I Heart Robot

by Suzanne Van Rooyen

  “You came for me.” Tears glisten on her cheeks.

  “Yes, now let’s make that count.” I jerk her forward, and she wiggles through the window, gasping and whimpering as glass shreds her flesh. It’s nothing nanytes won’t be able to fix. While I tug Tyri through the narrow window, Maria and the man grapple on the floor.

  “Run!” Maria yells as she smashes her elbow into the man’s face.

  “I’m not leaving you.” Tyri pushes past me and aims a bone crushing kick at the man’s skull. His eyes roll back into his head as he loses consciousness. Maria kicks the gun away and looks at Tyri with a mix of fear and pride.

  “You don’t think I killed him, do you?” Tyri’s voice quavers.

  “I’m so sorry. I never wanted this to happen.” Maria ignores the question and pulls Tyri into an embrace, not seeming to care about the blood.

  “What did they do to me? What about the virus?” Tyri casts me a furtive glance.

  “It’s complicated,” Maria says.

  “We don’t have time for this. We need to get out now.”

  “What are you on about?” Maria stands hands on hips beside Tyri.

  “The Solidarity. They’re on their way.”

  “The Solidarity?” Tyri and her mom exchange a confused look.

  “The robot coalition. Codes.” I wipe a hand over my face smearing Cruor from the gash in my forehead. “They’re going to destroy M-Tech.”

  “But why?” Maria’s eyes grow wide.

  “Because they know Tyri’s carrying a virus that’ll destroy all of us.”

  “But you’re here.” Maria frowns.

  “Because … ” I peep into the corridor as two sentinel-droids emerge from the stairwell. “They’re coming for us. We have to get out.” How long until Kit drops the bombs? The red warning light flickers in my peripheral vision. I’m low on fuel, and this time it’s more than just an inconvenience. Given current levels of exertion and risk of injury, I doubt I’ll have twelve hours before I’m empty.

  “This is ridiculous.” Maria throws her hands in the air.

  “Mom, please. Let’s get out of here.” Tyri casts a cautious glance at the man still lying unconscious.

  “Fine. This way.” Maria takes Tyri’s hand and keeps a wary eye on me.

  “Wait,” Tyri jerks away. “What about Glitch?”

  “Do we have time to fetch the dog?” Maria asks me.

  “No.” A delay could mean the difference between continued existence and obliteration.

  “I’m not leaving without her.”

  “Tyri, she’s just a dog,” Maria says.

  “And I’m just a robot.” Tyri bites out. Her left hand balls into a fist, the other looks bruised and swollen cradled against her chest. “Where is she?”

  “We don’t have time for this.” We duck as the sentinels open fire with stun darts. Running down the corridor and into a lab, we barely miss another barrage.

  “I’m not leaving without her,” Tyri insists.

  “Bombs could start dropping any second,” I say.

  Maria seems on the verge of implosion as she leads us into one of many interconnected storerooms at the back of the lab. “This is insanity.”

  “So, I’m not a weaponized prototype?” Tyri glares at her mother, and Maria’s face drains of color.

  “Is Tyri carrying the virus?” I ask as we jog through the storerooms, doubling back to the stairs.

  “It’s more complicated—” Any further explanation is cut short by the fire alarm.

  “We’re under attack.” Maria hauls open the last door and we spill into the corridor, heading for the stairwell.

  “I’m not leaving Glitch.” Tyri stares defiantly at her mom. “Tell me where she is.”

  “You’re coming with me, young lady.” Maria grabs Tyri and tries to drag her into the stairwell. Tyri lashes out, yelling about Glitch.

  “I’ll go. Where is she?” Why I’m risking my circuits for a dog is beyond me, but the look of gratitude and adoration I receive from Tyri makes the risk worthwhile. If I’m going to expire anyway, I might as well make my last moments count for something.

  “Eighteenth floor, lab six.” Maria takes Tyri’s hand.

  “Thank you, Quinn.” Tyri and Maria head down while I sprint upstairs in search of Glitch. The siren continues to shriek, the incessant high pitch nauseating, staining my vision a multitude of yellows. Lab six houses a row of cages. Monkeys, gerbils, lizards, parakeets, and one angry Shiba Inu chewing her lips bloody at the wire mesh in the far corner.

  She stops chewing as I approach and gives me an appreciative tail wag. The padlock on the cage breaks easily in my fingers. Within seconds, I have Glitch in my arms and her tongue in my ear. An explosion rocks the building, knocking me sideways. I cradle the dog against my chest, protecting her from shrapnel. The blast must’ve triggered fire alarms; nozzles descend from the ceiling dousing us in water. Glitch whines and claws at my arms. I hold her tighter and pick my way through debris. The end of the corridor where the stairwell used to be is a storm of flames, the colors and crackles overwhelming my confused senses. There must be a second emergency exit on the other side of the building. I sprint down the corridor, praying Tyri and Maria managed to escape.

  A minute later, I find the emergency exit: an external set of stairs leading down into an alley. Using my jacket and belt, I make an impromptu sling for Glitch so that I have both hands free. Tongues of flame and plumes of smoke dance against the night sky, police sirens shriek vermilion in the distance, and the retort of indigo gunfire unleashes a flood of fear in my core.

  A hovercraft zips overhead and a moment later, another blast shatters the building. The shock wave knocks me from the ladder, and I fall four stories, my back slamming into asphalt. The impact renders me deaf and blind. I’m encased in darkness. I’m numb, incapable of much thought let alone movement. Low on fuel, I may not have the energy to heal.

  Sensation returns after what feels like hours and so does the red exclamation mark, now a constant fixture in my vision. Even if my nanytes can repair the damage, I won’t have enough fuel to walk away. Glitch scrabbles at my chest, unable to free herself from the zipper. Someone runs over to us and Glitch barks.

  “Glitch? What the hell?” A face hovers above us and hands tug at my jacket to free the dog.

  The face leans into mine, angling his ear near my nose then at my chest. Two fingers press against my throat checking for the pulse I’ve never had.

  “Shit.” Two dark eyes peer down at me. I recognize the face from photos in Tyri’s bedroom. A name rises from the murk: Rurik. Despite the dog’s protests, Rurik plucks Glitch from my chest.

  “Whoever you are, thanks for saving Glitch.” He drags his fingertips across my eyes closing the lids, leaving me with only the fading gray sound of his retreating footsteps.

  Tyri

  “What happened to you?” I ask as we race down the stairs.

  “Adolf Hoeg,” Mom says as if that explains everything.

  “Am I carrying the virus?”

  “Now’s not the time.” She cuts me an irritated look over her shoulder.

  “Quinn risked everything for me. Least I can … ” A blast knocks us down the stairs. Mom gets thrown against the wall with an audible crunch as I pinwheel into the corner. Adrenaline gives me the kick I need to start moving, and I manage to pry myself from the floor despite the pain enveloping my whole body. My ears are ringing, my eyes burning from dust and ash. Through darkness and debris, I mince my way to Mom. She’s crumpled like a rag-doll with blood dribbling from her lips.

  “Mom?” I stroke her face. “Please, open your eyes.”

  A flicker of an eyelid and a gurgle as Mom draws breath. “Tyri.” She can’t seem to focus on my face.

  “I’m here, right here.” I hold her hand and lean closer to hear her over the tinnitus in my ears.

  “So much to tell … The virus, it’s not a weapon
… ”

  “Shh, it’s okay. Help will come.” My words sound hollow and full of empty promises.

  “No … You have to know … ” Wet wheezing accompanied by bloody froth on her lips. My gaze drops from her face to where a piece of banister protrudes from her chest. I choke back a sob. There’s so much blood, and I don’t know what to do. Should I apply pressure or try to remove the pole impaling her? My hands shake as I pry fabric from the wound.

  “Listen to me.” Mom spits blood and feebly bats away my hands. “When you started playing violin, when you started creating … It scared them. Other androids had demonstrated those capabilities but … you were a threat. They asked me to … ” She wheezes, and her eyes roll back in her head.

  “Mommy!” She opens her eyes as I shake her shoulders.

  “It’s dead code. Mjölnir does nothing. I’d never let them hurt you.” Her breathing sounds like she’s sipping on a thick milkshake through a thin straw. “Understand?”

  “I’m not infected?” Thoughts of Quinn flit through my mind.

  Mom shakes her head. “You’re perfect.” She squeezes my fingers.

  “But why make me at all?”

  “Politics.” Mom chuckles and spatters me with pink froth. A fresh wave of blood oozes from the wound in her chest, and I swallow down bile. “You’re a perfect substitute.”

  “I don’t understand.” Not one minuscule part of any of this. “Substitute for what?”

  “For anyone. Programmable government.” Mom struggles to draw breath. “Imagine how easy it would be to take control.”

  And because I bleed and breathe, no one would even guess I wasn’t human. Skandia could rule the world, one prototype president at a time.

  “You have to go.” Mom whimpers from the effort of talking.

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  “You are the future, Tyri.” She presses a bloodied hand against my cheek. Her hand falls and her eyes roll to the left.

  “No, no, no. Mom? Mom!” I’m screaming, my throat raw from the smoke billowing down the shattered stairs and my incessant yelling. She’s dead. I know that. Part of me processes that seed of information just as quickly as another part rejects it. A second explosion slams me into the wall as chunks of concrete come adrift. The stairwell is collapsing. My Mom is gone. I can stay and be crushed or I can make sure Mom’s death counts for something. What about Quinn and Glitch? There’s no way I can get back to Floor 18 now. Despair gnaws at me with razor-blade teeth.

  Blinded by tears and choking on smoke, I careen down what’s left of the stairs and burst into the foyer. It’s chaos. Robots swarm the area. I can’t tell whether they’re here to help or to annihilate. They’re all armed and firing at anything that moves, including me.

  A bullet bites into my thigh, but I barely feel it. Fury and anguish fortify my resolve and with a primal scream, I launch myself at the nearest bot, tearing the weapon from its grip. I’ve never shot a gun before. Somehow, my finger finds the trigger and the storm of bullets takes down several of the robots before the recoil is too much for my shoulder to handle.

  Dropping the weapon, I stagger toward the exit. More bullets lodge into the floor around my feet. I ignore them and dive through broken glass, rolling across scalpel-like shards and onto the cobbles of Skandia Square. I’m out. I’m free.

  A platoon of policebugs and ambulances line up in the square. Riot police prepare shields and weapons as a firefighting team tries to combat the inferno that used to be M-Tech. Desperate to find Quinn and Glitch, I scan the crowd of emergency personnel. Policemen rush toward me. To arrest me? To decommission me?

  I run, dragging my injured leg, angling away from the square and heading for the park. A barking dog follows me into the trees. I push harder, desperate to escape the jaws of some police brute, but my leg gives out and sends me sprawling into a pile of autumn leaves. The dog launches its attack, landing with its paws on my head. I brace myself for the impact of needle-sharp canines, but receive warm ear licks instead. My hand feels along the fur and finds the familiar seam where flesh meets machine.

  Crushing Glitch to my chest, I bury my face in her neck. A figure jogs into view, his face obscured by shadow.

  “Quinn? Thank the Codes you’re okay. But Mom’s not. She’s dead.” I’m hysterical.

  The figure pauses, a silhouette against the fiery orange of M-Tech. The outline’s not quite right. This guy’s too slender to be Quinn, the halo of ruffled hair not quite Quinn-shaped either.

  “Rurik?” Holy Codes! Where’s Quinn?

  “Tyri, are you okay?” He steps forward until the shadows give way, and I see his face. He’s pale and streaked with ash. I can’t answer as I hug Glitch tighter despite the wounds in my belly and the ache in my leg. I slip a hand under my clothes, finding a gooey hole and shredded flesh.

  “You look … you look … ” His eyes are wide, horrified. “You’re covered in blood!”

  “What are you doing here?” I must look like something out of a horror movie in my blood stained pajamas. As if that matters. My mom is dead. M-Tech is destroyed. I am a robot, an artificial human. I’m not sure which is worse.

  “I got your message.”

  “What message?”

  “The ‘please help me’ one. Botspit, T. You know what that did to me?”

  Didn’t he hear me? My mom is dead.

  “After you called yesterday, I came back to Baldur. I tried to get hold of you, but Asrid said you were with your mom. Then you sent me that message … ” He kneels in the leaves, reaching gingerly for my leg.

  “You came for me?” My head spins.

  “I’ll always come for you.” He gives me a look that sends a tsunami of guilt through my aching body. What’s he going to think when he finds out I’m the very thing he hates so much? Rurik parts the fabric of my pants and probes the flesh.

  I should say something, but words abandon me.

  “Tyri, what the hell?” He backs away from me, his gaze on the wound in my leg. My flesh tingles around the bullet hole. We both watch as the flesh melds itself shut. It takes several minutes for all traces of the injury to disappear. The flesh wounds on my stomach have sealed as well. It’s only the healing bones in my hand that remain a problem.

  “Wh-wh-what just happened?” His hands are shaking.

  “I’m an android.” There, I said it. I study Rik’s face and brace myself for his reaction.

  “You’re a …” He laughs and tugs on his hair with both hands. “No, you’re not.” He wraps his arms around his chest as if to protect himself from the undeniable truth. “You can’t be. No way.”

  “Yeah, I am. My mom … ” Mom—the words stick in my throat. Pink froth and blood, I wish I could delete the memory, so I wouldn’t have to see it all over again every time I close my eyes. “You don’t have to believe me, but it’s true.” I haul myself out of the leaves with Glitch pressed up against my legs, her paws on my feet as if to pin me in place.

  “No, I mean, I … we … ” Rik shakes his head, his gaze raking me up and down. “You can’t be a robot.”

  “My mom is dead, and my whole world just went up in flames.” I grit my teeth, keeping tears at bay. “I need to find Quinn. Are you going to help me?”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.” Rurik raises a threatening finger.

  “Fine.” Later, I’ll let myself think about Rurik and the disgust on his face. I snap my fingers, and Glitch follows me as I head back to the square. If I circle around the back of the police, maybe I can find Quinn without getting caught in the crossfire.

  “Wait.” Rurik catches up. “You just told me you’re a robot, that your mom is dead. Don’t I get a moment to process that?”

  “I spent the last however many hours inside M-Tech having who knows what done to me, then I get told I’m a freaking android and then … ” I take a deep breath. “Then I watched my mom die. So no, you don’t get a minute. You get two seconds.” Ma
ybe I could’ve broken the news to him more gently, but my heart, body, and soul have been through a wood-chipper.

  “You thought I was Quinn?” Rurik spits out his name.

  Ignoring Rik’s bitter tone, I gaze at M-Tech—an orange stain and din of sirens above the trees. Please let Quinn not be caught in all of that. If Glitch is safe, he must be too. “Where did you find Glitch?”

  Rurik seems about to say something but changes his mind. He swallows hard before speaking. “Tyri, I think Quinn’s … well, dead.” He takes a cautious step forward. “I found a guy lying with Glitch strapped to his chest. I think he fell.”

  “And you didn’t help him?”

  “He didn’t have a pulse.” Rurik’s face folds into a frown.

  “Obviously not.” I can’t lose Quinn as well.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Quinn’s an android.”

  “He’s a—” Rurik’s face twists through various emotions before settling on disbelief. “So that’s what this has been about.” He rubs his hands over his face.

  “Just show me where you saw him,” I say. Now is not the time to get into an argument about us. Maybe Quinn was only injured and needed a moment to recover. Maybe he’s searching through the throngs for me right now. We hurry back onto the square but can’t get anywhere near M-Tech.

  “What’s so special about this bot?” Rik asks.

  “He came for me.” The words tear out of my throat in exasperation.

  “So did I,” Rurik says so softly I almost don’t catch his words.

  “Thank you.” I reach for him, but he flinches. “Please, Rik, just show me where you found him.”

  Reluctantly, Rurik leads us along the back-line, trying to circumnavigate the emergency vehicles, but it’s impossible. Beyond the line of riot police, it’s pure chaos.

  Rurik points to a pile of rubble. “I’m pretty sure he was there.”

  If he was then that means he’s been crushed under tons of cement and steel. I stare at the remains of M-Tech. The din of fighting fades into silence, and the whole scene turns into a slow motion nightmare of flame and shattered glass as I crumple to my knees. Glitch whines and licks my face. Erik, Mom, Quinn—gone. I’m going to implode. My entire body is going to collapse into the black hole that was once my heart.