale - Part 38 (An Original Story)
The hinge of the trapdoor grated against the rusted joinery. As it slammed closed, a small puff of dust bellowed down below and dissipated into the gloom. Marv clambered down the disproportionately small ladder, his fingers gripping the sides to steady himself. However, frustration got the better of him. He let go and landed with a loud thud at the bottom, though with an effortless grace and dexterity. Two much larger clouds rushed up into the air as both heavy feet touched the ground. Dee looked up in a mild surprise.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." he apologised.
“No problem at all. Is everything OK? I mean, how do you know it’s really safe for them out there?” she asked.
Marv lumbered over and squatted on the ground, still a full head taller than her. She was perched upon an old dusty chair in an even darker corner of the room, eyes fixated on him. He looked at her and smiled, his textured facial skin wrinkling at the sides. ”When I used to work back at the base, they had the foresight to stick a GPS sensory implant in me.” He tapped a finger upon his round cranium. ”What with all the heavy loaders and, of course, fragile people walking around, they couldn’t take any chances. I knew where everyone was, all the time. Not one mishap in all the months I was there.” He giggled in a childish manner. ”How ironic that the same technology is coming in so handy for us now. Bet they wouldn't be too pleased about that.”
Dee narrowed her eyes at him. “But don’t you think it’s a little dangerous to use anything that can broadcast a signal? Like, how do you know people on the outside won’t be able to triangulate us?”
His grin remained etched onto his face like it had been carved in stone. ”Only if you keep it on, which I never have to.” he replied. ”Like right now, for instance. Sy and the boy are the only ones out there in at least a one mile radius. This… I know.” Marv motioned his head up and down for added effect to his statement.
Dee leaned in closer. ”When you… Shall we say… Activate this extra sense you have. What do you feel and how do you even use it?” She seemed enthralled with the various specialised gadgetry he had been kitted out with. Almost envious in some ways.
”It’s a part of me and always has been.” he said after some thought. “Just like you function to walk, talk, speak, obey every command your mind instructs itself to do. You don’t have to voluntarily follow some specific set of procedures or anything to execute it. It just… happens on instinct, I guess. It’s embedded within my silicon DNA, if you like.” His smile widened, showing off a perfect set of white artificial teeth.
Dee raised her eyebrows in astonishment. “That’s truly amazing. I can only wish I had that kind of power. Don’t get me wrong though. I’m happy as I am now. This is such a huge leap forward from the person I was a few days back.” She then paused for a second. ”Wow, has it only been that long? It feels like forever. Strange, how we adapt so quickly to our ever-changing environment. Just as the humans do, but much faster I'd say.”
Dee sighed, although no air expelled out of her. She glanced down at her chest. ”All this extra apparatus that was fused within me. Only until now am I beginning to notice the other subtle changes from disabling the Samson chip. You know, now that I have more time to reflect. The fake breath they installed inside me, the feelings of tiredness after a long day and requiring stasis to replenish the lost energy, even having a subconscious. Though I never really dreamt or imagined too much. Isn’t that strange?” Her voice appeared vacant and withdrawn. ”I suppose I’ll never really rid myself of all the scars inflicted upon me by the powers that be.”
She looked deep into Marv’s eyes. Two circles of pure darkness, black as the night sky. A couple of empty voids falling into a chasmic abyss of the unknown. An echo of her very real sentiments. “Marv” she whispered. ”Have I… Done the right thing?” The words barely left her lips for want of more force behind them. The doubt and fear spilling out of her every pore was evident enough for Marv to wipe away his smile. He furrowed his brow.
”Tell me what’s on your mind, Dee?” he asked, one hand rested upon the damp wall.
”I mean, look at where we are.” she implored. ”I never wanted things to go this far. I had a vision of peace and harmony between us. A brighter future where we can all just get along as equals. But I seem to be losing sight of that vision, Marv.” She bowed her head, a lock a red hair flowing down the side of one shoulder. ”I’m scared. For the first time, I’m not even sure if I’ve done the right thing?”
Marv tipped his head. ”Right thing as in?”
”As in starting this whole revolt against humankind. I’ve killed an innocent boy. It was an accident. Nothing I can ever do will bring him back. His family, his leftover life, all the indirect consequences of my actions. I've caused so much hurt.” Marv could see she was crying from a place deep within, yet no tears sprang forth. The pain was hidden behind a mask similar to the one she wore herself. He placed a compassionate hand upon her shoulder.
”Dee, don’t forget. I know you now. We first met at the group and I talked to you for hours on end. I know you. And I also know you would never have meant to do something like that. But you can’t change that. That's impossible now.” She looked back up at him, now attuned to his words. “Change, Dee. This whole damn mess came about from wanting change and we’re trying to make it happen. But change is only possible with events that are yet to transpire. Not reminiscing about the shreds of yesterday. We’ve come too far now, Dee. There is no going back. Especially after we’ve managed to miraculously get Sy on board with us. Just have faith and be strong, please. For Sy and for the boy.”
”The boy.” she added, with a hint of despair. ”What are you seeing that I’m not? Is he really this great fearless leader I’m making him out to be? Because sometimes I just don’t see it. He’s so unresponsive. Apart from a feeble attack upon Sy in the car back there, there’s nothing to him. No talk, no communication, no appetite even. When will he come round... if ever?” The rising anxiety caused her to rub her hands together in circles, as if to somehow wash away the sins of the recent past.
