Artificial Mates - Chapter 111

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I watched the car turned around the corner as I waved goodbye. I could still sense them even when the car was completely gone. Still, I knew that when they reach the higher lands our link will become so weak I could barely feel it. Lately, I’ve been very miserable in this house alone. So I try to find ways to keep myself busy. Mostly with the garden. I turned back to the concrete path that led to the house. I’ve left the plants soaking in a bucket last night. They will need my attention else they will die. Turning to the door I walked to the bar where Liliane’s empty mug waited for me. I took it and stared at the rim where her lips have touched. I knew I would never know the sensation of eating or drinking. Bringing the rim to my mouth, I closed my eyes I accessed the memory I’ve recorded the day we celebrated our wedding. The day she ate biryani. The happy days.

“Liliane,” I signed and took the mug to the sink to wash it. It was just a plain white mug. But it meant so much. I opened the tap and grabbed the sponge.

“Oh, you’re so melancholic, Dee,” the voice startled me making me drop the mug in the sunk. I blinked at it with soap dripping from my fingers. The handle had snapped off.

“I broke it,” I couldn’t believe I was so careless.

“Broke what?” asked the pixie as she materialized next to the sink. I frowned as I picked it up.

“I was so distracted, I dropped it,” I turned with wet hands holding the mug and the broken handle. “What should I do? Liliane really loves this one,” Jil shrugged her tiny shoulders.

“Discard the evidence and replace it with a new one. I bet she won’t even notice,” I slowly faced her. She gave me a mischievous smile. I pursed my lips. I can’t do such a thing, not when I promised to never lie to her. “She will never know,” she winked. I placed the broken mug back on the tabletop and rinsed my hands.

“What has Olga done to you?” I sighed.

“What do you mean?” she walked with her hands behind her back.

“Since when were you so scheming? You know I can’t lie and trick Liliane,” I took the tablecloth hanging on the wall to dry my hands. My eyes rested back at the broken ceramic and sighed. There were two other cups in the drawer of different colors. She could use them, so why did the fact that I broke it make me feel so guilty?

“Ok, laundry,” I pushed away from the table and went to the room. If I kept myself busy I won’t have to dwell on needless things. I stopped at our bed and got distracted in contemplating the spot where Liliane sleep.

“Bed,” my priorities kept piling up. No having Grant near to keep me on track was growing into a physical disability. The more I stayed in the dark away from my mates, the more I felt the emptiness. I rewrote the list of tasks and pushed all lingering issued to run in the background. I stayed busy by making the bad first, then moved to the bathroom. Kneeled down washed Liliane’s and Grant’s clothing in the bucket while focusing on the work without getting lost in replaying memories.

“Jil?” I called from the bathroom while I let the garment soaked in the soapy water. I got up, wiped my hands on the towel by the door and went back to the room.

“Yes, Dee?” the tiny pixie figure appeared on the doorstep. She had told me that Grant has forbidden her from entering our room. Something having to do with Liliane’s jealousy. I couldn’t help smiling at the memory of her cheeks flush whenever she gets jealous. That’s a very possessive feeling I knew nothing about. Somehow, I’ve associate it with her own want of loving me—us.

“Play so music, please,” her smile widened.

“The ‘I miss her’ playlist?” I chuckled at her suggestion. Jil knew how to read the mood but something in the way she was programmed make me doubt her motives sometimes.

“Yeah,” the music flooded the house with that slow electro beat, distorted female voices sang along in a smooth rhythm. There were no lyrics, just music, and voices. Something a machine could produce but the way the song went in and out of beat and still felt fluid was something only a human could do. Music was after all the language of the soul.

“Anything else?” she asked.

“It’s ok, thank you Jil,” I went back to my laundry, the music was a good way to stay focus. I listened to the beats and how each sound blended into each other. When I finished squeezing the water out of the laundry, I set them aside and went scrubbing the shower. There was some kind of peace doing some small things.

After hanging the laundry to dry I went to my garden. The chat with the lady from the bio-shop got me interested in gardening. She put it in a way that was quite fascinating.

“Plants need that little help and love to grow and to thank you they smile with the flowers blooming and gives you heathly, juicy fruits,” she had said. When I asked her if she had a brain-wave controller she had smiled. “Most of those living on this island are already spied in every corner, no need to have Atlas peek into my thoughts,” she had said.

Outside, the music was reduced to a low hum. It was enough to keep me going. In the shade of the wall, I worked on mixing the organic fertilizers to the soil. I followed the advice of the lady from the bio-shop. Then dug holes for the plants waiting in the bucket. By 10 AM, I was watering them and stood back admiring my work.

“Plants need love like humans,” she had said. Do artificial need love too? I sure did. I tried to tuned with all my might on the gray thread linking me to Liliane. I closed my eyes to shut the distractions of the outside world. I traveled along with the threat as it sn.a.k.e.d up the road, went through trees and bushes, crossed a river and stopped at a building marked 87. I sighed. She was there, but I couldn’t contact her. I opened our Ewink. The loading circle sprung around but nothing happened.

//enable to connect// please contact your network provider//

Dejected, I went back to the house and stopped in the kitchen area. Jil appeared on the bar yawning and stretching like a lazy cat. My eyes paused on the broken mug still next to the sink.

“Did you have fun with your little plant friends?” she didn’t smile. I considered her comment. They were living things and needed love but we couldn’t communicate.

“What kind of conversation would you have with plants?” she turned to me with a surprised look.

“I’ve never tried? But I can’t leave the house. I’ll like to try though,” I went back to the garden and got the potted white rose that the seller lady insisted I should get. I came back and placed it on the bar. There were no flowers yet, it was only a thorny frail plant.

“The lady said plants needed love,” Jil tiptoed closer.

“There was no plants in the building,” she was the same size as the pot. The stern stretched from it in an aggressive statement towards the light. I turned back to the sink. That mug has been bothering me more than it is such.

“Jil,” she turned back to me. “I’m going to shower to get rid of the dirt then I’ll head to the city center to ger her another mug,” she smirked at me. “No, I’m not going to lie to her. I’ll tell her I was careless and broken it, ok” I glared at her.

“Ok, suit yourself,” she threw her arms in the air.

“You take care of her,” I pointed to the plant. She pouted at me.

“Can I name it?” I smiled.

“Sure,” I went to shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a white shirt. I waved as I reached the door.

“Be careful,” she called with a giggle.

“I’ll be quick,” I walked to the front of our complex met 1128N trimming the edges. It nodded at me and I kept on. Peering down the road on both sides I checked the traffic. It was as empty as always. The constant hammering and drilling went on in the background. It sounded like music if you really listen. I marched towards the only tall building in the neighborhood, I got used to walking here alone. I left the noisy area to an open field separating our house from the city center. The buildings were a dull gray on the horizon. The wind tasted salty. As I came closer to my goal, I saw the first car coming slowly along the deserted road. It was larger than the one Olga drove. It stopped at my level, I gave a quick glance at the driver. It was a human wearing a navy blue uniform.

“Hey!” he shouted. “Where the hell are you going?” his aggressive tone made me frown. I didn’t do anything illegal, so why was he shouting? I kept my cool and faced him with my hands shoved into my pockets.

“I’m running an errand,” I noticed two cyborgs in the backseat. Both turned at the same time.

“Why didn’t you take the shuttle, you can’t walk about like that,” I blinked at the man. Did he mistake me for a human? If I correct him, will that cause me more problems?

“I’m sorry, there were none when I reached the bus-stop. So, I figured that I’ll just walk,” the man gave me a puzzled look. His door popped open, I had to stepped aside so that it didn’t slam into me. The two cyborgs did the same. I straightened up. He was not going to let me reach my destination. I quickly went through my contacts. Dr. Churchhill gave me an emergency code when I met him the other day about that money issue. He told me to use it if I needed to contact him. I was hoping this—doesn’t become one.

“ID, please,” the man extended his hand. The two cyborgs towered behind him. My eyes darted from the man to those two. Since I didn’t do anything illegal, I flashed him my digital ID. The man’s eyebrow rose up.

“You’re a freaking fake?” he said with disgust. “What the hell are you doing out here alone with a leash?” he shouted and poked a finger in my chest. This gesture was not exactly an assault but it was almost one. I stood very still.

“Like, I said earlier, I am running an errand,” I kept my voice as emotionless as possible.

“Errand, my ass! Freaking fakes don’t have the right to roam over the island,” he turned to the two cyborgs. “Get his ass in the car, we are bringing that fake to the station,” the two cyborgs moved to grab my arm. I stepped aside evading them. I quickly typed a message to Dr. Churchhill then added the code to the message.

//Priority message sent//

“Sir, under what pretense are you arresting me? I did nothing wrong here,” I said through gritted teeth. The man sprung around glaring at me. I knew that kind of look. I never thought I would see it here—on this island that was supposed to be a safe haven.

“Hey! I am the law. So, shut up! Grab him!” one of the cyborgs grabbed me by the shoulder while I struggled, I only heard the impact of the punch of the other one. My vision switched to wolf mode in seconds. The images and sounds blended together. The man screamed and rushed inside the car as I bite chunks from giant robots. Metal fingers reached for me but with a leap to the side. A loud bang ripped the air, the smell of burnt fur rose. Red warning alerts flashed in my field of vision. That few seconds of distraction cost me dearly as a heavy body slammed me to the ground.

>PLAY//End of feed// Do you want to select another memory? Y/N

A light hum followed by a hiss echoed. The logo of Sognare interface switched on. The diagnostic went through its routine check listing all the different components. It beeped to announce that everything was green. The logo danced then slowly the darkness pulled back. The edges of a room, with unknown pieces of equipment. Then a blurry face appeared in the middle. A second one stood a little further.

“Demos!” cried the first one. The sound was distorted. I accessed the settings but couldn’t get the audio interface. Where were the sensors? The image slowly became sharper, Liliane’s crying face was the first time I saw. I wanted to hold her in my arms. I couldn’t access my motor functions.

“I can’t move,” my voice sounded foreign. Liliane let out a sob, Grant frowned. It was strange I couldn’t connect with him.