by Tracy Lauren
The voice that cuts into the room makes my heart sink. It’s Valens. “I am looking for Andrea. She did not meet me for our lunch date.”
Vesi looks at me. All I can do is shake my head. “I’m not ready for this to be real, Vesi.” My voice breaks.
Vesi comes to my side and takes my hand in hers. “This pregnancy—whatever was done to you—it’s going to be huge, Andrea. The Captain and ATR will have to be involved. A woman has been assaulted and impregnated on their vessel. There will be no hiding this, no running from it—not that you could. But Valens is going to find out.”
“I know,” I sob. “I know.”
“The question is, how do you want him to find out?”
I’m shaking so hard with my tears at this point, I can hardly speak. “Will you…will you help me? I can’t say it…I just can’t say it!”
“All of us, Andrea, we’ll help you with anything you need. You have my word on that.” Vesi leans in and presses a firm kiss to the top of my head. It feels protective and loving, like something family would do. Then she slips out the door, leaving me alone as data runs in a constant stream down the computer monitor.
By the time the door opens again my wracking sobs have grown calm, though my tears have not stopped falling. I’m not surprised in the least when I look up and see Valens there, looking down at me with grief-stricken eyes. And the second my gaze locks on his, he rushes to my side, dropping down on his knees to wrap his arms around my waist. He buries his face against the exposed skin on my stomach.
“I have failed you,” he says, his voice muffled by our embrace.
Something between a laugh and a sob escapes me. “Impossible,” I tell him.
“From the moment I saw you, all I wanted was to protect you. And now, you have been…” He trails off, not sure what to say.
Oddly, I find myself wanting to comfort him. I want to tell him that no matter what, we’ll get through this together—but he beats me to it.
“Whatever happens, Andrea, I will be by your side. We will get through this.”
I pull him to his feet so we can hug each other properly and we stay locked like that for a long time, until the computer barks at us one last time. Vesi must have heard too, because she comes into the room and makes a beeline for the monitor. Her jaw drops open.
Valens grabs the screen and tilts it toward us. “Impossible,” he states.
“You can read it as well as I can, Valens,” Vesi contends. “Computer says there’s no known match.”
Chapter 30
Valens
It isn’t long after that Captain Nilsson is striding into the medical lab, her face grim. With Andrea resting in the exam room, the Captain heads straight for me, placing a hand on my shoulder in comfort. I want to tell her that her concern is misplaced, but the anguish in me is real—though it is nothing compared to what my Andrea is likely feeling.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of this, Valens,” she assures before turning to Vesi. “We have a DNA reading from the embryo?”
“We do, Captain.”
“Take a team to the room Valens shares with Andrea and comb for samples. Cover every possible surface.”
“You think someone infiltrated our quarters?” I ask. But the idea is impossible. I have monitored that space since Andrea first stepped foot inside. If anyone came in or out, I would know.
“We’ll cover all the bases, Valens. I’ve already set course to the planet where you found Andrea’s pod. I’d like to recover it. We might find answers there—DNA, something.”
“Perhaps…perhaps I should provide a sample?” I suggest.
Everyone in the room grows silent.
“Valens—” Vesi cuts in. “Don’t you think that would be a waste of resources…considering…”
“No,” the Captain challenges. “Take the sample.”
“But Captain—” Vesi starts, looking at me apologetically. “He’s an android. He can’t—”
“We can’t know until we try. Look, Vesi, there is very little I know about androids, and that’s saying a lot considering my security clearance. Let’s just get the sample.”
“Captain, I’m not trying to be contrary, but he doesn’t even have blood to draw—how am I supposed to take a sample?”
“He might have other fluids that could provide the same information,” Captain Nilsson points out. Vesi looks at me with wide eyes and I nod, confirming the Captain’s suspicions.
“Well, alright then,” a wide-eyed Vesi says just before she grabs me and pulls me into a room neighboring Andrea’s. “There are two ways to do this. One: a cup. Two: a syringe. Most men would opt to fill the cup. Your choice, Valens.”
“The syringe.”
“Are you sure, man? It might hurt.”
“There is no way I’m filling a cup right now, Vesi. This is the only way.”
“Gotcha. Loud and clear. Just a forewarning however—I’m going to need to see your balls.”
“Do not worry about it, my friend. Andrea has expressed that my balls are highly appealing.”
Vesi snorts and gives me a pat on the shoulder. “I can’t wait to let the others know.”
Vesi doesn’t bother closing the door. It doesn’t matter, I lack the capacity to be shy over such things, particularly in this circumstance. My friend pulls out a chair, sitting before me, and I unbuckle my pants, shifting things so that she has access to what she needs.
“Here goes,” she warns just before the needle digs in. I close myself off to the sensation, shutting down the receptors that send tactile information to my neural network. Vesi’s work only takes a moment. I hurry to straighten my uniform before I follow her out to the DNA sequencing machine. The Captain and I peer over her shoulder as she loads my sample. It whirs to life and immediately the monitor lights up as each marker finds a match.
“My God…” the Captain breathes out. Both she and Vesi turn to look at me in shock. “It looks like you’re going to be a father, Valens.”
“How…how is this even possible?” Vesi wonders. I am wondering the same thing.
“Did you know this could happen?” a wavering voice says from behind us. I turn to see Andrea standing in the doorway. Her expression is not one of joy, but of confusion and mistrust.
“I had not considered it as a likely possibility.”
“But a possibility nonetheless?” she presses.
“My creators made me capable of a great many things, Andrea, the reasons behind which are a mystery to me. This is not something I had planned for, but neither was my capacity to have feelings for you.”
“I feel like you’re saying this was something you considered but never thought to bring it up.”
“That is an accurate conclusion.”
Andrea’s demeanor changes from one of confusion to one of anger. Her heart rate increases. “What the fuck, Valens? You should have said something! I can’t believe you would be so irresponsible!”
“The likelihood of this outcome was very low—”
“I don’t care how low it was!”
“I hate to interrupt, but this only answers one question—” Vesi points out. “We know who inseminated Andrea, but what was she inseminated with?”
Andrea pales and clings to the doorjamb. I rush to her side but she puts her hand up to hold me at bay. Looking past me, she addresses Vesi. “Please explain that to me.” Though her tone is firm, her voice quivers once again.
“While Valens is carrying…the stuff…necessary to help create a child, it isn’t his. He’s still an android, without his own biological makeup.”
Andrea is visibly trembling now.
“I do not have a definitive answer, but if I had to draw a conclusion I would say it came from the race who created me,” I offer.
“Is there any way to be sure?” she asks, still not looking at me.
“My creators became extinct over 200 years ago, Andrea, there is no biological material left to test.”
“So there could be anything growing insi
de of me?”
“There is reason to assume they created androids in their image,” I venture. “Though we won’t know for sure until gestation is complete.” But Andrea isn’t listening. Instead, she has her palms pressed against her forehead and she begins to hyperventilate.
“Andrea, slow your breathing—”
“Slow your roll, Valens!” She cuts me off, shaking her head in dismay. “I can’t even… Just go away. I don’t even want to look at you right now.”
I hesitate for a moment, not wanting to comply with her demand, but the Captain makes the decision for me, grabbing my upper arm and escorting me from the room. Once in the corridor, she turns to me.
“Go back to your room, Valens. When Andrea is ready for you we’ll let you know.”
I nod, accepting her advice. “I will wait in our quarters.”
“No, Valens. Go to your old room. Give the girl some space, she has a lot to process right now.”
“Andrea needs my help. I take care of her,” I point out.
“Not right now you don’t. She’s mad at you, Valens, and hell, I don’t blame her. If creating life was even a blip on your radar you should have discussed it with Andrea before you had sex. That’s not a choice you get to make on your own.” The Captain shakes her head. “That girl has been through a lot in a very short amount of time. A surprise pregnancy is the last thing she needed right now, particularly one with so many unknowns associated with it. Go to your quarters, Valens. We’ll take care of her from here.”
I give a curt nod to the Captain and turn my back on her as I head toward my old room, the one that is so far away from Andrea. There’s a hollow ache in my chest that makes each step agony, but I don’t bother to dampen my emotional processors. This is a pain I need to feel.
Chapter 31
Valens
Hours have passed by the time the door to my room chimes. I race to it, hoping to be greeted by Andrea’s face—even if the expression she wears is an angry one. But instead it is my friends, Vesi, Kayla, Renzo, and Odo. I stand aside, allowing them to enter. My situation must truly be bleak, for even Renzo appears grim.
“How is Andrea?”
“Honestly?” Vesi questions. “Inconsolable. She was still crying when I left—”
“You left her alone?”
“No, I left her with the Captain. Though she wanted to be alone.”
My group falls silent and they shift awkwardly on their feet.
“Will I be able to fix this?” I ask.
“You better hope you can. This isn’t just about setting things right with Andrea, you have a kid to consider now too,” Kayla tells me.
“How do you like that, Valens? You’re going to be a dad,” Renzo points out. “Who would have thought the android would be the first of us to start a family?”
I close my eyes, steeling myself to the wave of emotion that washes over me. All this time, I’ve been so worried about Andrea; I hadn’t thought ahead to what this pregnancy means for us…or what it could mean for us if only she can forgive me in my negligence.
“I never thought I would have a family. Before all of you I was alone. Then I had friends and for a long time I was content. But when I saw Andrea I realized I wanted more.”
“And now you have it all,” Renzo says.
I look around my empty room, feeling Andrea’s absence. “I have nothing if I do not have her.”
“We’ll help you get her back, buddy,” Renzo assures. “But, first thing’s first—did you stop monitoring her room?”
I stare at Renzo with a frown.
“Turn it off, Valens,” Odo urges.
“She’s going to go back there soon, she deserves her privacy,” Kayla demands.
With a tight jaw I mentally access the feed, shutting it down. “How will I know if she needs me?”
“She’ll tell you. You’re just going to have to wait.”
“But…how will she know I need her?”
Chapter 32
Valens
Three painful days go by and Andrea does not come for me. I am so stricken with grief that I am unable to work. Vesi, Kayla, and even the Captain visit her frequently, but from what they tell me she has not gotten out of bed, and still, she cries.
Is it so awful to be tied to me, I wonder? Does she hate the idea of having a family with me? Or does she think that as an android I will not make a good father? I contemplate all these things. But my mind keeps going to a wistful place, where I imagine what my child will be like and how it will feel to hold them in my arms. But it all fades when I recall the fact that Andrea—in all her pain and distress—still has not called for me. While I long to hold and comfort her, even I am not too blind to see that I need her comfort as well.
When my door chimes, I race for it like always. And this time, because of the late hour of the day, I think it must be Andrea for sure. I’m surprised instead to see the Captain, with Renzo standing forebodingly at her side.
“Is she okay?” I ask, fearful that the Captain’s presence means Andrea is not well.
“She was fine when I left her, Valens, but that’s not why I’m here.” The Captain stares at me expectantly and I wait for her to go on. “Do you know why I’m here?”
I cock my head in confusion. “If it is not for Andrea, then I cannot say that I do.”
“A ship just arrived in the shuttle bay, with a dozen androids on board wanting to have counsel with you and Andrea both.”
I am taken aback by the news. “Did they say why?”
“No, but I’m going to venture a guess and say it’s because of the pregnancy, Valens. Have you been in communication with your brothers? Is there some other reason you can think of that they would here, asking for Andrea?”
“I do not maintain any direct communication with my brothers.”
“Indirect then?”
“There is the network. It is something like a collective unconscious.”
“What does that mean?”
“Information can be passed from one android to the others, but it occurs on a level so deep I am not aware of it when it occurs. While I am able to access the information there, just as the others are, I have never found it useful—so I keep my mind closed to it for the most part.”
“So you’re still uploading data that the other androids are privy to. Is anything private or is it as if they can see through your eyes—right now even?”
“No, it is not so descript. They shouldn’t be asking for Andrea by name—”
“And yet they are.”
I shake my head. “The information uploaded tends to be socio-emotional in nature; it contains the feelings associated with new experiences and relational bonds. But my brothers, many of them have not been building such connections, so the network…it…I have never found it interesting.”
“But I suspect you would be very interesting.”
I consider the depth of the bonds I have created over the years and particularly my recent connection with Andrea.
“I believe that would be an accurate assumption,” I agree.
“How would you like to proceed with this, Valens?”
“If they are curious, I will speak to them. Though I do not believe it is the right time for Andrea to be involved.” She has not even spoken to me yet; I doubt she would want to talk with a dozen of my brothers about our current situation.
“On that we agree,” the Captain says. “I’ll have the conference room prepared. Would you like any of the crew to join you—or is this a more private matter?”
I consider my options. “I would prefer to be accompanied.”
“Very well, Renzo and I will join you.” The Captain makes a move to leave, but she hesitates. “Valens, how do you feel about this surprise visit? Is it one that you welcome or…?”
I cock my head to the side, attempting to analyze the reasons for my brothers’ curiosity. “As many things in my life lately, this is unprecedented. I am unable to project possible outcomes with so little data
on hand.”
The Captain nods. “Well, let’s not leave your guests waiting then.”
Chapter 33
Valens
Renzo, whose expression had been dour, gives me a bump to the shoulder as we walk. I look up to see a small smile on his face, a silent show of solidarity. I am grateful for it, for the past few days I have felt an isolation comparable only to my early days of waking.
By the time we enter the conference room, my brothers have proceeded us. They stand stiffly, lining the far wall of the room. For some reason I am disquieted to see that they still don our waking garments—plain, uniform-like attire that we were all wearing upon waking.
While each android has a unique face, everything else about them conforms to a single model. It is as if there is only one solitary identity amongst them. Despite myself, I frown upon my brothers, looking back at my decision to leave them and join the ATR. I cannot comprehend how any of them could have stayed behind.
“Greetings, I am Captain Nilsson of the Salutation. I believe you have met Officer Renzo, and I assume Officer Valens requires no introduction.”
“Where is the human female called Andrea?” the android at the center says, his words just as stiff as his demeanor.
The Captain, Renzo, and I all exchange uncomfortable glances. “It seems your curiosity has brought you to our ship. Perhaps you can help us understand the root of it, then we might be better able to answer some of your questions.”
“We are looking for the human mate belonging to android number 2349,” he repeats. I frown, recalling my docking number back on our planet.
“My name is Valens now,” I correct. “The Captain has inquired about your interest. Please respond accordingly.”
The nameless android inclines his head toward me. “We are aware of the human’s current state. Both you and she will be required to return to Origin for testing and observation.”
I grow tense over the request—or perhaps more accurately, the demand.
“That will not be occurring,” the Captain assures the nameless one. “Andrea is a guest on the Salutation and she has no desire nor inclination to leave. However, we can understand your interest. I assume this is the first case of insemination for any of your kind?”
