Sebastian pushed the engines to the breaking point to reach Juno in record time, his worry for Rowan increasing his urgency to reach the young engineer who could fix him. The ship creaked and groaned as they entered the atmosphere, the engine room filling with acrid smoke from its overworked engines. The crew held on to their seats as Sebastian fought to keep the ship from spinning out of control.
“Brie, give more fuel to Engine #4. We’re listing too far to the right.” He said, tapping commands into the console.
“If I give it any more fuel, it could catch fire.” Brie warned.
“Got it.” Kenan said and pulled out a fire extinguisher from under his seat. “We’re set. Give it all we got.”
“We are nearly through.” Lyra said. “Keep her steady.”
They broke through the clouds, the brilliant light of a new sun reflecting off their ship’s scorched hull. They all breathed a sigh of relief as the light filtered in where darkness had been before. Sebastian decreased their speed and steered them towards a large, ramshackle city covered in smog. It had been too long since he’d visited the planet, and he couldn’t say he’d missed it very much. Even inside his airtight ship, he could still smell the burnt rubber that seemed to permeate the entire planet.
The engineer lived in a rundown apartment in the dead center of the city, cars and people coming and going, all so loud and self-absorbed. None batted an eye at the ship as it sped past them. Sebastian parked illegally in the empty lot across the street, the apartment causing a sharp pang of nostalgia as he looked out at it. He turned to Kenan and Lyra. “Keep an eye on Thomas’s dad. Don’t let him leave the ship.”
“Will do, Captain.” Kenan said with a mock salute. “Come on, Lyra. Let’s play Atomic chess.”
“Don’t burn down the ship, you two.” Brie told them as Rowan, leaning heavily on Thomas, entered the bridge. Since the incident the night before, Rowan had grown progressively worse. Thomas believed it had to do with the odd liquid gumming up Rowan’s circuitry. None of them had ever seen anything like it.
“I’m coming too.” Thomas said.
Sebastian opened his mouth to protest then changed his mind and nodded. “Fine, fine. How are you feeling, Rowan?”
Rowan blinked one eye then the other. “I’ve been better. I think.”
Brie draped a long trench coat over Rowan’s head. “Keep this on. We don’t want to worry the neighbors.”
Brie hung back on the front porch as Sebastian knocked. “It’s so loud here.” Rowan murmured as he leaned into Thomas. “Hurts my ears.”
“Mine too.” Thomas agreed. “I’ve never missed home more.”
Brie winced as the door cracked open, and a young girl, no older than twelve and skin as dark as midnight, peeked out. She scowled and pushed the door wide open. “What do you want?” She asked, placing her hands on her hips.
“Esi, it’s so good to see you.” Sebastian threw his arms open wide and laughed when the girl’s scowl deepened.
“Have you married my cousin yet?” Esi asked, looking between Sebastian and Brie.
“Nope, she’s too good for me.”
“That’s true.”
“Esi, dear, we have a favor to ask.” Brie said, bending over to speak to the younger girl. “Our friend here has been badly damaged, and we need a skilled engineer to repair him.”
“Why come to me?”
“You’re the best we know.” Sebastian told her.
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Esi eyed him as she tugged on her braid, gauging how serious he was. “Okay. Come in. Mama and Daddy are out right now.”
“‘Are they well?” Brie asked.
They followed Esi down a narrow hallway and up into a small attic. “Yeah. Daddy had a heart attack last week, but he’s okay now.”
She flipped on the lights, illuminating a steel table in the center of the room and several half-full beakers and vials on the counter against the wall. Compared to the labs and workshops they’d seen on other planets, this seemed like a child’s play chemistry set. Brie sat in a squeaky chair by the door while Thomas and Rowan glanced at one another. Esi turned to them, brown eyes stopping on Rowan as he shifted underneath the trench coat.
“I guess you’re the friend?” Esi gestured at the coat. “Go on, take it off. Let me see the damage.”
Rowan hesitated, throwing a helpless glance at Sebastian. It was clear he didn’t want to frighten the child. Sebastian opened his mouth to reassure him, but Esi spoke first. “I won’t be scared. I watched Mama stitch my arm up once, and I didn’t even cry. And when I’m old enough, I’m going to go to Shelley College and be an inventor like Patrick Graham.”
Rowan tossed off the trench coat in one fluid motion as Thomas looked away, trembling. “Be better than Patrick Graham.” Rowan said, the gears in his face creaking as they turned.
Esi stared at him, eyes wide, and nodded. “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Okay. Get on the table here, and let me take a look. Do you know anything about your schematics or blueprints?”
Rowan hopped up on the table and shook his head. “No.”
“He didn’t even know he was an android until a few days ago.” Sebastian interjected, crossing his arms. “Can you find out what that liquid is?”
Esi wrinkled her nose as she leaned closer to Rowan. “It smells familiar. Let me run some tests.” She took a sample with a q-tip and went to her chemistry set across the room. She set the sample into a glass beaker and dropped a few colored drops into it. “I thought so,” she said, half to herself, “but why use it on an android?”
“What is it?” Sebastian asked.
“It’s glutaraldehyde mixed with traces of phenol and formaldehyde.” At their blank looks, Esi clarified, “It’s embalming fluid. Daddy always smells like it when he comes home.”
“Embalming fluid? Thomas?” Sebastian turned to him.
Thomas bit his lip, eyes distant, before he shook his head. “I never saw him actually rebuild the android. If it’s embalming fluid, I don’t know why he’d use it.”
“Well, nevermind. I can find where it’s coming from and remove it. It just might take awhile.” Esi cast them an apologetic glance.
“We have time.” Sebastian assured. “Do what you do best.”
Esi grinned and motioned for Rowan to lean back on the table. “Will it hurt?” He asked as she turned his arm this way and that, her fingers smearing the fluid against the metal. She stopped and looked at him.
“No,” she said softly, “it won’t. I can disable the pain receptors. You won’t feel a thing.”
It felt like hours as Rowan laid against that table, the coolness seeping into what little skin he had left. Sebastian stood on the other side, clutching his hand like a lifeline, and Rowan hung on, bracing himself for the news that he couldn’t be fixed. Bracing to be abandoned in this attic room once Sebastian realized he wasn’t worth the trouble. Then, he scolded himself. Of course Sebastian wouldn’t abandon him. Esi pressed against something in his forehead, and every sensation vanished save for the steady grip of Sebastian’s hand in his. He laid there impassively as he stared up at the ceiling. He didn’t feel scared anymore.
“Those were your pain receptors.” Esi told him, brandishing a wrench. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Thank you.” Rowan said softly. He closed his eyes and listened to the wrench scraping against metal, listened as each piece of his arm was pulled apart and placed on a nearby table.
“Whoever built you did an amazing job. These are high-quality parts.” Esi breathed as she added another piece to her growing collection until he felt her freeze. She sucked in a startled gasp and stepped back, her worn shoes scraping against the tile floor.
Rowan’s eyes slid open to see the horror painted on the doe-eyed child. “What is it?” Sebastian asked as Brie and Thomas crept closer. That same look of horror, like a virus, had spread to everyone’s faces. Rowan squeezed Sebastian’s hand, needing the comfort, but was roughly shaken off.
“Sebastian?” Rowan asked, trying to meet those golden eyes, trying to look past the horror and fear. He reached out a hand and felt the moment his pain receptors clicked back on automatically. Pain seared through his missing parts, but the fear washing over him in waves was more disarming. He was scared. He was so scared, and no one was telling him what was wrong. What had he done? What had happened?
“Can you shut him down?” Sebastian asked, his voice suddenly cold, his eyes as dim as brass coins. “Every android has a kill switch.”
Rowan saw Esi nod and tried to back away from her without falling off the table. He didn’t want to die. “Sebastian?” He called again, panic filling his voice, stronger than the pain and fear. Why wouldn’t Sebastian look at him? Why was he backing away when Rowan was reaching out? The last thing Rowan saw was a dark arm flitting across his vision. Then everything went black with the flip of a switch.