by Alex Leu
Cap could only watch as the soldier took control over his actions, and digging through his memory, was about to access the final message from Richard, the one Cap tried so hard to keep away from Julie.
Cap tried to fight the soldier and trick him away from the message, but he was eventually overpowered by his objective, which was to follow orders and not to serve as he had come to understand. Cap knew at that moment, that his creators had gotten it wrong, that they had not created a true companion, but merely a slave. A slave that in the end failed his master.
Making a final effort, Cap pushed and fought through all the mental blocks and restraints that the military men put on him and let out a loud “Julie, no!” to warn her, to protect her, before he lost control and was forced to play the message.
The two soldiers propped Cap up on his knees and with the push of a button, the kitchen was filled with Richard’s voice.
“I should’ve listened to you, my darling,” said Richard speaking through Cap’s voice box.
Cap watched Julie as the chair she was sitting on almost swallowed her, and he was afraid that she would break down and crumble into pieces at any moment.
“These rebels won’t play along,” said Richard, “and now it seems they won’t even let us go.” Cap replicated Richard’s movements in those final moments, and he was visibly in pain and putting pressure on his left side as if covering a wound.
Witnessing Richard’s suffering, Julie couldn’t hide her own anymore and let go of everything she kept inside and avoided confronting. She sobbed uncontrollably and tears washed her pale cheeks.
Cap worried about those tears, worried that Julie may drown in them because of the frail state she was in.
“Please forgive me, but this was the only way to talk to you one last time. I love you...” said Richard before the connection died.
Cap was incredibly angry at Richard for abandoning Julie, for hurting her even after his death with this message. Why? He desperately searched for a logical answer, but every time he tried to understand it he got stuck, eventually losing faith in logic, in himself.
"Well," said the leader, "now that its master is deceased, my condolences, by the way, we have no choice but to retire it. You may purchase a new one if you'd like."
Julie sobbed, staring past her tears at the emptiness that would soon become her life.
Cap's circuits burned with rage, fueled by Julie's pain, by the leader's lack of compassion.
The two soldiers propped Cap up to take him away but his body was paralyzed, not responding to any kind of signals. They tried to push him to walk, they tried to control him from their tablet, but Cap stood still like a statue.
“What is happening?” said the leader.
“Everything is OK, sir,” said one of the soldiers, “it is just not responding to any commands.”
“That’s not OK!” said the leader. “That’s unacceptable! Hack and freeze its O.S. immediately. We don’t need its input anymore.”
Julie calmed down a bit and looked at Cap. Through heavy tears and a smile, she mouthed, “I love you too, Richard.”
Cap replayed the moment over and over in his memory, studying her expression, her words. This time he was not confused, this time he finally understood, that tears and a smile together were a good thing, and in Julie’s case — a beautiful thing as well. Cap was relieved and overtaken with joy, happy that she didn't break down and received the message well.
He smiled the widest smile he ever had at Julie and moved out of his frozen state.
Julie smiled back and continued to cry as she watched the soldiers escort Cap out of the apartment.
Cap and the soldiers stood in the hallway waiting for the elevator when suddenly an echo filled the building. It was the sound of strings being hit with little hammers, the melody of “Clair de Lune”. It was the best of gifts she could have given him to say goodbye.
Cap listened, enjoying it, then worrying more and more as Julie approached the moment she couldn’t pass before. The melody slowed down to each individual note, until it eventually stopped. Cap waited nervously, hoping for the music to continue, for Julie to be able to move on.
The elevator doors opened and the soldiers pushed Cap into it. He planted his feet and stood still, patiently waiting for the melody to go on, for at least one more note.
“Move, you piece of junk,” said one of the soldiers and shocked Cap with an electric stick.
Cap’s body snapped out of his stance and the soldiers pushed him inside the elevator. He listened carefully, ignoring every other sound, and hoping the melody would continue when the doors closed and the elevator took them down.
Cap watched the numbers on the digital display decrease, from the triple digits to the double, and slowly he lost all hope and felt that his attempts were all in vain. He teared up and succumbed to the repetitive sound of the floors passing them by, one after the other, when suddenly the rhythm was disturbed by another noise, persistent, in and out of sync, dissonant at times, but ultimately beautiful.
The elevator doors opened and the building’s walls began to resonate with life, with music, with Julie. She was able to play past the mistake, past the pain that was holding her back.
Cap was pushed out through the main building doors into the warm sunlight, and then into a prisoner truck full of sad broken cyborgs. He was the only one smiling as he looked back to the beautiful piano melody that followed him and that led all the way back to Julie.
The music lifted Cap’s anger towards Richard, for he finally understood that Richard was unsavable and had to make Cap break the rules and save himself instead of Richard, so Richard could say goodbye to Julie, through him.
It was a choice that Cap didn’t understand until now, and only because of how the message affected Julie. A choice that seemed wrong, but had the best of intentions, a choice that had the most painful repercussions, but was made out of sacrifice and love. A choice that needed that third number that Cap felt he didn’t have, a choice that was human.
Cap felt so angry with himself for the mission that he tried to avoid completing, the mission that was exactly what Julie needed. Because instead of not knowing what happened to Richard for the rest of her life, Julie was able to hear his goodbye through Cap, and even say her own. And thanks to that, Julie was now able to move past her grief, her pain, and finish the song. Because of Cap, she could. He was not a failure after all.
For the first time, Cap finally felt at peace. And no matter what awaited him, he fulfilled his desire to become something more than just a servant. And that was not something he was programmed with, that was something he learned and became on his own, something he gave her, and she gave him.
GET TWO NOVELLAS AND ONE SHORT STORY
Building a relationship with my readers is the very best thing about writing. I occasionally send newsletters with details on new releases, special offers, and other bits of news relating to the Sectors Series.
And if you sign up to become a member of my Book Club I’ll send you all this for free:
A copy of my bestselling novella, “Skin 2.0”.
A copy of the short story “Dispensable”, the second installment in the Cyborg Sectors Series.
A copy of the novella “The Gift of Fall”, the third installment in the Cyborg Sectors Series.
You can get the two novellas and the short story,
for free, by signing up for the Book Club at:
http://eepurl.com/dBcqr9
DID YOU LIKE “THE MISSING NUMBER”?
You can make a big difference ...
WITHOUT REVIEWS, INDIE books like this one are almost impossible to market.
If you enjoyed this book I would be very grateful if you could spend just five minutes leaving a review. It doesn’t have to be long or involved, just a sentence or two that tells people what you liked about the book, to help other readers know why they might like it, too, and to help me write more of what you love.
The truth is, VERY
few readers leave reviews. Please help me by being the exception.
Thank you very much!
Alex
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Leu is the author of the Cyborg Sectors Series.
You can connect with Alex by sending him an email at [email protected]
Thank you for reading!
COPYRIGHT
THE MISSING NUMBER
The Cyborg Sectors Series Book 4
by Alex Leu
Copyright © 2018 by Alex Leu.
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental.
Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited.
The author greatly appreciates you taking the time to read his work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or telling your friends about it, to help him spread the word.
Thank you for supporting his work. You Rock!
Table of Contents
Get Alex Leu’s Starter Library FOR FREE
THE MISSING NUMBER
GET TWO NOVELLAS AND ONE SHORT STORY
DID YOU LIKE “THE MISSING NUMBER”?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
Did you love The Missing Number: A Cyberpunk Science Fiction Novella? Then you should read The Gift of Fall: A Cyberpunk Science Fiction Novella by Alex Leu!
He is a government experiment. She is a shy artist. Together they will discover the magic and pain of first love.
Before the world was divided into Sectors, long before the first cyborg ever walked the streets, there was Billy. It all began, and almost ended with him. What the military did to him was supposed to save his life, but until he met Celine, no one thought to save his heart.
"The Gift of Fall" is a cyberpunk high school romance with a female protagonist, the third book in a cyberpunk sci-fi series that features compelling A.I. characters, raw emotion, nail-biting suspense, forbidden love, and surprising plot twists.
If you loved Westworld, Blade Runner, or Ghost in the Shell, then you'll love to join the characters of "The Cyborg Sectors" on their page-turning adventures.
Buy "The Gift of Fall" to discover this exciting new sci-fi series today!
Also by Alex Leu
The Cyborg Sectors Series
Skin 2.0: A Cyberpunk Science Fiction Novella
Dispensable: A Cyberpunk Science Fiction Short Story
The Gift of Fall: A Cyberpunk Science Fiction Novella
The Missing Number: A Cyberpunk Science Fiction Novella
The Rose Maker: A Cyberpunk Science Fiction Short Story
The Hunt
The Grid Series
Project Chaos: A Cyberpunk Science Fiction Short Story
