Broken Things Page 12

  She didn’t like Cody. It almost bordered on loathing. She hated living amongst his crap and feeling like a part of it. She waited on him hand and foot, saw to his every need, and did whatever he asked, and never complained… unless he wanted her to. She didn’t clean up after him though, with the exception of the dishes. He didn’t like people going through his stuff. He had a system, or so he claimed.

  Existentialist authors went either way with religion, either believing in the higher power or denying it. How could two different beliefs even fit the same philosophy? She needed someone to argue with. Cody didn’t believe in God, and on one of the brief times she’d even heard him bring up religion he claimed it only existed for those that had a fear of death.

  Despite natural disasters, terrorists, end of the world cults, and lack of environmental responsibility, everyone pushed death to the back of their mind.

  Officially, nobody grew old. Cody had celebrated his seventy-fourth birthday in April, and still looked like someone in his forties. However that was true the world over. Everyone in their seventies looked like they were still forty. Those in their eighties looked fifty. Not many people looked older than that. You couldn’t be too old when they halted the aging process, otherwise there would’ve been too many people needing assisted living. She suspected that the human species had somehow managed to be selective, and only found a cure for everything after the elderly had all died out, at least those that didn’t have the money to buy the at one-time expensive treatments.

  She understood how it worked. They only ate genetically modified foods processed with preservatives that changed their actual cellular structure to halt aging. This was combined with required medications and vaccinations. In the end they had successfully sterilized the human race.

  And still they kept the world going. The population could only dwindle, but there were enough of them that they would never have to worry about that. It would still be many years before it would even be detectable. The world had reached a point of over-population anyway.

  She set the book down and rubbed her eyes. She thought about going to bed, maybe sleeping on the couch. Her mind kept wandering away from her reading material anyway. It only raised questions. Should she consider her god to be some CEO? Did she have a pantheon of blue collar working class gods, each seeing to a part of her creation? Could she even consider anything else?

  Her ponderings on creation were disturbed by a knock on the garage door. Only Neil came in that way, the sneaky little thing. Cody wouldn’t answer the door once asleep, but he placed value on the boy. She stretched, putting on one of Cody’s extra-large BSU jerseys, and made her way to the door.

  She opened it to find him alone. He brushed past her with barely a nod.

  “Where’s Josh?” she asked, “Did you get the parts?”

  “What? No. He wouldn’t go through with it. We went our separate ways.”

  Angel tried to catch his eye, but he made his way to the living room and flopped onto the couch, grabbing the remote.

  “Well did he find a way home?”

  “I don’t know what he did,” he said as he turned on the TV, “We didn’t see eye to eye.”

  “Did you just ditch him?”

  “I said we went our separate ways. I don’t care where he went, okay?”

  “Fine. Whatever.” From her brief encounter with him, that didn’t sound like Josh at all, unless he found someone else to help him. The problem was that she didn’t trust Neil. She’d heard him bragging about how he acquired his parts. Josh didn’t seem like the kid who could do that. In a way, that made her feel better. She didn’t want to see the innocence erased from his eyes.

  What am I thinking? She walked down the hallway toward Cody’s room. She needed a little perspective. Josh was an android, it wouldn’t be innocence. It was ignorance. Still, wasn’t that sacred in children? Even robot ones? We’re all built with purpose, she reminded herself.

  She walked into the spare bedroom. It held more of Cody’s clutter, mainly computer parts, and it was where he worked. Yet she had easy access to the closet. Of all the room, it held some importance to her.

  Angel hated the closet. She hated what it represented, and she knew it was her future. Her hand shook as she reached for the knob. She didn’t want to open it but she needed the reminder. Her mind, her programming, reminded her of her purpose. Her purpose left her fulfilled. It gave her existence meaning. If she ignored it, what would she have left?

  “You can do this,” she said softly. She turned the handle and flipped on the light.

  The contents always made her shudder. Six pairs of beautiful but empty eyes stared back at her. Despite the lack of life these women were her sisters. All were adult with the appearance of age between twenty to thirty. They were six women that had preceded her, all of which Cody had grown tired of. They weren’t broken, only powered off. They’d served their purpose, one similar to hers. Every now and then Cody would bring one out and power her on for whatever fantasy he wanted played out. But he never left them on for long.

  She stepped in with them, touching their cheeks one by one. She knew all of their names. The one closest to the door was Megan. She’d shared the house with them when Angel had first arrived. Within the week, he had her shut down and put in here. Next to Megan rested Jodi. Jodi had fiery red hair and freckles everywhere. There was Alexis, the blond with the beautiful blue eyes.

  She pushed in deeper, gently squeezing between the other women: Laura, Jenny, and Michelle. She’d never spent more than a night with any of them, as they relived their purpose for one more night. She felt their soft flesh press against her own, imagining what it would be like to one day join them.

  They didn’t deserve this, but it was their purpose. They were there for when they were needed. They didn’t exist otherwise. She knew it wouldn’t be long before she shared this… this tomb. Cody wanted her less and less. She already suspected he was looking into another purchase.

  Technically all seven of them were as immortal as the humans. They would be around forever, if taken care of. Yet here they were, spending eternity turned off, living in a dreamless sleep, waiting on the whim of one man.

  Angel reached between the girls in front and pulled the door closed far enough that she could barely see a trim of light breaking the almost absolute darkness. This is what their eyes saw. Day after day of darkness.

  Lonely darkness.

  She couldn’t take it anymore. She stumbled from their midst and out, her knees suddenly weak and trembling, her lungs fighting for air. I would rather be dead than share their fate.

  If she wanted to, she could turn all of them on, but what would they do? None of them saw beyond their design. She couldn’t offer them anything, they couldn’t go anywhere else. She hurried from the room, pausing just long enough to make sure that Cody still slept, and headed for the kitchen.

  Cody kept plenty of notes on his androids. He had spiral notebooks containing all of their information. She found it right where she knew it would be, on the kitchen counter next to his wallet and car keys. She flipped to the last entry, that of Josh. As she suspected, his registration and serial numbers were recorded, along with a couple of brief notes on planned modifications.

  Angel had spent countless hours working with Cody, and had picked up a thing or two of her own. He had worked for Kidsmith at one time, and still had access to things that were unavailable to the general public. As quietly as she could, she dug through a box of old magazines and discarded electronics until she found an old Kidsmith tablet that she was sure Cody wouldn’t miss.

  She entered her own registration number into the tablet and allowed network access to her system. Everything about her spilled out across the screen. It listed her previous owners and a diagnostic of her current condition. As expected, everything was working fine. In fact, with Cody’s modifications, she exceeded her factory set-up.

  With a swipe of her finger she had access to her personality traits. Using this,
Cody could make her act however he wanted her to. For the first time she saw herself how Cody saw her. The traits really didn’t matter, she could be whatever he wanted. It implied that she was just a toy.

  I shouldn’t be so surprised, she thought, why would I think that I’m anything more? But in truth she had thought just that, she had begun to believe that maybe there was something beyond her purpose (spelled out on the tablet: ‘Pleasure Thing’), like maybe she had a destiny, a sense of belonging in the world.

  What if I just erase it all? If I strip away everything it says I am, if I make myself a blank slate, what would happen? Would it be an android lobotomy? The option was there. Her finger hovered over it, tantalized by the thought. I’d be my own person then.

  No. That wasn’t an option. Maybe one day. Even changing a few of her traits seemed tempting, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Was it any different than wiping her mind clean? It belittled her life experiences, made them trivial. This is who I am. This is me. Instead she opened up another program, one that Cody had written.

  It instantly wiped out her registration number. She didn’t feel any different, but for what she intended, she needed her freedom. Next she entered Josh’s number into the tablet and pinged his location.

  It pulled up a map showing his exact location. He was across the city, but she could be there, even on foot, in an hour or two.

  She quickly changed her shirt, threw on a pair of jeans and shoes and grabbed a backpack. She had a few outfits that Cody had let her order online, but very little in this house belonged to her. In the bathroom she had a drawer of beauty supplies, but she suppressed the urge to get them. She dropped the tablet into the backpack and slipped out into the garage. She lifted up the garage door as quietly as possible, and found herself outside.

  The world seemed so vast, so empty. Her legs trembled, forcing her to stop and catch her breath. This is ridiculous. I’ve just left the house. What if someone saw her? They would know immediately, they had to; there was no way she could pass for human. She could feel the house calling her back, back to its safety. Maybe she could ask Cody for help. He would understand.

  No, she knew him better than that. He’d never put a kid first, not unless there was something he could get out of it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The fresh air felt good in her lungs, purging the stale air from her system. The shaky knees steadied with each breath until she pushed down the panic sensation.

  She tip-toed silently away from the house, feeling as though the neighborhood could hear her every step. She didn’t relax until three blocks away.

  12

  The night dragged on. Josh eventually succumbed to sleep, but James couldn’t take the chance. He expected that the android would show up soon. He wanted to sleep too. He knew he would pay for staying up late come morning. There were still a few things sacred to him and sleep topped the list. He checked to make sure Josh still slept and snuck out of the shed. He didn’t enter the house, he’d warned Laura to keep the house locked. His wide, well-kept yard often brought him peace. They kept the flower beds well-tended, and a yard service took care of the rest. After long hours at the office his home became a sanctuary, a place to escape from the day to day grind.

  In the dark of night it no longer felt so safe. The fence about his property provided too many shadows, and though he had outdoor lights they didn’t provide nearly enough illumination to dispel them all. He didn’t run, but barely. Despite his pragmatism, he covered the ground to the company truck in record time. The EMP generator gun was still behind the seat, right where he’d left it. The thing was bulky, but the weight gave him confidence. He scanned down the street, but the only movement came from a light breeze that gently shook the trees. He shivered, whether from the chill of a late summer night, or from a feeling of being watched, he suddenly couldn’t tell.

  “I’m ready for you,” he said in a low voice, “I’m waiting.”

  Nothing accepted his challenge.

  The darkness from the other direction was even more complete. There were far fewer homes, and therefore fewer lights in the foothills. The often pleasant remoteness now gave way to dread born from isolation. He took one step toward the shop and paused. There was a shadow on the sidewalk, but two blocks away. The waxing moon was but a sliver, providing almost no light, and only the infrequent porch light of his neighbors broke up the shadows.

  Maybe it was just someone out for a walk. At two in the morning.

  The figure continued to steadily approach. A light breeze blew an empty plastic bag across the street like a lone tumbleweed. This feels like a gun fight, he thought, would be a lot nicer at high noon.

  The figure crossed the street and made its way up his block. As it got closer, he noticed that it wasn’t the boy’s monster, not unless it had switched bodies for a shapely woman. He lowered the gun. It wouldn’t work on a human.

  As she approached, he saw that she held a tablet. She hadn’t even noticed him yet, standing in her path. The tablet dimly lit her face.

  It’s probably not a good idea to stand in her way with a gun, she’ll call the cops on me. He stepped back onto his lawn and out of her way. But she didn’t walk by. She stopped in front of his house. In the light of the tablet, he could just make out some of her features. She had a pretty asymmetrical face, long brown hair spilling past her shoulders. She had a very youthful appearance, one of the lucky people, kids really, that were young enough to have their age halted in their early twenties. This girl would be beautiful forever.

  “Do you live here?” she asked. Her eyes met his and dropped to the gun he held.

  She can see me, he realized. “Yes. Can I help you?”

  “I’m looking for a lost boy. My tablet says he’s here.”

  He eyed her warily. “Can I ask who you are? I know you’re not his owner.”

  “I’m just trying to help him out. I’m a friend.”

  “I don’t think he’s got many friends here.”

  “No, he doesn’t. My name is Angel. I just met him today.”

  “Well Angel, he’s okay. I’ve fixed him up and he’s going to be fine. How did you come by a tracking tablet? That’s not something available to the general public.”

  She shifted uncomfortably. “Everything is available when you know where to look. What’s with your toy gun? Is that legal?”

  James glanced down at the EMP generator. “Monster hunting,” he said with a half-smile.

  She didn’t smile back. “Can I just see him? Please?”

  He hesitated. She must’ve been the one that fixed Josh’s other damaged parts. That meant that she would have access to the other missing boy, something that would make his boss happy. James nodded. “Come with me. He’s in my shop.”

  The two walked back through the yard, and though he didn’t know her, Angel’s presence alleviated much of his fears. He was also sure that she wouldn’t be much of a fight for the android (and he wouldn’t tell anyone about charging it), but he appreciated the extra set of eyes. And it bothered him less to put this stranger in harm’s way over that of his wife.

  He entered the shop first, with Angel trailing behind. He set the gun down and turned to find Angel scanning her tablet. Looking over her shoulder he could see the Kidsmith logo clearly on the device. She had stolen it. He would’ve remembered a pretty girl like her around the office.

  “Can you drive?” Angel asked.

  “Of course, why do you ask?”

  “Because Josh is running.”

  James looked over at the cot where Josh had been when he’d left. How stupid! He hadn’t even checked to make sure the boy was still asleep when they’d returned. “Is he in the bathroom?”

  She turned the tablet so he could see. The boy was moving across the foothills to the North, traversing them in the dark. “Not unless you’ve got a wandering outhouse.”

  “Damn it,” James cursed under his breath, “Where do you think he’s going?”

  “Your guess is as
good as mine.”

  “Unless… unless his monster got him.” He quickly picked up his EMP generator and looked about for his own tablet. Strange, he swore he had left it there too. He shook his head feeling his day suddenly get much worse. “He stole my tablet.”

  “What do you mean, monster? That’s the second time you’ve said that. And it involves your toy gun?”

  “It’s Josh’s monster. It’s some type of old android we found with him in the mountains. It’s gone rogue and killed at least two people already, and I think Josh is the key to stopping it. This,” he hoisted the gun, “Is a home-made Electromagnetic pulse generator. I intend to fry the android’s brain with it.”

  Angel took a step back from him.

  “It’s okay. It won’t have any effect on humans. But it’ll wipe out your tablet and cell phone. The only problem is if I miss. It’ll take a few minutes to recharge.”

  She nodded slowly. “So we make sure you don’t miss.”

  13

  Cody stumbled out of bed to use the bathroom. The television lit the hallway, the sound so low he couldn’t hear the infomercial trying to sell him exercise equipment to firm up his abs. It looked familiar. Maybe he had one in the garage. The artificial light in the bathroom nearly blinded him, and he peed with one eye closed and the other cracked just enough to make sure he hit the toilet.

  He’d been having a dream about Carrie, his next door neighbor. Though they rarely ever saw each other (except when he watched her from the privacy of his laundry room window), she tended to ignore him. He knew she wasn’t married, the guy she lived with had a different last name (who also ignored him). He knew this because their inept mailman often delivered their mail to his house.

  He pulled back up his sweats and briefly considered washing his hands before he decided it would be too much work. He wanted to see if he could slip back into the same dream while he still could remember it. As he entered the hallway, he glanced into the living room. Angel didn’t usually watch much television, and it wasn’t like her to leave it on.