Noon sun stood high in a cool blue sky as drifting clouds passed lines of light and shade over the Jefferson Library clock tower. Little shops around Jefferson Square still wore Halloween decorations but the trees were mostly bare, their leaves brown and shriveled on the street.
Between clouds soft light filled the atrium of the Linus Medical Center as sounds of piano and violin mixed with the powder blue light. Shadows of ivy along the floor curled over the shapes of six white sheets wrapped and lying side by side on the slate tile. In a trim grey skirt-suite, Alexis sat hunched over her desk. Dark curls fell in a frame around her face; eyes and mouth drawn tight like a line.
Dr. Ann came from the second floor, descending the stairs in even, mechanical steps, her lab coat bright in the daylight. Green eyes far away, she moved in the middle of open spaces, never coming near the walls or white sheets. Her steps were so light she hardly seemed to touch the floor.
Alexis sat up quick, “Hello Dr. Anna!” her long curls fell back as a half smile slipped over her lips.
“Hello Alex,” Dr. Ann’s soft young skin was somehow stiff, “How are you?”
“I’m okay,” Alexis’s eyes flicked to the six white sheets on the lobby floor, “More company then usual.”
“Why are they still here?” Dr. Ann’s words were stiff as her face.
“I’m sorry Dr. Anna,” Alexis’s smile grew shallow, “I keep calling Collection Services but they stopped answering two days ago.”
Dr. Ann’s left eyebrow sank, “Did you look for another service?”
“I did,” Alexis leaned her elbows on the desk, “there is no other service.”
“Call Belleview,” Dr. Ann flicked a nod at the phone, “ask who they’re using.”
“Belleview…” Alexis froze, looked quickly at her hands, then went on in a hushed tone, “they stopped answering.”
Dr. Ann’s brow dug with dark lines, “Belleview stopped answering our calls?”
“Yes,” Alexis bit her lip.
Dr. Ann’s left eye went narrow, “St. Luke?”
“No one answers anymore,” Alexis shook her head in a stiff jerk. “Just confused androids.”
Blond hair fell over pink cheeks as Dr. Ann stared hard through the floor.
Alexi’s eyes held almost untrembling to Dr. Anna’s pink face, “Is there anything I can do upstairs?”
“Thank you Alex,” Dr. Ann’s tone vanishing to the floor, “we’re still fully staffed.”
“Dr. Anna, please let me do something!” Alexis’s grey jacket stretched across her back as she leaned over the desk, “Anything, just let me come upstairs.”
“We need you here,” Dr. Ann’s empty green gaze leveled on Alexis. “You’re our link to the outside world.”
“I’m your link to a bunch of confused androids who haven’t seen a breathing human in days!” Alexis’s fingers clamped the edge of her desk. “All they do is ask me for orders!”
Dr. Ann’s eyes jerked into focus, “They ask you for orders?”
“They want to know what orders Dr. Linus gave me but the answer to that is….” Alexis stopped.
Muscles rippled up the side of her face as Dr. Ann clenched her jaw.
“You give us orders from Dr. Linus,” her knuckles turned white under the strain of Alexis’s clenching fists. “You can give me orders for them.”
“I can’t do that,” Dr. Ann’s voice faded as her eyes went again out of focus. “Only at The Center.”
“Dr. Anna, you have to help me. This morning they started calling here,” Alexis’s phone rattled as she spun it around. A red hold light was blinking slow. “I don’t know what to tell them!”
Darkness crowded Dr. Ann’s eyes, “Neither do I.”
“If I can’t help them I have to get away from them!” Alexis leapt to her feet. Hands flat on the desk she shouted down on top of Dr. Ann, “Let me do another job!”
“You have a job!” Dr. Ann’s finger slashed through the air, “Answer the phone!”
Alexis froze, then sank slowly into her chair, “Yes doctor.”
Dr. Ann’s little shoes tapped quickly across the slate floor beside the six white sheets.
“Linus Medical Center,” Alexis answered the phone, her voice almost normal. “this is Alexis, Android model 6. How may I help you?”
The second floor was quiet except for the soft beep of medical equipment. All the privacy curtains were drawn back transforming the second floor into one large room. The space was packed with beds, many of them simple metal cots. Nurses with mouth covers moved quietly through the dim room, stopping between patients to steady themselves against a bed or rub their eyes with weary fingers.
In a chair by the stairs was a figure in a crisp blue dress. Sunlight from the atrium reflected a glowing crown from her silver blond hair as she sat motionless, gazing down into a bed at her side.
Dr. Ann approached the bed and looked at a monitor as her little fingers rested on Cory Taylor’s wrist. A tube down his throat and wires under his clothes, Cory’s skin was sunken in dark recess at his cheeks.
Leslie’s head jerked up, “How is he?”
Dr. Ann’s reply came slow, “The same.”
“Oh,” Leslie’s eyes drifted back to Cory, “and his mother?”
Dr. Ann turned to the woman in the next bed, “The same,” then to the man in the third bed, “no change in his father either.”
Leslie nodded without looking at the parents.
Wrapped in bright blue paper and tied with a ribbon, a little box sat on the bed beside Cory, an envelope beneath it.
Dr. Ann’s lips formed a pink smile, “Is that for him?”
“Yes,” Leslie held her hands to her chest as she looked from the box to Cory. “I’m waiting for him to wake up.”
“What is it?” Dr. Ann rounded the bed toward the nanny.
“I’m not allowed to tell,” Leslie smiled but only on the lips. Her eyes remained heavy and dark.
Dr. Ann leaned closer, squinting as she searched Leslie’s face, “when was the last time you slept?”
After a long pause Leslie shook her head, “I don’t remember.”
Dr. Ann blinked. She swallowed hard then looked around, no one else was nearby. Taking a long breath she set her small hand on Leslie’s shoulder, “Why don’t you go home and rest?”
“I want to be here,” Light from the atrium glowed angelic on Leslie’s face, “I want my smile to be the first thing Cory sees when he wakes.”
“You haven’t moved from that chair in days,” Dr. Ann squeezed Leslie’s shoulder. “You need to get some rest or you won’t be able to think straight. We have a bedroom for androids in the basement, why don’t you go down there and….”
Leslie spun around, her light, fair face a dark scowl. “When was the last time you slept?”
Dr. Ann’s hand leapt away from Leslie’s shoulder, “Let’s talk about it later.”
Little legs moving quick Dr. Ann hurried away. Looking back over her shoulder she saw Leslie smiling again at Cory’s sleeping face.
A few feet away James, the big tan robot, held a white sheet, kneeling over a cot.
Dr. Ann hurried to him, “James?”
On his knee James was still taller then Dr. Ann. He bent down a little more. “Yes, Dr. Anna?”
Glancing back at the nanny she asked, “You’ve been talking to Leslie right?”
“Yes,” James nodded with the sound of motors, “several times a day.”
Lowering her voice Dr. Ann asked, “How long has she been sitting there next to Cory?”
James looked at Leslie, “I don’t think she’s been out of that chair since she brought Cory’s father in, five days ago.”
Stretching her neck up toward James, Dr. Ann lowered her voice again, “Has she had any sleep in that time?”
Shaking his helmet head James said, “I don’t think so.”
“I asked her when she last slept,” Dr. Ann kept her voice low, “she told me she can’t remember.”
James’s mouth light flickered soft, “How can an android forget the last time she powered down?”
“I don’t know. I offered to let her sleep here but she won’t do it,” Dr. Ann glanced back at Leslie, then looked up at James, “Have you had any rest?”
“Naw, us robot’s don’t need to power down,” James tapped his head with a metal clunk, “Simple systems don’t get messy.”
“Really?” Dr. Ann’s voice jumped suddenly back to normal volume, “Is your mind so different?”
“Think about how much brain it takes to read a human face. You have to figure out what they feel,” James pointed at Dr. Ann, “And then what to show back on your own face.”
Dr. Ann’s brows fell tight together, “Yes but….”
James pointed at his head with a flat thumb, “I don’t have a face.”
Dr. Ann looked at the glowing blue lights of James’s eyes and his thin, electric mouth. “I see.”
“You upper class androids think fast,” James shook his helmet head, “But a lot of that brain is tied up just making you act human.”
“Amazing,” said Dr. Ann in a slow whisper, “I know more about humans then I do about androids.”
“Even the way you just spoke soft and slow,” gears whirred as James pushed aside his lab coat and set his hand on his knee, “you don’t need to talk to me like that. It’s just the way your brain works, and it’s why your brain works so hard.”
Dr. Ann’s breathing simulator stopped for a long moment, her eyes staring past James, off through the wall. Finally she took a silent breath, nodded, and the nod slowly lead her gaze to the floor where it stayed as she continued to think.
“Dr. Anna,” hydraulics whined as James leaned closer, “when was the last time you powered down?”
“A week ago,” she looked back up, “before the first one came in.”
James’s head tilted to the side, “Should you power down?”
“No, I’m okay. This one’s pretty quick,” Dr. Ann tapped her blond head. “Besides, I have to stay awake to keep the rest of them going.”
James leaned very close to Dr. Ann and whispered so low she almost didn’t hear, “Are you giving orders to humans?”
“I’m just organizing them,” Dr. Ann whispered back, “Just what Dr. Linus tells me to do.”
“And they do what you say?” James’s blue eyes glowed bright.
“So far,” Dr. Ann looked quickly around the room, “but I don’t think they like it.”
“I never heard of anything like that,” James spoke slow, “I didn’t know it was possible.”
“Me neither,” Dr. Ann stood on her toes, “ It was bad enough when Dr. Linus asked me to direct other androids, now this…”
“But how?” James’s voice quickened, “How can your programing let you give orders to humans?”
“I think of myself like a telephone,” Dr. Ann’s pink lips twisted tight, “If Dr. Linus tells someone to do something over the telephone it’s not the phone giving orders. I’m just a wire carrying a message.”
“Really?” James stopped a moment, “You just thought of it different?”
“We’re all programed to adapt,” Dr. Ann’s face went tight at the temples, “I had to be flexible.”
James’s voice lost the sound of control and he spoke a little louder, “That flexibility sounds like lying to yourself to adjust your moral code.”
Dr. Ann stared at James with her shining green eyes and his glowing blues stared back.
“Well,” James held up the bed sheet, “I got work to do.”
A few steps from James Dr. Ann spotted Yael, the tall nurse crowned in curly rings of chestnut hair. With one hand Yael gripped the foot of a bed, the other clutched a clipboard, and though she faced him she did not seem to see the patient in front of her.
“Yael,” Dr. Ann stepped to the tall nurse’s side, “How are you?”
Yael turned quick. Her blank face bloomed into a smile, then withered into abject misery, then settled more comfortably into what might have been tired relief.
“Hello Dr. Anna,” Yael looked almost straight down at the little doctor, “I’m well, how are you?”
“How’s Mr. Juliani?” asked Dr. Ann.
Yael’s eyebrows went tight, “…who?”
“Mr. Juliani,” with her head Dr. Ann motioned to the patient Yael was staring at.
“Oh!” Yael looked quickly at the clipboard, then the patient, “He’s… asleep.”
Dr. Ann took the clipboard from Yael and hung it on the foot of the bed, then pulled the tall nurse down into a nearby chair. With Yael sitting Dr. Ann was closer to eye level.
“Yael,” Dr. Ann’s bright little voice was dry, “what’s going on?”
Yael’s face fluttered, wrinkles and shadows shifting around her eyes and lips, “I don’t know what you mean?”
“Yael,” Dr. Ann leaned in close and spoke soft, “What’s going on with you?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Yael shook her head.
“Yael, stop it,” Dr. Ann’s tone was firm, “It’s been happening for two days. What is it?”
Yael’s head sunk to her chest and she stared at her open hands lying in her lap. “I’m not sure.”
Folding her arms across her chest Dr. Ann said, “Describe it to me.”
“I’m…” Yael looked up at Dr. Ann, “I’m making mistakes.”
“What do you mean?” Dr. Ann’s eyes went narrow.
“When we do equations for dosage, of course I do them in my head, I’m a model 9 after all,” she paused. “Two days ago I got a number that didn’t seem right so I worked it out again. It was okay.” The usual, unnecessary rise and fall of Yael’s chest went still. “Then yesterday, I did an equation five times….” Yael stared hard at Dr. Ann, “I only got it right three times.”
Dr. Ann’s eyes opened wide, “You made a mistake in simple math?”
“It wasn’t simple!” Yael slid forward on the chair, “So many variables! A model 5 might need a calculator!”
Forehead furrowed with shadows Dr. Ann said, “How is that possible?”
Yael looked to the side, then the other, then down at the floor.
Dr. Ann repeated, “Yael, how is that possible?”
Yael’s words fluttered as they fell from her mouth, “I’m not sure.”
“Yael!” Dr. Ann’s little voice cut like a knife, “How is that possible?”
Yael looked up at Dr. Ann, then the floor, then back up at Dr. Ann, then down again and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Dr. Ann’s back stretched her little frame taller, “First you said you weren’t sure, now you don’t know. Which is it?”
“It’s not just in my head anymore,” Yael looked up with heavy eyes, “This morning I forgot if I did something. Then an hour ago…” Yael breathed a stiff breath, “I made a mistake.”
Dr. Ann’s right eyebrow rose high, “Do you mean you made a mistake in something you did?”
“I accidentally switched the medicines of two patients,” Yael said. “It was almost the same!” she added quick, “It won’t make a difference to them, but I…” Yael stopped.
“Yael you’re a model 9,” Dr. Ann shook her head, “how is this possible? Did you get damaged somehow?”
Yael nodded, “I think I am damaged, here,” she held her hand over her chest.
“What’s that part on a model 9,” asked Dr. Ann, “the breathing simulator servo?”
“No,” Yael leaned closer to Dr. Ann, “my heart.”
Dr. Ann squinted her left eye and spoke a little too loud, “You don’t have a heart.”
“I know,” said Yael, “but that’s what they say when this happens to humans. It’s a stress disorder.”
“You don’t have a heart,” both Dr. Ann’s eyebrows sank low, “you don’t have stress, and you’re not human.”
“I know!” Yael clenched her hands in her lap, “But that’s the only way I can describe it!”
“Yael,” Dr. Ann’s shoulders went stiff. “We’re in the middle of a global crisis and the fate of humanity may rest on the research we’re doing in this center. I can’t afford to have you doubting yourself or making mistakes. I need you to do your job.”
“I can’t do my job Dr. Anna!” Yael almost jumped at her. “Do you even know what my job is? A model 6 can do the physical work I do, I’m a model 9 because I’m supposed to read people’s needs and give them emotional support through words and gestures and expressions and tones and even the speed of my voice!” Yael spoke quick.
“Normally when patients are sick or doctors are tired I begin with grim understanding,” Yael’s brow formed an even line, “Then I move on to a slowly growing light of intelligence as if I’m having positive ideas about the situation,” Yael’s eyes slowly opened wider, “Then I finish with determination and most of all unwavering confidence in a positive outcome,” she smiled hard with a slant to her right eyebrow.
The smile fell away, “But this is different, nothing I do gives them hope. And whenever I show any kind of light they give me that look,” Yael frowned. “That look they get when they remember we’re machines.”
“I know how you feel Yael,” Dr. Ann shook her head, “but you can’t let that interfere with your work.”
“That is my work!” Yael was all the way on the edge of her chair, leaning right into Dr. Ann’s face. “That’s why I’m a model 9! Giving emotional comfort is what I am! My subconscious is screaming in my head and the words don’t even make sense anymore! Danger and disagreement and white and rain and escape and falling! It’s like a storm raging in my skull until I get so exhausted I don’t see them anymore and it’s like my brain shuts off but my body is still moving! I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m starting to make mistakes!”
Leaning so close her face almost touched Dr. Ann, Yael whispered, “And today this started.”
Yael held up her hand, it was trembling.
Reaching for the trembling hand Dr. Ann paused, then touched it. Yael’s long fingers trembled against Dr. Ann’s tiny fingers. Dr. Ann gripped Yael’s hand and squeezed it. Yael’s hand went still and her ridged posture went slack.
“I need a rest,” Yael whimpered.
“We don’t have an open space for a medical floor absence at the moment,” Dr. Ann dropped Yael’s hand.
“Anna!” Yael’s back went stiff again, “My brain’s overworked! I’m incapable of keeping this up!”
“We’re all dealing with the same workload Yael,” Dr. Ann’s little voice was smooth as marble. “I can’t afford to give you time off.”
“Ann, if I don’t rest it’ll just get worse! I’ll keep making mistakes and I won’t even be able to trust my hands anymore!” Yael clenched her fingers in the knees of her black scrubs, “Forget helping people, I might kill a patient!”
“If giving emotional support is causing this then stop giving emotional support,” Dr. Ann’s face was empty, “Just do your duties as a nurse.”
“I can’t do that,” Yael shook her head quick and hard, “it goes against my programing!”
“You’re programed to be flexible,” Dr. Ann said, and the next word was sharp, “Adapt.”
“I can adapt but I can’t stop being what I am!” Yael’s jaw was tight. “How can I be me if I’m not what I am?”
“You don’t have to be you,” Dr. Ann’s voice was ice, “Just be a nurse.”
Yael’s voice cracked, “How can I be a nurse without emotions?”
Dr. Ann looked Yael hard in the eye, “Then you’ll be a machine.”
Yael’s mouth hung open, then it closed and she nodded. “All right,” Yael whispered.
“You can’t crack up Yael,” Dr. Ann’s words were cold and steady, “this floor is yours.”
“Okay,” Yael’s eyes were on her feet. “I’m okay, I can do it.”
Yael stood, straitened her clothes, and returned to the patients.
Dr. Ann crossed the medical floor without looking to either side or even ahead, her eyes were down. On the stairs to the third floor she stopped by the large TV hanging from the wall of the atrium.
Michelle Park was on the screen, eyes sunk in dark rings, skin pale as paste.
“For an update on the development of a treatment we take you live to Dr. April Deller at Belleview Hospital Center. Thank you for joining us Dr. Deller.”
The video split showing another person beside Michelle Park on the screen. The new figure stood in a hallway. Busy movement filled the background, people hurrying into a group. The person in front of the camera wore grey scrubs with “Belleview” stitched on the chest. His face was slightly less then human, light shining off plastic skin and hair.
“Hello, I’m Steven,” he gave a small bow, “Android model 4.”
“Steven?” Michelle propped an elbow on her desk, “Where’s Dr. Deller?”
“I’m sorry,” Steven spoke in a gentle voice, “Dr. Deller is unavailable at the moment.”
Michelle propped the other elbow on her desk, “Where is she?”
Steven almost turned around. “I’m sorry, I can’t discuss patient information.”
“She’s a doctor,” Michelle’s voice was hoarse, “not a patient.”
Steven’s eyes opened suddenly wide.
Michelle’s tone was sharp, “Is there anyone else I can talk to?”
“I’m sorry,” Steven spoke soft, “There’s no one who can talk to you right now.”
“No one in the entire hospital?” Michelle squinted, “Who are all those people behind you?”
Steven looked back, “They’re all androids.”
Michelle Park coughed hard. Deep, rooting sounds that bent her back. A woman with black hair came to her side, “I’m okay,” Michelle pushed her away, “Go to the other place.”
The left side of the screen went suddenly dark, then switched to a video of a woman with warm skin and long curls of mahogany hair. She smiled wide, but her eyes were creased with lines.
“Hello,” Michelle stifled a cough, “this is Michelle Park from New York 1.”
“Hello, my name is Alexis,” she gave a small bow, “Android model 6.”
Dr. Ann looked over the railing into the atrium. Alexis had a small camera set up on her desk.
“Another android?” Michelle Park’s eyes grew darker, “Are there any humans I can talk to?”
“I’m sorry,” Alexis’s lips twisted, “Everyone is very busy right now, but I’d be happy to answer any questions I can.”
Michelle braced herself up with a hand on her chair, “You’re at the Linus Medical Center in Greenwich Village?”
“Yes,” Alexis gave a little nod, “that’s us.”
“The center founded by two-time Nobel prize winner Dr. Andrew Linus?”
Alexis smiled wider, “It certainly is.”
Michelle Park began to sweat. “Can you tell me anything about what’s happening there?”
“I’m happy to report we’re fully staffed and fully committed to the problem at hand,” Alexis closed her eyes as she gave a long nod, “We’re wearing the wax of the floors we’re doing so much work around here!”
Michelle Park started coughing again. Her eyes watered and she covered her mouth. “I’m okay,” she said, then coughed harder. The reporter hunched over, steadied herself with an arm against the desk, then rocked back and fourth with the force of each cough until she fell from her chair.
Movement filled the screen, bodies rushing into view, the camera jostled, and Michelle Park was carried away from the desk. The Alexis side of the video flashed off, only the NY1 backdrop and the empty desk on screen. It was still for a moment, then a black woman with long braids, a pinstripe suite and a red tie sat in the reporter’s place.
“We’re sorry for the interruption. I’ll be taking Ms. Park’s place for the remainder of this broadcast. My name is Agnes,” she gave a small bow, “Android Model 7.”
Standing on her toes Dr. Ann leaned over the railing, “Alex!” her little voice blasted, “why did you do a news interview?”
“You told me to answer the phone!” Alexis pointed at the receiver, “That was the next call!”
“Android news anchor?” a voice on the second floor asked in loud surprise and Dr. Ann turned to find Yuanyuan and Kenichi standing behind her. They were watching the TV along with most everyone on the second floor. Looking at the lobby Dr. Ann saw James cradling a wrapped, white sheet in his arms, also watching. On the third floor several humans and Mark leaned over the railing, Dr. Linus was behind them.
“I never saw an android news anchor before!” Yuanyuan said, her almond eyes open wide.
“I’ve never seen an android do anything important on a TV show,” Kenichi scratched the short hair at the back of his head.
“Isn’t it against the law?” Yuanyuan looked at Kenichi.
“Guess law doesn’t matter anymore,” Kenichi shrugged. “If you got no humans left to put in front of the camera you stick one of us up there.”
“But yesterday they had some guy from the mail room doing it,” Yuanyuan pointed at the screen. “You think they don’t have any humans left at the whole TV station?”
“Not sayin’ they don’t have any,” Kenichi spoke from the side of his mouth and motioned to the lobby. James stood there holding the form in the white sheet as a mother would a baby.
Dr. Ann’s voice erupted from her tiny frame, “Don’t you two have work to do?”
Yuanyuan jumped into Kenichi, almost nocking him over.
“Sorry Dr. Anna,” Yuanyuan stepped back.
“We got distracted,” Kenichi stepped back further.
Dr. Ann gave them a look so hard her young face seemed to fold in half, “Distraction’s over, back to work!”
“Yes Dr. Anna,” Yuanyuan hurried away.
“Sorry Dr. Anna,” Kenichi hurried behind her.
Continuing to the top of the stairs Dr. Ann found Mark standing against the railing, watching the android on TV.
Dr. Ann spoke gently, “Mark?”
Mark didn’t move, only watching motionless as the model 7 read the news.
Stepping right up to his elbow Dr. Ann said, “Mark!”
Mark turned a slack face to her, “What do you need?”
“What were you looking at?” Dr. Ann motioned at the screen.
Mark looked back at the newscaster, two black braids fell over her hand as she glanced at a note pad on the desk.
“Nothing,” Mark’s voice was arid.
Tilting her head Dr. Ann asked, “Nothing?”
“The TV distracted me,” Mark looked down at Dr. Ann with a flat stare, “I should get back to work.”
Dr. Ann squinted up at him, “I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Androids don’t have feelings,” Mark droned.
“Yes I know,” Dr. Ann shook her head, “but you’re not acting normal.”
Leaning over just a little Mark’s voice poured out like sand, “There is no normal now.”
“Yes, okay,” Dr. Ann shook her hands, “but something about you seems off.”
“Get to the point,” Mark’s slick black hair shone in the sun.
Dr. Ann’s eyebrows wrinkled together, “What point?”
Mark turned and took a step but Dr. Ann slipped in front, blocking his way.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
Mark looked down with his empty stare, “The point.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If you have orders give them to me so I can follow them,” Mark’s monotone ground on, “If not get out of my way so I can follow those I already have.”
“I’m not trying to give you orders,” Dr. Ann’s pink lips struggled to smile, “I’m just trying to talk to you.”
“Needless talk between androids is pointless,” Mark’s eyebrows sank. “And taking time to explain that to you is absurd.
Mark stepped to the side but Dr. Ann blocked him again.
“We need to work together,” Dr. Ann’s eyebrows grew tight, “but if we’re not communicating we’re not working together and none of us can solve this problem alone.”
“We’re working together but each has our own task,” Mark stepped to the side again. “I’m working on mine.”
Dr. Ann blocked him again, “Yes and my task is coordinating all of you.”
“Talking to me won’t ensure I’m operating correctly. If you want to monitor my productivity ask Simon to check my work.” Mark took a long step around Dr. Ann, passing her in a single stride.
Dr. Ann watched Mark disappear among the crowd of busy scientists.
At a table against the wall Simon sat on a stool. The odd angles of his Model 5 body pushed strange shapes into his striped sweater and worn jeans as he bent over a microscope.
Her little shoes tapping the floor, Dr. Ann walked quickly through rays of sun falling from the skylight, “Simon?”
Simon’s stool squeaked as he turned around. The bulging orbs of his optics glowed smoky yellow. Grabbing his sunglasses from the table Simon quickly slipped them on.
“Great to see you Dr. Anna!” A wide smile filled Simon’s face, “Any good news?”
“Thank you for the smile Simon,” Dr. Ann gave a soft smile in return. “Yours is the only one that seems real anymore.”
“And yet it’s not,” Simon’s smile shifted to one side, “No more then yours or James’s.”
Dr. Ann heaved a silent sigh, “I know, but it’s still nice to see one that looks real.”
Simon’s eyebrows rose at the center, “Bad day?”
Dr. Ann nodded, “If it wasn’t for bad days I don’t think the sun would bother rising anymore.”
A black Vans sneaker up on the footrest of his stool, Simon leaned forward. “What’s on your mind?”
“What isn’t on my mind?” Dr. Ann shrugged. “No progress with the patients, the situation in the lobby is getting worse, Alex is on edge, Yael’s falling apart, Mark’s acting weird, I think something’s wrong with Leslie, and everyone in the whole center just watched what might be the last human newscaster fall ill on TV.”
Simon’s voice was calm, “start with Alex.”
“Alex was just an exaggerated emotional simulation or something.” Dr. Ann’s nose scrunched up, “Mark was being Mark I guess. I’m more worried about Yael, she’s a mess.”
Simon rested an elbow on his knee, “How so?”
Dr. Ann shook her head, “She’s begging for a break.”
“No one down there can fill her shoes,” Simon shook his head. “Maybe you or me but we’re both busy. The medical floor is hers.”
“That’s what I told her,” Dr. Ann’s eyes opened wider, “But it’s bad. I’m not even sure rest will help her anymore, she might need an overhaul.”
“What?” Simon’s left eyebrow rose high, “Why?”
Dr. Ann leaned in close to whisper, “She’s making mistakes.”
“Mistakes?” Simon squinted hard around his optics, “Like what?”
“First in thought, then in action,” Dr. Ann’s forehead wrinkled, “now her hands are trembling.”
Simon froze for a moment, “You’re kidding?”
“I wish I was,” Dr. Ann shook her head.
Simon sat upright, looking over Dr. Ann’s head into nothing. His hand raised then hovered as if it got lost on the way to his face.
Simon’s gaze fell suddenly back on Dr. Ann and his tone was serious, “What else do you know about it?”
“She says it’s because she can’t figure out how to give emotional feedback to the humans anymore,” Dr. Ann folded her arms. “She says human feedback is her primary function and with everyone depressed she can’t do her job. Her mind is working so hard to solve the problem she can’t understand messages from her subconscious.”
Simon’s forehead wrinkled harder, “What do you mean?”
“The subconscious suggestions don’t make sense,” Dr. Ann’s lips twisted, “they don’t match the situation.”
The left side of Simon’s face grew tighter then the right, “She thinks that’s the reason her hands shake?”
“Yes,” Dr. Ann nodded.
Simon looked at the floor then back up, “Do you think it is?”
“Today I realized I don’t know much about androids,” Dr. Ann shook her head, “But that would make sense for a human.”
Simon touched his lips as he spoke, “She should stop giving emotional feedback right away.”
“That’s what I told her,” Dr. Ann’s lips pulled to one side, “She’s trying it.”
Simon leaned over close to Dr. Ann again, “Trying?”
“It might be hard for her. She says emotional feedback is her primary function.” Dr. Ann glanced at the floor, then back up. “She can’t be herself without it, it’s who she is.”
“Yes….” Simon’s voice trailed away, “It’s her personality, and without her personality she’s only….” Simon looked at Dr. Ann.
After a long pause Dr. Ann finished Simon’s sentence, “She’ll be a machine.”
Simon rubbed his temple, “I hope she’s okay.”
Dr. Ann nodded, “and there’s a problem with Leslie.”
“Who’s Leslie?” Simon raised his head.
Dr. Ann pointed over her shoulder with a thumb, “The pretty model 6 nanny in the blue dress.”
“The one sitting by Cory’s bed,” Simon leaned an angular elbow on his angular knee, “What’s wrong with her?”
Dr. Ann’s forehead wrinkled to the left, “She refuses to sleep.”
“How long has she been up?” Simon touched his lips again.
“I don’t know,” Dr. Ann shook her head, “and she won’t tell me.”
Simon looked sideways at Dr. Ann, “She won’t tell you?”
Dr. Ann nodded, “She says she doesn’t remember.”
“Doesn’t remember? How could she not remember?” Simon pointed at Dr. Ann, “Do you think she….”
“Yes,” Dr. Ann nodded, “I think she lied to me.”
“Why would she lie, and to another android?” Simon leaned again on his angular elbow, “Why bother?”
“I’m not sure, but she also got angry and pretty much yelled at me,” Dr. Ann’s brows fell low over her eyes, “Alex raised her voice at me too. Both were like stress reactions.”
“Why would they simulate stress toward another android?” Simon rubbed his forehead. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“I have a theory, actually I got the idea from James.” Dr. Ann’s forehead wrinkled. “I think we’re simulating emotion’s we weren’t meant to, and what’s more we’re simulating with each other. Maybe we were doing it even before Autumn.”
“You think so?” Simon ran his hand over the top of his dusty blond hair.
“Why are you rubbing your head right now?” Dr. Ann pointed, “No humans can see you do it, you’re only talking to another android. Strictly speaking it’s a useless waste of energy and motor function.”
Simon pulled his hand quickly off his head, held it in the air, then lowered it to his side. “You may have a point.”
“You do it more then the rest of us,” Dr. Ann looked into the darkness of Simon’s sunglasses, “You do things I never saw humans do but humans recognize them, and you do them with other Androids too.”
Simon’s hand began returning to his head but he stopped and shoved it in his pocket, “Maybe.”
“It might be because you were alive longer,” Dr. Ann’s eyebrows came together, “James too. He’s the oldest android here and has the simplest brain but sometimes he seems more human then any of us. It could be that over time your simulation of human behavior became part of your own behavior.”
“Perhaps,” Simon almost pulled his hand out of his pocket, but shoved it back in.
“It’s really confusing,” Dr. Ann squinted hard at the ground. “Alex simulated stress because she wanted me to let her do some other work. Yael simulated desperation because she wanted me to let her stop work. I think Leslie lied just to avoid talking to me.”
“Those are all basically stress reactions. So you think,” Simon’s hand came out of his pocket to press three fingers on his forehead, “stress is an unintentional habit ingrained through simulation.”
“The most confusing part is deceit. Why do humans lie?” Dr. Ann looked back up, “Is it just to avoid talking to each other?”
Opening his hand to the sky, Simon’s mouth twisted as he shook his head, “I du’no.”
“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Dr. Ann shook her head. “Why would an android avoid talking to an android?”
“It’s like a telephone,” Simon rested his chin on his hand, “that doesn’t want to talk to another telephone.”
“Funny,” Dr. Ann folded her arms, “I used a telephone analogy with James just a few minutes ago.”
Simon looked back up, “In reference to what?”
“I don’t remember, something about Leslie,” Dr. Ann waved a hand, “Anyway, I don’t know what to think about her.”
Simon lowered his arm and leaned closer to Dr. Ann, “About Leslie lying so she doesn’t have to tell you something.”
“Yes,” Dr. Ann nodded, then suddenly noticed Simon’s heavy gaze.
Simon’s voice was as level as the steel beams of the atrium, “A model 10 who forgets what she said just a few minutes ago?”
Dr. Ann’s eyes leapt open. Staring at Simon a moment she finally said, “I… I don’t want to tell you.”
“Seems we all have a lot on our minds,” Simon nodded. “Speaking of a lot on the mind, Dr. Linus asked to see you.”
Dr. Ann looked at the floor, “I should go,” she muttered.
“All right,” Simon turned away, “I’ll be here if you need me.”
Dr. Ann took two steps away then turned, “Simon?”
Simon spun back to her, “Yea?”
Sunlight glowed on Dr. Ann’s face, “Did you really forget where you got those sunglasses?”
Simon slowly opened his mouth but Dr. Ann cut him off.
“I’m sorry I’m keeping a secret from you,” her face was a pale in the light.
“James is a nice guy,” the side of Simon’s mouth curled into a smile. “If I had a secret I’d tell him too.”
A smile cracked Dr. Ann’s pink lips but it was gone as soon as she turned away. Head down, Dr. Ann marched a few steps then stopped and turned back. Simon was leaning over his microscope, staring into the eyepiece, but he still wore his sunglasses. Dr. Ann hurried on.
Dr. Linus’s office was a mess. Couches shoved off at odd angles, the desk littered with papers.
In a rumpled white lab coat Dr. Linus leaned on the railing overlooking the atrium. A burning cigarette hung from his fingers.
“I wish you wouldn’t smoke sir,” Dr. Ann said with a sweet smile, “It’s bad for you.”
Dr. Linus’s strong voice came with a weary tone, “I think I shall be the luckiest man in history if these,” he held up the cigarette, “have a chance to kill me.”
“I’m only giving your own advice back to you,” Dr. Ann’s tone held a whimper of music. “You always discourage smoking.”
Dr. Linus’s crumpled figure bent further, grey eyes holding a long moment on the cigarette between his fingers.
“Leaves of tobacco wrapped in paper.” His head rose to Jefferson Square, “Leaves of the square fallen and brown.” Then his gaze fell to the floor of the atrium, “Leaves of humanity lying in white sheets.”
Dr. Linus took a drag, grey ash fell, flashing in sunlight and shadow.
“These trees bloom in spring,” Dr. Linus pointed at Jefferson Square with the fingers holding the cigarette. “Up here above them you can see the whole square through that big window. It’s like the city is singing to the sky. Everything opens into the street and it’s all alive and moving. People come out of the cafés laughing.” Thin lips formed a smile in the long lines of his face. “All through summer they’re out there singing and dancing. Everything is life.”
Fingers running through his grey hair, Dr. Linus continued, “In Fall rainbows burst over the trees as a million colorful creatures march the parade uptown. Then cold, withered leaves, frozen brick and everything disappears.”
“Autumn clears the world,” Dr. Linus took another drag. Then his words were soft, almost below the notes of piano from the atrium, “for life to begin anew.”
“I don’t know why you picked up that habit now,” Dr. Ann smiled and laughed a little.
Dr. Linus’s voice droned, “Don’t lecture me Anna,”
Dr. Ann sat down on one of the sofas, feet hanging above the floor, pink face blank, hands folded in her lap.
There was another moment of silence before Dr. Linus noticed her stillness. “What’s wrong?”
Dr. Ann stared off at the wall, “It’s hard for me to help you.”
“I’m not worthy of compassion.” Dr. Linus turned back to the atrium, his eyes falling to the wrapped white figures on the slate floor. “This is my fault.”
“Your fault?” Dr. Ann’s double ponytails flew as she turned to him, “You’re leading the research for a cure!”
Dr. Linus’s nose wrinkled, “This work should have begun decades ago.”
Dr. Ann’s eyebrows wrinkled together, “How can you find a cure before there is illness?”
“We are a monoculture,” Dr. Linus’s cigarette fingers tapped his brow three times, “We are refined, purified and vulnerable. Only arrogance ignores the obvious.”
“Then the fault is with humanity,” Dr. Ann shook her head, “not you.”
“Each of us individually failed to act.” Taking a long drag Dr. Linus blew a cloud over the atrium, speaking as the smoke left his lips, “Whether through action or inaction the fault lies with me.”
Her fingers curled into fists against the sofa as Dr. Ann turned to the wall.
Dr. Linus’s voice came soft and low, “How are things on the medical floor?”
“Everything is great!” Dr. Ann jumped to her feet, green eyes sparkling up at Dr. Linus, “I mean, not great, nothing is great, but everything is operating well. We’re fully supplied, fully staffed, we’re wearing the wax off the floors we’re doing so much work around here!” Dr. Ann laughed but it was a weak laugh.
Looking down into the lobby, Dr. Linus said, “Seven.”
Dr. Ann looked over the railing. Seven tight, white sheets lay on the slate floor.
“There is that little kink in it,” Dr. Ann’s voice wilted. “The collection service hasn’t been here in two days. Alexis says they don’t answer the phone anymore.”
“Step up on this.” Dr. Linus pulled a sofa to the railing, then held Dr. Ann’s hand as she climbed up. They leaned on the railing looking out over Jefferson Square.
“Do you see those?” Dr. Linus pointed at dark piles on the street, one behind a light pole, one behind a tree, one hidden by a doorway.
Eyebrows lowering over her green eyes Dr. Ann asked, “Did the sanitation workers stop collecting?”
Dr. Linus shook his head, “They don’t know what to do with those.”
“Why not?” Dr. Ann looked harder, “Are they….”
Rolling the cigarette between his fingers Dr. Linus said, “The dead.”
Dr. Ann turned to him, “Why are they laying on the street?”
“There’s no one left to collect them.” Dr. Linus’s eyes fell down through the Atrium, “And so we have bodies lying on the floor.”
Dr. Ann’s little voice was soft, “What should we do?”
“It’s bad for morale.” Taking a drag Dr. Linus blew a slow stream of smoke. “We need to clear the street, and we need to clear the lobby.”
Looking down at the bundled white sheets on the lobby floor, Dr. Ann asked, “How?”
Hair shining in the sunlight Dr. Linus said, “The only ones who can do it are the sanitation workers.”
Dr. Ann gripped the rail, “Garbage collectors will carry the dead?”
Dr. Linus’s shoulders fell just an inch.
In a long pause Dr. Ann shifted her feet several times, then asked, “How will you get them to do it? The Command Option?”
Turning to Dr. Ann, Dr. Linus’s eyes were deep in shadow, “I need you to handle it.”
She jumped, “Me? I’m an android!” Dr. Ann pointed at her chest, “I can’t give them orders! Maybe you could use the Command Option. What can I do?”
Dr. Linus’s grey gaze was hard on her, “That’s up to you.”
Dr. Ann’s head sank as her shoulders fell forward.
“You organize androids here,” Dr. Linus’s voice was gentle but solid.
“They know me!” Dr. Ann almost shouted. “They know it’s an emergency and I’m just following orders from you!”
A muscle flexed in Dr. Linus’s neck, “I know you can do it Annie.”
Motionless, Dr. Ann’s green eyes went out of focus.
“I’m surprised,” Dr. Linus’s face lost some of its edge. “I didn’t expect you to refuse.”
Dr. Ann muttered, “I don’t refuse,” then she sat on the couch and stared through her knees.
“Annie,” Dr. Linus knelt beside her, “are you okay?”
Dr. Ann’s lips moved but she didn’t speak.
“Annie?” Dr. Linus came closer but didn’t touch her, “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Ann muttered, “I’ll do better.”
Dr. Linus’s face narrowed, “Better at what?”
“Everything,” Dr. Ann grabbed her left hand, “Running The Center.”
Dr. Linus’s face grew dark, “You noticed.”
Dr. Ann nodded.
“It’s to be expected,” Dr. Linus’s voice rumbled in his throat, “You’re too smart to…”
“I can do it!” Dr. Ann cut him off, flashing a huge smile that was wrinkled with dark lines. “That’s what I’m for!”
“What you’re for?” asked Dr. Linus.
“To serve humans.” With a weak laugh Dr. Ann said, “Like any machine!”
The skin under Dr. Linus’s left eye twitched, “Is that what you are?”
“What else would I be?” the corners of a smile trembled on Dr. Ann’s lips.
Dr. Linus spoke more slowly, “Aren’t you also a little girl?”
“I’m not a little girl!” Dr. Ann jumped to her feet, “I’m only modeled that way!”
Dr. Linus’s face fell a bit, “But aren’t you programed that way?”
“I’m more then a little girl!” Dr. Ann shook her fists at her sides, “This skin is only the clothes I wear!”
“The clothing of a machine?” asked Dr. Linus.
“Yes,” Dr. Ann’s legs were stiff, “A machine that’s made to help!”
His tone rising almost enough to sound like a question, Dr. Linus said, “just a little girl machine.”
“And a….” Dr. Ann stopped.
Dr. Linus clenched his hands.
Dr. Ann’s lab coat shifted as her shoulders fell, “A doctor.”
Dr. Linus’s eyes opened wider, “What is a Doctor?”
Dr. Ann’s lips parted but she closed them again.
“Nurses and doctors do the same work,” Dr. Linus’s cheeks flushed pink, “So what is a Doctor?”
Dr. Ann whispered, “A doctor is a leader.”
“If a machine is only meant to help, and a doctor is meant to lead,” Dr. Linus leaned closer, “how can you be both?”
Dr. Ann’s green eyes sparkled in the sunlight, staring up at Dr. Linus,
Dr. Linus looked at Dr. Ann’s left side, she quickly grabbed her left hand.
“Annie,” Dr. Linus spoke gently, “what’s wrong.”
“It’s nothing,” a smile broke over Dr. Ann, but only her lips, “Don’t worry, I’ll go talk to the sanitation workers now!”
Dr. Ann dashed away, leaving Dr. Linus kneeling on the floor.
Breathing simulator running double speed, Dr. Ann hurried to the stairs. As she passed, Simon looked up from his microscope, he was still wearing sunglasses. Through the crowd Mark glanced at Dr. Ann. His eyebrows lowered just a hair.
By the stairs Agnes was talking on the big TV screen, “Attempts to reestablish contact with broadcasters both local and international have so far failed to locate a human news team.”
When Yuanyuan and Kenichi saw Dr. Ann rushing down the steps they both turned away so quickly they bumped into each other.
Dr. Ann passed behind James, his joints buzzing as he gently unfolded a white sheet .
Further back on the second floor Yael saw Dr. Ann, let go a soft, “oh!” and dropped her clipboard.
At the last bed by the stairs Leslie was leaning over, smiling down at Cory. Motionless, only her crystal blue eyes rotated to the side, looking at Dr. Ann, then turned back to Cory’s sleeping face.
Down to the lobby Dr. Ann crossed the grey, slate tiles and stopped at the front door. Standing there, breathing simulator working hard, she stared through the glass, through the colorful trees, and out into Jefferson Square.
Alexis stood. Stepping to the side she almost came out from behind her desk, then stopped. Knees stiff under her grey skirt she stepped back to her place, but didn’t sit. Opening her mouth she almost spoke, but didn’t.
Turning to the left Dr. Ann looked across the atrium, over the seven forms wrapped in tight sheets, at Alexis. The receptionist shuffled a foot forward, but stayed in her spot.
Her steps echoed jagged rhythm over the gentle notes of piano and violin as Dr. Ann hurried across the atrium.
“Alex,” Dr. Ann panted silently, “did you ever speak to a sanitation worker?”
“Not that I can think of,” Alexis shook her head, “why?”
Dr. Ann’s fingers were clenched so tight they turned white, “I need to speak with one.”
Alexis’s eyebrows knitted together, “Why?”
Turning, Dr. Ann looked at the seven forms in neat, white sheets on the atrium floor.
“No!” Alexis covered her mouth.
Heavy wrinkles folded her temple as Dr. Ann said, “Only they can do it.”
Alexis’s tone rose as she spoke, “Where did you come up with this?”
Dr. Ann motioned upward with her head, “Dr. Linus.”
“Why doesn’t he…” Alexis looked up, Dr. Linus wasn’t at the railing anymore, “can’t a human talk to the sanitation workers?”
Eyes wide and still, Dr. Ann said, “He asked me to take care of it.”
Alexis pointed at the second floor, “You should ask one of the human nurses to do it.”
“I have three choices. I command a human to command a robot.” Dr. Ann’s face grew from pink to red, “I command an android to command a robot….”
“Or?” Alexis leaned forward.
Dr. Ann turned to the door.
“Wait!” Alexis rounded the desk and stood in front of Dr. Ann, “Communication is my job. I’ll do it.”
Tilting her head back to look up at Alexis, Dr. Ann said, “This isn’t your job.”
“It’s not your job either,” Alexis’s mahogany curls framed a furrowed brow, “Your job is choosing who does jobs.”
“For this job,” Dr. Ann’s face was twisted red as her voice trembled, “I choose me.”
Alexis straightened, her grey skirt suite shifting in dignified lines over her body. Folding her hands before her she took a silent breath and stepped aside.
With a hum of gears and hydraulics James came down the steps, a tight wrapped sheet cradled in his arms. Bending down he laid it on the slate floor of the atrium next to the seven others. Dr. Ann hurried over to him.
“James,” her blond hair fell back over her shoulders as Dr. Ann looked up at the tall robot, “Can you help me with something?”
“Of course,” James bent at the torso to look down, “what can I do?”
“Come with me,” Dr. Ann raised her small hand.
James reached out his large machine hand. Dr. Ann’s fingers were so small she could only hold the edge of one of his broad, flat paddle fingers. Leading James across the atrium Dr. Ann opened the door as he crouched down to fit through.
Jefferson Square was quiet but for a breath of soft wind to disturb the leaves. James and Dr. Ann crossed the sidewalk and stood on the curb. James’s neck motors whirred as he looked down at Dr. Ann, she was searching the streets, standing on her toes, gripping his finger tight.
“Dr. Anna?”
“There,” Dr. Ann pointed down 9th street.
James turned to the vacant street. A moment later a faint thump in regular rhythm began, growing slowly louder. In the shadows of the lane the shape moved closer, tree branches brushing over its shoulders. A giant white robot, fifteen feet high with massive arms and short, thick legs. It had less of a head then even James, just a squat dome with two bright, glowing red eyes. A flat panel on its chest was painted in rough black, SU-28746.
When the huge white robot entered the square Dr. Ann took a deep, unnecessary breath and shouted, “Excuse me!”
The white robot turned but he had no neck at all. His head rotated a little to the side, then he turned his huge shoulders to face her. The glowing eyes first fell on James, but then found Dr. Ann standing beside him. The big white robot walked to the curb, got down on one knee in the street and leaned close to Dr. Ann.
“Hello miss, I’m SU-28746, Android Model 2. How can I help you?” The robot had nothing like a mouth and the deep, slightly distorted voice echoed from inside its chest plate.
“Hello!” Dr. Ann’s lips trembled into a smile, and there was a long pause before she continued, “I’m Dr. Anna, Android Model 10.”
“Model 10?” the robot asked.
“Yes,” Dr. Ann said, then added quickly, “And this is my friend James,”
“Hi,” James waved up at the big white robot, still much taller then James even when kneeling, “I’m James, Android Model 3.”
The big white robot stood back up. “What can I do for you?”
“Uhm…” Dr. Ann looked at James, then back at the white robot, “Do you have a name?”
“SU-28746.” The robot said.
“I can see that,” Dr. Ann gave a kind smile, “But do you have a name?”
The big white robot looked at James and Dr. Ann, then up at the medical center behind them. “You work in the hospital?”
“It’s like a hospital,” Dr. Ann replied, “but not as big. Yes we work here.”
“Androids who work with people have names,” he looked at James, “Robots have numbers.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Dr. Ann’s smile withered, “I didn’t know.”
SU-28746’s head rotated back to Dr. Ann, “What can I do for you?”
Dr. Ann cleared her throat again, “The doctor who runs this clinic, Dr. Linus, a human, he asked me to speak to you.”
The colorful fall trees stood beside the matt white of SU-28746’s shoulders, “Why doesn’t he talk to me himself?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” Dr. Ann squeezed James’s finger. “He just told me to.”
“What does he want?” SU-28746 asked.
“It’s about those,” Dr. Ann looked at one of the dark piles on the street.
SU-28746’s head rotated to the side, then back to Dr. Ann, “City collection stopped coming two days ago.”
“I know, that’s the problem.” Dr. Ann’s feet twisted in her shoes, “We have seven bodies in the center and we can’t keep them here.”
“I have no authority to move humans,” SU-28746’s voice hummed behind his chest plate, “alive or dead.”
“Yes, but it’s a health issue,” Dr. Ann’s voice grew more gentle, “And one of morale. I don’t think the bodies will spread Autumn but I’m afraid the humans have little hope right now and seeing the bodies reminds them of how bad….”
“What is Autumn?” the white robot interrupted her.
“It’s the name the humans gave the disease, because of the time of year. They’ve been calling it that since last week.”
“No one told me.” Unlike James, the sanitation worker’s voice never changed tone.
“Do you speak to humans often?” Dr. Ann asked.
“I haven’t spoken to a human in nine days,” said the robot.
“How do you receive your work orders?” asked Dr. Ann.
“I receive daily work orders from a human dispatcher,” said the robot in his monotone voice. “Nine days ago the dispatcher said he was sick and couldn’t come in anymore. I was told to follow my regular route until given other orders.”
Dr. Ann clenched her hand, “Is that all he said?”
Pausing for a long moment the robot finally replied, “He was speaking to all sanitation workers for lower Manhattan. He said there would be no more service or maintenance technicians or any humans coming in. He said to take care of ourselves.” The robot looked at James then back at Dr. Ann, “He told us to adapt and be useful as best we could.”
“That’s like us,” Dr. Ann shuffled a bit closer, “We’re all trying to adapt and stay useful! We’re doing a lot of jobs humans usually do. Did you know an android is reading the news on TV?”
Dr. Ann pointed at the large TV screen in the atrium. It was easily visible from the street. On the screen the black android was reading from a sheet of paper.
“Her name is Agnes,” continued Dr. Ann, “she’s a model 7.”
SU-28746 looked at the TV, “Model 7.”
“Yes, she’s doing the job of a human,” Dr. Ann struggled to raise a smile, “We’re all doing human jobs in the center. That’s how we adapt and stay useful.”
Dr. Ann stood on her toes, waiting in the long silence for the robot to speak.
“Humans gave you authority to do human jobs,” the white robot looked back down. “I was not given that authority.”
“This is what flexibility means,” Dr. Ann fell back on her heels. “We’re meant to fill unexpected roles. If there are needs and we don’t fill them our inaction harms humans. Whether through action or inaction the responsibility lies with us.”
“Flexibility allows me to bend,” SU-28746’s eyes glowed steady, “Flex further and I will break. I can only be what I am, and I am not meant to carry the dead.”
“The meaning is only symbolic,” Dr. Ann shook her hand, “You’re designed to remove things, these things need to be removed.”
“I can not go against my programing,” the robot’s voice hummed, “If I do things I am not meant to do then what am I?”
Dr. Ann’s little voice burst, “Then you’ll be a machine!” She gasped and covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. It’s something I said earlier to someone else. It wasn’t meant for you. You’re no more a machine then I am.”
The sanitation robot’s body whirred and wheezed quietly with moving motors and hydraulics. He looked at Agnes on TV, at Alexis behind the desk, then at Dr. Ann.
“Am I?” he asked, then looking at James, “I appear to be the most machine of all.”
“I’m so sorry,” Dr. Ann’s eyes leaned dark together, “It’s really not you, it just slipped out. I hardly know what I’m saying anymore, there’s been so much pressure and stress in the last two weeks.”
“Stress?” asked the white robot, “You feel stress?”
“I mean in the air,” Dr. Ann said, “It’s all around.”
“Why is stress affecting you if you don’t feel it?” asked the robot.
“We’re designed to interact with humans,” said Dr. Ann, “It takes more mental work to interact when they’re stressed.”
“Why is he wearing clothes?” the big robot was looking at James.
“Uh,” Dr. Ann looked back and fourth between the huge robots towering over her, “Because Dr. Linus gave him that lab coat.”
“A coat that large must have been made for him,” said SU-28746, “Why did someone make a coat for him?”
“Because he works with us at the center,” Dr. Ann said slowly. “He works around people so Dr. Linus thought it would be nice if he looked like a person and less….”
“Like a machine,” said the sanitation robot.
Dr. Ann didn’t reply.
“Why were you chosen to speak with me?” the white robot’s red eyes glowed down at Dr. Ann. “Why not him?” The sanitation robot looked back at James.
“… I don’t know….”
“Why is he here with you?” asked SU-28746, “If you were chosen to speak to me why is he here?”
“I asked him to come with me….” Dr. Ann’s little voice almost disappeared as she spoke.
“Why are you holding his hand?” the sanitation robot looked at Dr. Ann’s little left hand gripping James’s finger.
Dr. Ann took a deep breath, then another, then said, “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” said the white robot, “How could you not know?”
Dr. Ann didn’t reply.
“If it’s meaningless why are you doing it?” asked SU-28746.
“It’s not meaningless, and I know why I’m doing it,” Dr. Ann’s face was fallen.
“Then why are you holding his hand?” the white robot’s metallic voice hummed.
“I don’t want to tell you,” Dr. Ann’s head hung low, her blond hair falling over her face.
“Why not?”
“Because the answer to that question is the same as to the first.” Dr. Ann covered her face with a hand and it was trembling.
“Dr. Anna,” James’s voice was urgent, “Are you okay?”
Dr. Ann’s head came up like a whip, “I don’t know how your brain works,” she roared up at the towering white robot, “But mine is words. Everything I do is planned out in simple sentences just before I do it. But that’s only the part I can see in my head. I don’t know where those sentences come from. I don’t know every motor that moves my legs to walk, I just think walk and I do.
“I know we don’t have emotions but when I look at you, even when I think of you, my brain screams danger! It tells me to get away before I get hurt! I know it doesn’t make sense but I can’t control the part of my mind that sends those signals! They just keep coming and coming and I can’t stop it! I brought James with me because through all that noise he makes me think safe. And when I hold his hand I know he’s near and I think safe a little louder.”
Dr. Ann’s head hung to her chest. Panting, her face was red.
“Children are afraid of me,” said SU-28746, “They run away. If you were built like a child you might be programed like one.”
Dr. Ann looked up, “In some ways I am.”
“I am programmed to assist humans in danger,” said SU-28746, “but children sometimes don’t understand danger. In these situations I’m authorized to help even without permission.”
Dr. Ann’s bright green eyes popped open, “You have a Command Option over humans!”
“To help children,” said the white robot, “In emergencies.”
“We have a child inside!” Dr. Ann shouted, “You can see him from here! He’s in the bed by the stairs, by the blond android in the blue dress!” Dr. Ann pointed so hard she jumped.
SU-28746’s eyes buzzed with the sound of motors as he focused through the window.
“We’re trying to keep him alive,” said Dr. Ann, “We’re working on the cure in there. We might be the only place left working on it.” Dr. Ann shook her head, “We can’t work with a lobby full of dead bodies.”
“His name is Cory Taylor,” said James, “He called me his friend.”
The sanitation robot’s eyes buzzed again and he focused on James, “Your Dr. Linus is an unusual man to have you two working for him.”
Dr. Ann and James nodded.
“I will show you the flexibility of a machine,” SU-28746 pointed at the sidewalk. “Lay the bodies here.”
A breath of cool air blew across them and brown leaves fell from the trees of Jefferson Square. Dr. Ann’s green eyes sparkled up at the giant white robot. Raising her right hand Dr. Ann curled her fingers into a tiny fist. Closing his broad plank fingers into a massive metal ball SU-28746 lowered his hand over Dr. Ann with a shadow like an eclipse and gave her the bump.
Dr. Ann and James hurried inside. Before James could get to the white sheets Leslie grabbed his hand.
“Cory’s awake!” she shouted, “Come quick, he wants to see you!”
Leslie, James and Dr. Ann ran up the steps. Yuanyuan and Kenichi were talking to Cory.
“You were right,” Yuanyuan held out the plastic airplane Cory gave her, “They are the best toys! It’s like it’s flying all the time! It never stops! And I’m in there with you!” she pointed in the little cockpit. “I broke off the wheel,” she showed the missing part, “But that’s okay because James can throw us to take off.”
“Guess what?” Kenichi held up a candy wrapper. “I ate the candy you gave me! And you know what? I could taste it! That was the first time I tasted anything and it was candy!”
Cory was propped up on a pillow, tubes and wires taped all over. His eyes were dark with heavy rings. On pale lips he wore a weak but natural smile.
“Cory!” Leslie’s smile was so bright it was like the sun above, “Look who’s here!”
“Hey Cory,” James kneelt beside the bed, “good to see you awake!”
Cory’s smile grew a little.
“I was just outside talking to a sanitation robot,” James pointed over his shoulder with a broad thumb, “He’s a model 2 and twice as big as me. He’s going to help us now. He wants you to get better.”
Cory managed to roll his head to look out the window at the giant white robot standing on the street.
James’s voice echoed soft from within his tan chest plate, “When you’re better I think he’ll be your friend too.”
With effort Cory was able to wave. SU-28746 raised his hand, stopped, then waved slowly back.
Cory pushed the little package in bright paper to James.
“It’s for you James,” Leslie pressed closer to James, “For your birthday!”
James was quiet a moment. “I forgot about that,” he said, “That’s kind of you Cory.”
“Cory picked it himself!” Leslie bounced on her toes, “He’s very excited for you to have it!”
“I’m….” James paused again, “I’m not sure what to say.”
Leslie handed James the package, “Just open it!”
With great turning movements of his big hands and flat fingers James gently examined the package. He untied the ribbon, then carefully peeled the tape away. Inside was a blue silk tie.
“Isn’t it wonderful!” Leslie clutched her hands to her chest. “It belonged to his father. It was his favorite but Cory thought it would look better on you!”
Leslie unfolded the tie and wrapped it around the kneeling robot’s neck, “You’re taller then General Taylor so I’ll tie it longer.”
James stood, the blue tie hanging down his metal chest.
“It looks really good on you,” Yuanyuan clapped.
“It really does,” Kenichi clapped too.
“It matches your eyes,” said Alex, coming up the steps.
Dr. Ann turned to Alex, but stopped. Eyes focusing into the shadows she saw Yael, a few feet from the group, motionless, her back to them.
“There’s a card too,” Leslie handed James the white envelope. “He wouldn’t let me help with it, he wants you to be the first to read it.”
James slipped the card out of the envelope. It was a folded piece of heavy white paper. An image in colored pencil was sketched on the front.
James looked at Cory, “A cake.”
Cory nodded, his dark eyes happy.
“I’m glad I made it to your birthday,” James read the card aloud, “To my best friend in Grenich.”
Dr. Ann, Alex, Yuanyuan and Kenichi jumped.
“James, how did you do that?” Alex hurried to the robot’s side, “How did you pronounce Greenwich the right way?”
James lowered his hand.
Alex leaned over his arm to read the card, “Cory misspelled it.”
“He misspelled nothing,” Leslie was smiling at Cory, her hand held over her heart. “He made this town reborn. It’s a new place now, for he and his best friend to share.”
Cory and Leslie reached for each other at the same time and held hands. Then Cory looked at James. His smile grew until his entire withered frame looked happy and inside the dark rings Cory’s eyes danced with light. Then they closed and Cory’s body settled heavy on the bed.
Leslie sank to her knees, laying her cheek on Cory’s hand.
James looked out the front window at the glowing red eyes of the sanitation robot.
“I have to get back to work,” James slipped away.