Artificial Mates - Chapter 64

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I was the first one up, Liliane lay peacefully against Demos’ chest. She was tired, the revelation from last night must have exhausted her. The recent events in her hometown did a great deal too. Her breathing came out a little fast. Seeing her restless worried me. I leaned and kissed her forehead. Liliane stirred with a groan.

“What time it is?” she asked with heavy sleep in her voice. With a light brush over her cheek, I peeked at her. She rolled closer to me with a smile. I felt a sting of guilt for not cherishing her enough. I missed our movie night or little attention.

“Sleep Princess, it’s still early,” with a hand I smoothed her hair away from your face. Demos blinked and faced me.

-Will you be ok on your own. You should call Nicolai.

I nodded and carefully got out of bed. It was around 5:30 am. Too early to prepare breakfast. Somehow I was restless, anything was better than pretending to sleep. With a quick cleanup, the living room, and the kitchen sparkled. Since Liliane was the only one eating there were no dishes to wash, I sighed and walked to the entrance. I paused at the door covered with flowers. Demos shared the feed of their painting activity with me. I was happy to look at this door in a different way. Jay Dawson altered the course of our lives in ways beyond imagination.

-I’m off to apartment 1029. I prefer not to wander alone on the streets.

-Ok, be careful.

The moment we realized he had to sync with Liliane and we couldn’t tell her everything, we found a safe way to communicate without her interfering. It may sound harsh but we did it for her own safety. With Jil’s help, she set up an encrypted internal link between us two. Demos was the one who suggested it from the night where he ran off to the main hall after Liliane and he had an argument. When it happened, I was out cold in my pod and couldn’t grasp the full extense of what it really meant.

The elevator stopped and the door slowly opened on a gray corridor. I met Nicolai from 1029 on floor 45 one afternoon while chatting with Jil and Adelia, who always complains that her owner treats her poorly. With her flashy pink dress, she was forced to wear to please her master and the constant shouting, I took pity of her. I usually came down to the hall after Liliane and Demos are off. I spent my days with the other artificial or running errands for Jil.

Nicolai wasn’t like the others. He had a job. He ran a nightclub for his master, yet he wasn’t a mate even if he had the function. Jil was eager to make the presentation when he walked into the building.

“Nico, this is Grant from the 30th floor,” she sang. He paused and gracefully turned to face me. I nodded at him and he did the same.

[establishing link]

-Hi, happy to met you. Jil told me you have a job?

-The feeling is mutual, yes I do. I manage Adrien’s club, nothing fancy

-Adrien?

-Yes, he is my friend. Do you want to meet him?

Jil appeared behind us with a grin.

“I’m sure you’ll get along just fine. You see, Adrien got a little accident that’s why Nico didn’t meet you recently,” I peeked at her with curiosity.

“I didn’t know you could run a human’s business without being his or her mate,” Nicolai nodded with a smile.

“Adrien gave me special clearance. He transferred all the responsibilities to me so he can enjoy his boat,” he laughed. “Come, I’m sure he will love the company,” he urged. His story piqued my interest and I found myself following him to the elevator. My first encounter with Adrien Sevdinova was a particular one. The moment I entered his apartment, I came across the tan man in his late thirties wearing a silk robe over an interesting geometric pattern boxer. A golden necklace hung over a hairy chest.

“Nicolai,” he smiled. His focus shifted to me with raised eyebrows. “A friend? Sorry, I can’t get up to greet you,” he pointed to his leg in a cast.

“Hello,” I crossed the distance separating us and shook his hand. The moment our hand came in contact, my healing function lit up. I felt the pulse in his palm quickened.

“Wh-what have you done to me?” he held on as he straightened up. “My pain… it vanished,” he gasped. It was the first time I eased the pain of someone other than Liliane. I stopped in front of the door marked 1029 in big silver letters. Muffled murmurs came to my ears. Shortly after, it opened before I had a chance to knock. Nicolai gazed at me with scorn.

“Good morning, I was about to come to get you,” he stepped aside to let me in. As I go in, my eyes settled on Doctor Churchhill sitting in the living room, he held a brown mug between his fingers. Olga, a brunette stood behind him.

“Grant!” he looked up with surprise. “You were out of town. I tried to contact you,” I nodded slowly not sure about the reason for such a visit.

“Hello, Doctor Churchhill,” to which he didn’t respond. So, I went on,” yes, Demos told me it would be dangerous. So, I convinced Liliane to visit her parents. However, we experienced an incident with ‘ The Real Humans’ when we were about to leave.” Nicolai came to join us on the couch. Olga didn’t move from her spot.

“Kumari R2 is not a safe place for us,” she said in an emotionless tone. Actually, being here in this building right now, was not a good idea.

“We are moving to a refuge off the coast,” added the doctor. He frowned as he gazed at his trembling fingers. “I wanted to see you, before I go,” I waited for him to go on, yet he kept silent. His eyes lost in the distance.

“Sir?”

“Grant, I want you to come with me to Dyneapolis,” he said without looking up. I took a few seconds to process my thoughts. After consulting with Demos on our encrypted link, we came to the same conclusion.

“I can’t,” the doctor shook his head in disappointment.

“You are not bound to her anymore. I’ve given you total freedom. You can choose to do whatever you want,” he frowned.

“that’s what I’m doing,” I insisted.

“The feeling you think you have was implanted. It’s not real. She’s just some poor girl. You have a bright future ahead. You were destined for greatness for both the artificial and humanity. Demos is replaceable,” he leaned forward as he spoke. I didn’t like how he said it. Liliane was not some girl and Demos was part of me. I didn’t want to argue with my maker, still, I knew he was wrong. What I felt for Liliane was real.

“What about everyone in this building… this town?” he gave a quick peek at Nicolai.

“They will be evacuated when the time comes, I imagine,” he sighed then relaxed into this seat.

“And you?” I turned to Nicolai.

“Adrien is making arrangements as we speak. I’ll go with him to Russia. They’re setting up a safe haven for pro artificial. China is also doing the same,” I nodded slowly. I’ll miss them. However, it didn’t explain the fate of the occupants on this megalopolis.

“And Jil?” he held out a memory stick and placed it on the table in front of us.

“That’s all I could save from her,” he gave a peek at the doctor.

“She knew they would decommission her and replaced her with an upgraded version. So, she saved enough money to buy herself a body. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out the way she predicted,” Nicolai fished into his pocket and placed a plastic card nest to the stick.

“Sir, can you grant a dead AI her last wish?” Doctor Churchhill pressed his lips into a thin line.

“I don’t even know what kind of material I’ll get on that Island. I didn’t have enough time or space to fit my lab on the boat taking me there. The boxes were sent out last night,” he picked the objects up and waved it in front of us. “However, I can try,” I nodded along with Nicolai. Jil will be happy knowing that her data was in the hands of such a talented person. After a solemn silence to seal the promise, they all turned to face me.

“Grant, please come with me. I can accommodate the girl and Demos if you are that loyal to them,” his face was riddled with concern. “This is not just a trivial matter with some small terrorist faction anymore. My friends still working for GamSilver Industries, one of the major military suppliers told me that they’ve recently commissioned a massive order of exoskeleton for combat purposes,” he swapped his finger on his golden bracelet and images of blueprints of an exterior protection gear with reinforced frontal plating appeared above his palm.

“This is a war on a worldwide scale. there’s a shady organization that wants to reduce the population and strip them from technology. Their sole goal is to divide to reign. No one will be safe. Not even your Liliane,” I nodded at the gravity of the situation.

“I’ll speak to her,” I murmured, he smiled at my answer.

“Good, we leave tonight. I’ll send a secure convey to pick you at 6 pm sharp.”

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