Mechanical

by Pauline C. Harris

  “Ugh, Michael, go away,” Jessica groaned, grabbing a bag of chips from the cabinet. “This is a girl's only night.”

  “I was just saying hello,” he protested.

  “Well now that you’ve said it, goodbye,” Jessica said, waving him out of the kitchen.

  “See ya, Drew,” he called, laughing as Jessica swiped him with a dishcloth.

  I smiled back and waved.

  Jessica came back wearing an annoyed grin and shaking her head. “Brothers,” she said with a laugh. “You got any?”

  I shook my head.

  “Lucky you.”

  We headed upstairs to her room and started snacking while we worked on the diorama. Awhile later, I heard footsteps from the doorway and turned to see Michael. “Hey, guys,” he said.

  I heard Jessica sigh. “Whatcha want now, Michael?” Exasperation threaded her voice. She tapped her fingers on the desk beside her and waited for him to respond.

  “Mom told me to tell you that there’re brownies downstairs,” Michael said to her, though he was looking at me. His gaze lingered a moment longer than my brain calculated to be normal. I stared back at him until he broke away.

  “Thanks,” Jessica said, her tone urging him to leave.

  Michael stood there.

  “You can go now.” Jessica waved him from the room. Then she turned to me, revealing an impish grin and whispered with a giggle, “He likes you.”

  Chapter Seven

  “So, what did you observe?” Glen asked me as I sat in his study across the desk from him. The room was dark. Not dark as in lack of light, but that the color choices were dull and uninspiring. The book shelves were a maroon red and the gloomy portraits seemed to stare down at me as I contemplated my answer. Glen leaned back in his chair, watching me.

  “Well, they were very pleasant. It seemed normal for them to welcome a stranger into their home. They were very ... accepting.” I told him after a brief pause.

  He nodded. “Did they act different than when you’d seen them at school?”

  “They seemed much more relaxed. They goofed around more.”

  Glen nodded once again. “And what were the relations between family members?” He studied me, as if cataloging my expression. I wasn’t sure that what I was divulging was normal human behavior or whether what I told him was helpful or not. I hoped I had done well and that he would highly esteem me for this, but you could never tell with the creators.

  “They seem very close. They laugh with their parents and I didn’t see them fighting or even having mild disagreements. Jessica and her brother, Michael, get along well also,” I answered.

  Glen nodded. “Okay, Drew. That’s enough for today. You can go.”

  With one last glance at the pictures on the walls, and a brief wait for a possible word of praise that didn’t come, I left the study.

  * * * *

  “Hey Drew, wait up!”

  I turned to see Michael hurrying down the hallway in my direction, and I couldn’t help but notice the large amount of students who turned at the sound of his voice to watch us. I looked at him expectantly, wondering what could be so urgent to cause him to run.

  He flashed me a smile. “I just wanted to walk with you to English class.”

  I wondered why he’d want to do this when we were both going to end up there whether we walked together or not. It seemed pointless.

  “How was your weekend?” he asked.

  I wondered once again why this would be important, but pushed the thought away while I tried to find an answer. “It was fine,” I replied.

  “What’d you do?” he asked, watching me.

  I shrugged, remembering that a majority of it was spent at his house with Jessica. “Nothing, really.”

  Michael stopped, letting out a small chuckle. I stopped also and looked at him. “What?”

  He merely shook his head then ran his fingers through his hair, shifting uncomfortably for a moment before speaking. “Drew, I just want to know a little bit about you. That’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since you first came here.” He laughed nervously. “Now, would you stop giving me the cold shoulder and just talk to me?” He made a humorous, pleading face. “Please?”

  I had no idea what the right reaction was. I stood there for a second, frozen. I hadn’t even realized that I had been ‘giving him the cold shoulder’ as he had called it. “Sure,” I said amicably, hoping to fix the situation. What was I supposed to say? The creators should have installed me with certain programming or a database or ... something. I felt so unprepared and inexperienced. They alleged that I was perfect, but I was having a frustratingly hard time achieving this for someone who was supposedly flawless.

  Michael beamed, apparently happy that he'd succeeded in getting me to open up. “Thanks.”

  I smiled back then turned to head towards the English room. Michael followed and I realized that at least from his point of view, our conversation wasn’t over.

  “So what do you like to do for fun?” he quizzed me as we walked through the door.

  “Read,” I answered. I had found myself forming automated responses to typical questions.

  “Cool, have you ever read any science fiction-type things?” Michael asked me as we made our way to our desks in the back. “That’s my favorite genre.”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t.”

  Michael gave me a shocked look. “Then you've gotta read some.”

  I nodded, trying to appear interested. “Okay, maybe I will.” I started to turn towards the front of the room, but Michael kept talking.

  “Mr. Walter!” Miss Clark snapped at him.

  Michael was instantly quiet. I couldn't suppress a tiny smirk at his expression and incessant talking. Miss Clark briefly frowned at him then began our lesson.

  Chapter Eight

  “You know, Drew,” Yvonne lectured, “you really should get going on your mission. I mean, I don’t know what you’re doing but ...”

  Yvonne and I were sitting at a table in the recreation room of the Institution. I had pulled out a puzzle and was just finishing up fitting together the end pieces when she sat down across from me.

  I stopped for a moment and looked at her. “What do you mean, 'get going on it?' I’m doing what they’re telling me to,” I argued in my defense, thinking about the sleepover idea and Glen’s proud expression.

  Yvonne gave me a sarcastic look across the table. “Well, then, how come I’m farther along than you are?” It was a question, but her tone suggested that she already knew the answer and was only asking to bother me.

  I didn’t want to sink to her level, but curiosity got the better of me. “What do you mean?” I asked, almost dreading the answer, knowing it would be coated with Yvonne’s usual egoistical talk.

  “Well,” Yvonne said dramatically. “They’ve started asking me to do other things, along with just observing the humans.”

  “What kind of things?” I asked, too intrigued to let her tone and expressions bother me.

  She gazed at me smugly, leaning back. “Can’t tell. Secret stuff.” She looked extremely pleased with herself.

  I rolled my eyes and went back to working on the jigsaw puzzle.

  “Don’t roll your eyes at me, Drew,” Yvonne snapped. “You’re just angry that you’re not as good as I am at all this mission business.”

  “I didn’t say that,” I replied without taking my attention off the puzzle.

  “You didn’t have to.”

  I heard footsteps and looked up to see Jeremy, another android employed on the same mission we were. “Hi guys,” he said and sat down at the table with us.

  “Hi, Jeremy.” I paused for a moment.

  “Hello,” Yvonne added.

  “What’re you guys talking about?” he asked, situating himself so he was comfortable in his chair.

  “Oh, Yvonne was just telling me all about how far she’s getting in the mission,” I announced, sending a sidelong glance at Yvonne then began irritably looki
ng for a puzzle piece that had escaped me.

  She gave me a dirty look. “Well, it’s true.”

  “Oh, you mean about the part where we bring people in?” Jeremy asked eagerly, leaning forward.

  Yvonne groaned, glaring daggers at him. “You weren’t supposed to tell her.” She sighed with disgust and looked away.

  Jeremy looked taken aback and utterly confused. “Why not?”

  “Because she’s not there yet,” Yvonne quipped with a toss of her shiny, black hair.

  “That doesn’t matter.” He shook his head in protest. “The creators never said anything about not telling her.”

  Yvonne didn’t reply. She continued to glare at us with a disgusted expression instead.

  “What is this about bringing people in?” I directed my question to Jeremy, knowing Yvonne would never tell me anything and not wanting to get my answers from her, anyway.

  “Well,” Jeremy began, glancing briefly at Yvonne before going on, “they’ve started asking some of us to bring people to the Institution.”

  There was a pause while I digested this. “What for?” By now I had completely abandoned the puzzle.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s the thing. I’m sure they have a reason, though. They always do.”

  “Oh,” I replied, but my mind was whirling.

  Yvonne jumped into the conversation as though we’d never had the earlier disagreement. “Yeah, they just give you a name of someone at the school and you have to bring them back with you.” She hated being left out of anything, and since her exclusion of me hadn’t worked, she had probably just decided to go along with it.

  “Huh ... I wonder why they want them,” I murmured.

  Yvonne gave me a bored look. “Doesn’t matter, really.” Her nonchalance was back, the polar opposite of her earlier excitement.

  “Hmm,” I said and went back to finishing the puzzle.

  Chapter Nine

  “Drew,” Glen said, greeting me as I walked through the doors of his study. He was sitting behind his desk, as usual, doing paperwork. He leaned back in his chair, one elbow propped on the armrest, holding the book open to review.

  “You wanted to see me?”

  He nodded. “You can sit.” He gestured to the chair and I sat down. “You’ve been doing well on your mission,” he said, his expression truthful. He leaned forward to set down his papers.

  I watched him closely, hoping to hear what I was expecting. My mind whirled to the possible conclusions, stopping on the one I calculated was the most probable and the most inviting.

  “And I want to ask you to do something else for me, as well.”

  I nearly sighed in relief. This was it. He was going to ask me to start bringing people in like Yvonne and Jeremy were doing. Finally, I wouldn’t be behind anymore. I wouldn’t be the lesser android.

  “There’s an android that ran away from the Institution,” Glen said.

  My mind balked. What was he talking about?

  “She’s ... not the same anymore. She’s confused and we need you to bring her back.”

  I tried to hold back my puzzled expression. This couldn’t be right. An android? They wanted me to fetch a runaway android for them? A simple rebel they couldn’t control?

  “She’s been wounded and will be easy to bring back. Her name is Marian. We just got word a few hours ago that she’s hiding out at a hotel downtown. Here’s the address.” He handed me a piece of paper.

  I reached out and took it numbly. I couldn’t believe he was deploying me on such an unimportant mission while Yvonne and Jeremy were doing things significant for the creators. But I nodded to Glen anyway, even though my insides burned with disappointment. You never doubted the creators. I took the slip of paper and left his study.

  I hurried on my way to find Marian. I ran all the way downtown and by the time the hotel came into sight, I was calm again and had accepted the mission Glen had given me. He must have had a good reason for assigning this to me. Maybe this smaller mission would lead to something bigger.

  But I couldn’t smother the feeling inside that I wasn’t valued as much as some of the other androids were.

  I hurried to the hotel and walked through the glass doors into the lobby and wasted no time approaching the lady at the counter. “Is there a Marian staying here?”“Last name?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said, scrambling for an excuse. “I just met her this morning...”

  The woman started clicking away on her computer until she finally seemed to find something that satisfied her. “Yes, there’s a Marian Jacobson staying here.” She looked up. “Did you want me to call her for you?”

  “Is there any chance I could have her room number so I could go talk to her?”

  The woman pursed her lips and shook her head. “Sorry, can’t give you that information.”

  I stood there for a second, thinking. I was partially irritated that this wasn’t going as easy as I'd initially expected, and now not wanting to waste time on something so trivial. Just then, the phone rang. “Excuse me,” the lady said and walked a few feet away to answer it. “Yes, we have rooms available,” she said in a singsong voice.

  I watched as she gestured with her hands and started to lean more towards the phone, turning her back to me. I looked swiftly around and then took my opportunity, leaning as far over the counter as I could to catch a glimpse of the computer screen. I saw Marian Jacobson at the top of the screen and looked lower, searching for her room number.

  “Hey!” the lady snapped. She hung up and rushed towards me. I backed away, but not before memorizing room number 347. She glared at me and pointed toward the door, her eyes cold and unforgiving.

  I didn’t say a word, simply headed for the exit. I stood outside, watching parties of three and four enter the building, but waited for a larger group. Leaning back against the wall, I bided my time.

  Finally, a group of six headed towards the door. I moved quickly and became part of their cluster. As we walked into the lobby, I was relieved to see the lady at the counter preoccupied with a family.

  In the elevator, I pushed the button for level three. The elevator whizzed to life, passing floors and flashing lights. Once the doors opened, I stepped out. I started skimming the room numbers as I walked down the hallway until I finally came to room 347. I knocked firmly on the door and waited. When no answer came, I tried again, but as before, no one answered. I grabbed the handle of the locked door and confidently turned it until I felt the metal snap between my fingers like dried clay. I shoved against the door until it reluctantly cracked open.

  Inside, the room was dark. I heard the TV blaring in the other room, sending lights flashing along the wall. I made my way around the corner and saw a dark-haired girl lying on the bed, watching the TV. She turned to look at me as I entered. Shock registered on her face and she gasped, springing off the bed.

  “Don’t take me back,” she pleaded, her eyes filled with fear. I studied her. Physically, she looked like one of us, but she was behaving oddly. Strong emotions like shock and dread were never exhibited among us, and we definitely never begged. We were far above that.

  I started to walk towards her slowly and noticed she limped as she edged backwards. “It’s okay,” I said, “you’re going to be fine.” But my words sounded hollow, even to my own ears, and she just looked that much more frightened.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked, her voice quivering.

  “I’m going to take you back to the Institution,” I answered, thinking that telling her the truth could do no harm since I was blocking the only door.

  She shook her head violently. “No. You don’t understand. What they’re doing is wrong. You can’t do this.” Desperation clung to her voice.

  I moved closer to her now and she started to panic. Her terrified expression surprised me and caused me unease. What could make an android so afraid? Certainly not the creators?

  She suddenly turned. My mind raced, and before she had ev
en made a move, I knew what she was going to do. She ran towards the balcony, her limp making her gait uneven and awkward, the one place I hadn’t thought of.

  “No!” I breathed, wondering why I hadn’t noticed it before. Why had I failed to assess the situation fully? Why hadn’t I realized the full potential of this threat? I rushed after her as she scrambled out onto the balcony and reached for her arm, but she was too fast. She jumped and threw herself over the edge.

  Instantly, I reached over the railing and grabbed her arm, hearing her cry out. The force of her weight coming to a stop yanked me forward and my grip slid to her wrist as my other hand braced myself against the railing.

  “No!” she nearly screamed, trying to claw at my hand. Her thrashing started to loosen my grasp. She was slowly slipping away. I grabbed her other wrist and pulled, hauling her over the railing. Once on the floor of the balcony, she started struggling again, kicking at me and trying to get up. I held onto her wrists and leaned down to talk to her.

  “I’m going to take you back to the Institution,” I said quietly. “You are going to be fine. It would be nice if you would just walk along with me, but if you scream or shout, I’ll knock you out and carry you there,” I told her. “Either way suits me fine.”

  Marian stared at me. “Don’t you know what they’re doing?” she asked, accusation lining her voice. “Anything they say to you, it’s all lies!” She was near tears now and I could almost feel the panic rising within her.

  I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Glen was right, she was confused. I pulled her to her feet, and still gripping her wrist, headed for the door. We went out the back way, avoiding the lobby and were soon on our way back to the Institution. I noticed her limp became worse and a few times along the way, I had to help her walk.

  “What happened?” I asked her.