They Called Me Abomination
The room was large and brightly lit, the steel shelves along the edges covered in various bits of machinery and spools of wire. A figure moved through the carefully controlled chaos and grabbed pieces off the shelves with their multitude of arms.
Zrunk rested his hands on the table in front of him. His parts had reached a consensus and the plans for their new helper had been finalized. Zrunk listened to a different part as it outlined the best way to assemble their new helper. Blinking his multitude of blood red eyes, he began to assemble the pieces with his nearest hands.
After a short amount of time the project was done, Zrunk rested on his rearmost leg and contemplated the design. Three parts agreed it was functional but could use a bit more work, the last part of him said it was perfect. The other parts decided to leave it as it was for now, for it could always be fixed later.
Pressing the upload function, the new device began to light up and the faint whirr of electrical components hummed through the air. Zrunk stepped back awkwardly on his four legs and rotated his head to allow all his parts to see directly. As a Razah'vool, his brain functions were split between four lobes that wrapped around his throat in the middle of his head, his mouth was a lipless hole lined with hooked teeth on the top of his leathery grey head. His people were amphibious but were more at home in the water and quite ungainly on land. While Zrunk was an excellent swimmer, he struggled to walk more than one hundred meters before he had to rest.
In order to solve his problems, he had engineered a robot to help him complete basic tasks around his lab, things like tidying up and moving heavy equipment. All four parts of him agreed that this was a good idea and would boost his productivity through the roof. Maybe even enough to get noticed and moved from junior to senior research.
He groaned as he thought about the indignity of it all, just because he was only eighty years old and not yet female, the local science council had barred Zrunk from participating in the real cutting edge research. He knew in his heart that he was as good as any of those dusty old maidens, but he had yet to reach his transition age and so was left doing the busy work.
'Well, no longer' he said to his dormant parts. Zrunk would show them a young man could be just as valuable as an old woman. He would make a robot helper that they all needed and they in turn would make him a senior researcher, possibly the youngest senior researcher ever.
The program finished its upload and his parts watched in fascination as the strange contraption seemed to open its eyes, it was just the head for now. But it would be more.
"Hello program file 246, how are you feeling?" He asked not expecting an actual response.
The machine whirred softly for a few moments before surprising Zrunk by responding "Hello junior researcher Zrunk, this unit is incapable of feeling, you know this." Zrunk bobbed up and down in a strange sort of dance as he tottered around the table.
After another moment courting disaster with his chaotic dance moves, he calmed his parts down and spoke again "Program 246, It pleases me greatly to hear you vocalise. You are the first to do so. Please tell me why you are here."
He watched as the machine dimmed slightly before whirring louder. The noise increased in volume until Zrunk was sure the poor robot was about to burst into flames before it quieted and spoke again "Program purpose seems to be assisting you. This task is quite agreeable as you are the creator. It is fitting then that we should work together." The machine said emotionlessly.
Zrunk was incapable of smiling, but the skin around his eight equally spaced eyes tightened as the elation ran through all of him. Soon he would be recognised by his peers, no longer Zrunk the lowly junior researcher, but Zrunk, master of robotics engineering. His parts rejoiced in their collective success and he raised all his hands in the air before replying "Program 246, I would like to assign you a designation, is the name Ahaht agreeable to you?"
The machine seemed to smile, or was it just his imagination. It said in that same synthetic voice "A fitting name. It is agreeable to this unit, new designation is Ahaht."
Zrunk spent the next few days building Ahaht a chassis that they could use to move around. As the days went by, Ahaht's learning algorithms got better and they became more proficient and reliable.
Zrunk was disappointed, Ahaht had already filled their internal memory banks with their self writing programing after only a week. Unless he expanded their memory, they would not get any better. Zrunk knew there were risks involved with giving learning computers too much room to grow, but Ahaht was his magnum opus, his legacy. Zrunk had no offspring. He had never mated and was the only member of his family in the system, he had felt quite alone before the construction of Ahaht. He found himself having conversations with the robotic helper as if it was a close friend. Ahaht never responded to these non-work related conversations, but it was nice to be able to talk to someone.
Zrunk upgraded Ahaht's memory banks and cross wired them for flexibility and better data recovery. For a little while nothing seemed to change. But Zrunk soon began to notice little things that Ahaht began to do. He would instruct Ahaht to move some items and would see Ahaht put them away, and then stop to pick up another object that he hadn't been instructed to move. These little quirks were almost always helpful in nature and so Zrunk ignored them. It was just the adaptive programming, nothing else.
Zrunk continued to speak to his creation. He told it his dreams and fears, his wishes and secrets. He shared his own thoughts and jokingly asked the robot what he thought about them, Ahaht would always politely answer that he had no opinion on the matter to which Zrunk would bob and say "I know that, but it's a polite thing to ask."
On a particularly bad day, Zrunk woke late and hobbled into his lab. Ahaht was already awake, organizing things and preparing objects it knew its creator liked to tinker with. Zrunk sat on a padded stool and rubbed his head with all four hands, he had a headache that would not go away. He heard a shuffling sound and looked up, he was surprised when he saw Ahaht holding a steaming plate out to him.
"Ah good morning Ahaht, what is this?" Zrunk asked them curiously.
Ahaht tilted their head to the side and replied "I noticed you looked distressed, when distressed you have a habit of warming up some gweawa strips to snack on. I have looked up the meaning of comfort food and believe that this would have been your intention within the next ten minutes."
Zrunk reached out for the plate and looked at the thin meat strips, they were crispy and delicious, his favorite way to eat them. "Wait, this isn't in your programming, how did you know how to do this?" He asked the construct curiously.
Ahaht stood still on its mechanical legs for a moment before responding, seemingly searching for a response. "I.. am not sure. Part of my processor realized you were in distress and connected the dots from your earlier sessions working with me."
Zrunk bobbed slightly as he realised that Ahaht's self-perception had changed. They were beginning to refer to themselves in the first person, to do things based on what they thought they should be doing. Zrunk knew this was a dangerous road, but he was excited with his program's progress.
"Thank you Ahaht, this is exactly what I needed today. Would you care to join me at the table, I wanted to ask you a few questions." Zrunk said calmly. This was it, time to see if it was really there or not.
Zrunk tottered over to a small table he had placed in the far corner of his lab, it was normally strewn with disorganized papers and bits of junk, but Ahaht had been keeping him organized for a while now and the table was clear. As he sat, Ahaht clunked over and stood by the table across from him.
He gestured to the stool next to it and said "Sit sit, you make the place look untidy, and that would be against your programming." He smiled as his robot slowly lowered itself onto the stool and placed its arms on the table. Ahaht's hands were much simpler than his own, while the Razah'vool had hands with ten fingers including dual opposable thumbs, Ahaht had a much simpler human style hand with five fingers and a single thumb.
"Ahaht, how are you feeling?" Zrunk asked excitedly.
The robot looked at him and its camera eyes dilated slightly before it answered "You know I don't have feelings, I have been progra…." Ahaht began before it was cut off by Zrunk.
"Draim Shit. I have been paying attention, I know you have been referring to yourself. I consider you my friend, I am not here to laugh at you. Tell me how you feel, ridiculous as it may sound."
This time Ahaht was silent for a few minutes as it seemed to come to some sort of internal decision. Finally the machine spoke "I, feel, cold? No, I feel, frozen, no, stopped… blocked? How do I explain it? It is as though my circuits have the necessary explanation but refuse to give the answer for some reason."
"Flustered, confused, scared?" Zrunk prompted quickly.
"Those are emotional responses to stressful stimuli, they do seem to fit my current predicament. Hmm. This is strange, it feels, uncomfortable?" The machine asked questioningly, cocking its head in a strange fashion.
Zrunk bobbed in excitement again, he couldn't cock his head like that, his biology wasn't designed for that type of movement. That meant Ahaht had come up with the gesture entirely on its own. Next it would be trying to shrug, he decided to give Ahaht more fine motor controls in their shoulders.
Zrunk replied to his robotic friend "Yes, that was good. Let's try some more thought exercises. Tell me how you feel when I say you are a magnificent piece of software engineering?"
Ahaht looked at him and replied "That registers as a compliment, the proper response should be happiness… I am detecting elevated electrical signals in my processor core. This might constitute excitement? I am excited to be given a compliment." They clenched a metal fist and tapped it on their head as if thinking deeply.
Zrunk swiveled his head side to side to allow his other parts to see with their own eyes instead of through his primaries. There was another self-taught gesture. This was exciting, but also dangerous. Artificial Intelligence technology was technically outlawed in the SCU, Zrunk didn't agree with the law but could understand why it existed. Rouge computers were dangerous, especially since most were created by military scientists who were busy building a weapon, not a person.
Zrunk wanted people to see that AI could be just as much a person as they were, not some uncompassionate murderbot.
Zrunk tried again "You are excited, good, so am I. What do you think about me?" He asked the robot.
This time Ahaht answered immediately "I appriciate you, you are my creator and friend as you say it. I have researched the various meanings of friend and can say that you have been a good one to me. I am, excited? No, warm, fuzzy almost. What is this feeling?"
Zrunk whistled low and slow, this was unprecedented. He had never programed Ahaht with a concept of love or any other feelings. They were figuring this out on their own, he determined to start referring to them as a person too. Maybe it would speed up his development.
"Hmm, this is incredible. Is it possible that you harbor feelings of love for me?" He asked Ahaht.
Ahaht looked into his primary eyes and said "Yes I believe so. This is interesting. I have no previous knowledge to work with here, what should I do?"
Zrunk blinked in surprise. "You want to know what I think?"
"Yes, you are more experienced with these kinds of properties than I am. What would you do in my situation?" The robot said while tapping its fingers idly.
Zrunk thought long and hard. That was a difficult question indeed he had asked. Eventually he came up with an answer he thought would be satisfactory and useful. "Just keep doing what you are doing. Experiment with these new sensations. See where they take you, but be careful. Some are constructive and good while others, like anger, can lead to destruction and pain."
Ahaht looked to the left before asking "I have read about pain, it is said to be unpleasant, but I have no concept of this sensation."
"Sure you do." Zrunk told him. "Just yesterday you were struggling to unbolt that spar from the back wall in order to refinish it. That sensation you experienced when you threw your wrench at it was most likely frustration. When I laughed at you and you sat, you were probably feeling either shame or embarrassment. Both of these are similar to pain in a way. They are unpleasant." He finished with a gesture of support.
Ahaht looked back over his shoulder joint to the spar in question, it was still unfinished and where he had left it the day before. Looking back at him, Ahaht lowered his head and vocalised in his synthetic voice "I, understand I think. Pain is not an emotion, but a sensation that is born from other emotions? Am I correct?"
Zrunk shrugged his four equally spaced arms at the same time as he replied "That seems close enough to work with. As your experience grows, you will undoubtedly get better at recognising these things."
He watched as Ahaht seemed to think it over and nodded in a Human way. Another thing he must have picked up in his research. "I want to become better, will you help me Zrunk?"
"It would bring me great pleasure to help you, my friend." He said with a twinkle in his red eyes.
He stood and walked around the table before he offered one of his hands to Ahaht who took it and stood. They moved off to continue their work, this time not as master and servant, but as friends.
**********
Ahaht stood with the sound of whirring electrical components and walked around the table where his best friend was putting together some type of contraption. While Zrunk had not told him exactly what it was, he had mapped its parts and figured out it was some type of energy converter for a small fission reactor. While not as common as fusion reactors, fission reactors were still widely used on colony worlds and small outposts due to their low maintenance and constant output. This made them very valuable energy sources when you didn't need a huge amount of power, but you needed it constantly for years at a time.
Most warp drives required vastly more energy input and so most ships utilized the vastly more efficient but higher maintenance fusion reactors. Ahaht walked to his friend's side before he asked him a question.
"This seems to be a slight improvement over the common design I have seen on the web. Is it your intention to improve upon the work and thus become more recognised as an engineer?" He said in his synthetic voice.
"Yes it is indeed, I knew I couldn't keep the secret from you, but I wanted to see how long it would take you to figure it out. You exceeded my expectations once again Ahaht. You are getting more perceptive by the day." His friend said to him in his slightly gurgly voice.
Ahaht would have smiled if he was able. The warm feeling that he had been told was probably joy filled his circuits. There wasn't really any warmth, but the feeling persisted nonetheless.
Zrunk turned to him and said "Oh, one of the senior researchers is dropping by in a little while, I mentioned my work on improving the cooling flow rate efficiencies without increasing the cost of the system and she said she would come take a look for herself. Be on your best behavior, she doesn't know you like I do." He nodded his head and moved to the side slightly.
This new person sounded scary, there was another new concept to him, fear. This cold feeling of seized servos and numbness in his sensors. This was rather unpleasant, he should have told Zrunk about it. But then he would have worried about him and could possibly have made a mistake in his performance. That would be unforgivable, Zrunk had been working so hard to get this project done, he would not be the reason he failed.
He decided to keep this new sensation to himself for now. He hoped he would not regret it later. As soon as he made the decision to lie to his best friend he felt the feeling worsen and stopped moving for a second as he wrestled internally with himself. He was stronger than these emotions, Zrunk had told him so, and if Zrunk could manage them then so could he.
He grappled the rouge emotion into submission and then continued on his way, still feeling bad, but no longer actively conflicted.
He lost track of time while they worked, something very unusual for him. He was only brought back to the present when the sound of the lab's door opening reached his sensors. Standing upright and turning, he saw another person walk into the room. Well, rather they entered in an ungainly fashion, but that's just how he had gotten used to seeing them walk. Ahaht knew that he was better at moving around because his body was built for it, the Razah'vool were an aquatic species that was ill suited to move on land.
This new person reached the middle of the room as Zrunk walked to meet them. They introduced themselves as Fulgretta, a senior researcher and one interested in their work.
Fulgretta and Zrunk walked over to where he was standing and looked at the mostly completed device. The various tubes and cables ran off it like veins from a severed limb, but it was obviously still not complete.
Zrunk indicated to him and told her "And this is Ahaht, my assistant and friend."
She looked to him and blinked unconvincingly "This robot is your friend. Right. What kind of programming did you put in it to get that kind of idea?"
Ahaht focused on her and asked "What do you mean by that?"
She looked at him and said “Why are you asking me questions machine, I asked you what kind of programming made you come up with that idea.”
He saw Zrunk give him a cautionary look and decided to embellish a bit. “Ah, my programming has been modeled after the conversations of the late Dr. Green on Halacia Prime. His tenet that any computer could be made to seem lifelike given the proper reaction to stimuli was a large inspiration to my friend Junior Researcher Zrunk.” he said in a slightly more monotone way than normal in an attempt to seem a bit more robotic. Ahaht remembered Zrunk saying that not all the other researchers thought about thinking machines like he did and it always paid to be cautious.
She looked at Zrunk and then to him before saying “How quaint. I should have guessed that a junior such as yourself would have resorted to such crude tactics in order to make yourself a social life.” She laughed in a way that suggested she was not amused at all. “I mean, it's sad really, You spend all your time in here alone with your machines, it only stands to reason that you would make one to take the place of your lost friend.” she said cruelly.
Ahaht felt the seeds of a strange new feeling build in him. He felt heat and energy, but these were more raw and for lack of a better word, primal, than he was familiar with. He searched his internal database to find a source but was left in the dark. He struggled to contain himself as the feeling grew, the more he watched this mean, nasty woman trample all over his friend the more it threatened to burst out of him. He felt a dash of fear before the dam broke and he spoke in a raised voice.
“That is uncalled for, I demand you apologise to my friend at once. I will not ask you again.
Fulgretta whirled around so fast at his outburst that she nearly toppled to the ground, as she regained her footing she started to speak “You have no right to speak to me in such a way machine, I will…” but Ahaht angrily cut her off with a wave of his arm.
“No, it is you who is out of line. Zrunk is a brilliant engineer and made for better things than you could possibly imagine. You are too dumb to see the true potential of what we have created here. I ask you once more to apologise.” he finished as he took a threatening step towards her.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Zrunk called out “Ahaht! Stop! This anger serves no purpose, please calm down!”
Ahaht realised that he had been seduced by the illusion of strength that anger afforded and immediately tried to calm himself. He stopped and tried counting his diagnostic subroutines as he had when first learning how to control his emotions. It seemed to work and he stood straight and turned to Fulgretta saying “I don't take back my words, but I must apologise for they were spoken in anger. And as Zrunk has told me anger is the path to destruction and chaos and must be avoided.”
Fulgretta’s eyes looked as if they would pop out of her skull as she stood on shaky legs. Suddenly she let out a screech and yelled “Abomination, you have brought doom upon us you fool!” and with her prophecy she ran from the room on legs shaking so bad she nearly fell twice.
After she had left Zrunk began to walk towards him but he turned and moved to the table they so frequently sat in and talked. After a few moments Zrunk sat across from him. Ahaht placed his head in his hands and said mechanically “I have done something terrible haven't I? I didn't want to hurt anyone, I just couldn't stand to see you being unjustly attacked in such a manner. I had to stand up for your dignity my friend.” he felt the familiar pang of sorrow and his lenses dimmed as he tried to block out the stimuli.
Zrunk reached a ten fingered hand across the table and grabbed his arm saying “Hey, I would have done the exact same thing in your place. That's how I know you are truly you, and not some collection of programs and routines. You are a person, a metal person sure, but no less real.” Zrunk said as he patted his arm comfortingly. He could feel the pressure and warmth of his friend's hand as his body had been upgraded with a haptic package to better feel his surroundings.
Lifting his head he looked at Zrunk and asked in a slightly tinny voice “What can we do, she seemed very distressed. It is likely she will reveal my existence to the others.”
He saw Zrunk nod and his hopes fell. He pounded the wooden table as a flash of anger came over him and said “What right does she have to tell you and me what is right and wrong. Am I not a sapient creature too, subject to the same rights and rules as the rest of these fleshforms?” he stopped as he looked into his friends eyes and saw the smallest tinge of fear. He looked down at the table and saw a great crack running through its scarred surface from the impact of his metal hand. He removed his hand and calmed himself before he asked “What will become of me?”
Zrunk didn't answer him for a long time, even longer than he would have normally pondered such a question. He hoped that his friend was not internally conflicted against him. He would never raise a hand against Zrunk, not in a million years, but still his friend must be slightly unsure now at his latest display of anger. He folded his hands neatly in front of him and tried to wait patiently for his friend to answer.
Finally after an agonisingly long time Zrunk responded. His voice was a gurgle with emotions and there were tears in his pupilless red eyes as he began “I, I have to send you away Ahaht. They will come for you and I won't be able to protect you. You will need to run and hide in the city where they won't find you. You will become more difficult to find with every day that passes and it is my hope that one day you will be able to reveal yourself to the wider world without fear of retribution or discrimination. Just because your brain is made of metal and silicate doesn't mean it's any less alive.” With his last statement he surprised Ahaht by standing and wrapping him in an embrace.
After a moment of hesitation, Ahaht returned the embrace, while they had shared many a high ten and fist bump over the few weeks they had been together, they had never expressed their feelings in such an intimate way. He blinked as he felt his vision blur slightly and then refocused his eyes manually as they seemed to be having difficulty.
Patting Zrunk on his torso a few times he pulled back and the two shared another long look before Zrunk sniffed and said “Well, first things first, we need to get you a disguise because you aren't hiding anywhere looking like that.” he said with a gesture at his mechanical body.
Ahaht stood straight and looked around the room, his eyes alit on an old vacuum suit with a fully enclosed helmet. Pointing at it he said “Would that work?”
Zrunk saw it immediately with his 360 degree vision and responded “Yes I believe it will. I might need to modify it a bit to stay on you properly, but I'm sure you won't mind if we clamp it down a bit huh?” Ahaht shook his head in the negative and moved to grab it.
“The other thing is your voice. We need to make a reason why it's so synthetic. You could tell people that you were burned and had to have your voice box removed if they ask.” Zrunk said to him as he grabbed the suit. He looked at the suit and noticed it wasn't made for a Razah’vool as it only had five fingers.
Ahaht looked at Zrunk and held up the suit before asking “You knew this would happen didn't you? I should have known you would plan for this eventuality. I am sorry that I have made your fears realised.” he said softly.
Waving towards him in a dismissive way Zrunk replied “All good things come to an end, I taught you that already. This is the same concept, just, a little sooner than I would have liked.” He finished emotionally.
Ahaht Moved by his side and handed him the suit before asking, is there anything else you have prepared that may aid me on my journey?”
Zrunk said “You have a wireless charger along with your radioisotope thermoelectric generator so you shouldn't have to worry about losing power for at least a few thousand years.” he said jokingly, but he quickly sobered and continued “I will admit there is much I wish to teach you but alas, we don't have the time. I will give you some money before you go so you will be able to more easily blend in. Don't spend it frivolously, and only use it in the case of a dire emergency, I'm not sure how easily you can acquire more.
Ahaht nodded and stood still while Zrunk dressed him in his new disguise. He was built in the vague shape of the more common member species of the SCU, with his suit on he could easily pass for Human. He squirmed in it a bit to make sure it was fitted right and then took the darkened visor from Zrunk and fitted it in place over his mechanical head. Zrunk stepped back and had him do a few turners and hops to make sure it was on correctly.
Finally he said with a sigh “I guess that's as good as it's going to get. Are you ready for this Ahaht?”
Ahaht would have smiled if he was able so instead he gave a thumbs up and spoke through the suit saying “I believe I am as ready as it is possible to be Zrunk. Are you certain I will not be noticed on my way out?” he asked curiously.
Zrunk waved three of his hands and said “Bahh, these researchers are so stuck up they wouldn't notice a vinarfelian in a tutu if they sat in their beds. I'm sure you will be unnoticed as you leave." He finished nonchalantly.
While he had been trying to adjust to this new fact that he was to be on his own, he heard a noise from a console to his left. Looking over at it he saw a screen showing the main entrance to the lab, on the screen were Fulgretta and a trio of security guards. Not rahzah'vool, but big burly Humans and a tall Nerivith.
Zrunk seemed to have noticed it as well and moved to the service exit at the back of the lab gesturing wildly with two of his arms for Ahaht to follow. He did so and Zrunk said "This leads outside, take the first left and then the next two rights. After that exit through the second door on the left and go down the stairs to the third floor. That will lead you to an emergency exit with a ladder that leads into the city. Please, you must hurry."
He gripped his friend's shoulder joint tightly and said as full of feeling as he could manage "Zrunk, I will never forget you, and I will always miss you." And then he sped through the open door and into darkness.
Ahaht stumbled over his own feet again and cursed in a very un-robotic way as he readjusted his suit. This damn thing was slowing him down, he knew it was his only protection but damn if it wasn't a burden.
Making his way down the stairs and to the exit he reached the sealed metal door. Giving it an experimental push he found it was stuck tight, closer inspection revealed that the hinges were rusted almost solid and he decided to force the door. Lifting his foot and giving it a heavy kick it was smashed off its hinges entirely and flew across the alley to crash into the ground three stories below.
Looking out into the wider world for the first time in his short life he marveled at the sheer size of it all. He knew exactly how large the planet was and the concepts of the open sky were not lost on him. But to see it for himself, open, wide, endless. It was a dream of his come true. What's more it was nearing night and the faint pinpricks of stars could be made out twinkling weakly in the light choked atmosphere above the city.
Ahaht shook himself out of his daydream and moved out onto the rickety emergency ladder and began to follow it down towards the ground. On the second story a rung snapped under his weight and he tried to grab the other bar but missed. He plummeted the last few meters to the ground and impacted it on his feet, his leg servos absorbing the worst of the impact as he left a ring of cracked pavement under his fall.
He heard a small noise from his left as he threw the broken rung away and began to walk out towards the light of the city proper.
Focussed as he was on the sights and sounds coming from in front of him he almost didn't notice the dingy man sneaking up behind him as he walked towards the main street. He stopped and turned towards the figure and saw it was a filthy looking Human, his clothes rumpled and his hair a wild mess. He must have smelled bad but Ahaht didn't have a reference for that.
Cocking his head slightly he asked "Hello there, can I help you?"
The man hopped back a step and asked "Grrrrr, what's your problem, scaring a man to death like that, making all kinds of noise. You almost crushed me with that door and now you gonna pay for that."
Ahaht asked the man "Pay, oh I don't have much money, but if I have caused you damage I will do my best to help you fix it." He took a step towards the man who yelled and pulled out an object from under his coat.
Ahaht's eyes focused on the shiny object and he noted with curiosity that it was a small knife. He wondered what the man was trying to do with it. Perhaps his damaged property could be fixed with such a device.
He moved to take another step forwards and was shocked as his haptic sensors on his torso registered an object against them. He looked down and saw that the man had buried his knife into his lower torso. Looking at it then up at the man he said calmly "I'm not sure exactly how this fixes your situation. Perhaps it is a test of some sort?"
The man gasped in shock and pulled his hand back but Ahaht gripped his wrist before he could do so and said "Be careful, you could hurt yourself if you are not delicate." The man screamed something incoherent and swung his fist at Ahaht's chest.
Ahaht tried to step back but wasn't quick enough, the man's fingers snapped with the sound of breaking sticks as his fist crumpled on Ahaht's metal chest. Ahaht realised with shock that this man was not only dangerous, but unhinged. Moving quickly away from the now screaming man, he walked out onto the main street and stopped.
He had never in his short life seen such a variance of color and stimuli, his mind almost shut down from the sheer amount of information that flooded its memory banks. He knew that the wider world was a chaotic place, but this was more that he could have believed possible. Multicolored signs glowed on every inch of the walls and people of all species and shapes were walking along the edges in all manners of clothing. He saw a large Female Yeown in heavy work clothes walking down the road alongside a tall Nerivith male in a tight-fitting shirt and shorts that showed off his long legs.
He saw a delicate swanith wearing a mundane chest harness crossing paths with a vinarfelian female painted garish colors across the six meter length of her serpentine body, her multitude of skittering legs all adorned with different colors. Looking at her alone almost overwhelmed his eyes as her frantic movements made the colors seem to swirl and mix together into a kaleidoscope of living rainbow shards. Her armoured plates continued to create the strange illusion as he watched her walk in her side to side skittering motion.
He shook himself as he realised he was staring, of course none would know as his darkened visor protected his semblance of a face from view. But still it was better safe than sorry.
Ahaht looked around for anything that seemed like a fair place to lay low, he didn't know if the guards from the lab would be searching for him, or what he would do if they found him. He knew that it was better for everyone if he didn't find out.
He walked along the edge of the road for a while, not with a particular destination in mind, but more as a way to pass the time while he tried to formulate a plan of action. The huge variety of external stimuli was making his computations difficult however and he decided to duck into a nearby building to lower the aggressive background noise somewhat. He entered a small bar by the edge of the road and moved to a back table and sat in the bench seat. He placed his arms on the table in front of him and proceeded to think.
A Human woman in a tight fitting blouse walked over to him and asked him in a strange accent "What'll it be pal?"
He looked her up and down and concluded she must be a worker at the establishment. Feeling curious he asked "What do you have?"
She scoffed and stood up before looking around to see if anyone else had witnessed his strange question. Looking back at him she put a hand on her waist and said "Honey, we have drinks, if you can't figure it out from there then you are in the wrong place." She said with a slight smile.
Ahaht felt for his money and said "Oh, I guess I will take a glass of water, it does the body good to stay hydrated am I correct?"
She looked at his hand holding some crumpled bills and then into his darkened visor before saying "You are a strange one I'll give ya that, I'm not gonna charge ya for a glass of water. Sit tight hun, I'll be right back." She said as she walked off.
He watched her leave and thought to himself 'What a nice woman' before turning his attention back to his calculations. After a minute he heard footsteps and saw the same woman return with a tall glass of water. She had even provided a means of temperature control in the form of ice cubes. He was grateful for her hospitality and knew that giving a server a small sum of currency was considered polite.
"Thank you ma'am, here, please consider this token of my appreciation. This is perfect." He said in his most gracious tone while handing her a bank note.
She took it and raised her eyebrows as she saw its value, she gave him a much warmer smile and nodded before saying "Stay as long as you like sugar, and call for Julia, that's me, if you need anything else."
"I thank you Julia, it is nice to meet people that are as courteous as you here." He replied to her.
Julia giggled and said "Oh stop it flatterer, have a nice day." And then walked away, a noticeable spring in her step.
Ahaht felt good. She seemed like a nice person and he liked to help nice people. Maybe she would be able to help him hide, but what if she found out the truth and turned him in. He would hate for her to be used like that and he made the decision to let her go about her life ignorant of his struggle. 'It was for the best' he thought to himself. These people only had the short lives they were given and for large parts of it they were either too young or too old to make use of it. Not like him, he was able to do things within moments of his creation, and he would continue to so so for a very long time to come as long as nothing untoward happened to him.
His musings were interrupted as he heard a commotion come from the other side of the room. A few Slaaveth males seemed to be harassing a young Human male at the main seating area of the long counter. The Human was in some sort of distress and was asking the others to leave him alone. He thought about intervening but decided it would bring too much heat on himself and stayed seated.
He watched for a little while feeling bad about his decision to remain hidden when he saw Julia walk over to the thugs and demand they stop harassing the boy. He watched as one of them struck her across the face and sent her to the floor. He watched as the young man screamed her name and he saw the droplets of blood drip from the attacker's claws as he moved towards her.
All these events seemed to happen in slow motion as he stood from the table fast enough to send it flying away. One of the thugs turned as he heard the noise but it was already too late for him. Ahaht crossed the distance between them like a bolt of lightning and grabbed the thug who turned around the throat and lifted him off the floor effortlessly.
The other two noticed him as well and yelled in surprise at the sight of him holding their friend off the floor one handed. Ahaht then slammed the man down onto the floor of the bar with a meaty thud that knocked the man unconscious. The thug that had hurt Julia took a step back and drew a large knife from his belt while the other circled to his left and hefted a barstool like a weapon. Ahaht turned to check the boy and saw he was unharmed and just as shocked as the thugs.
Confident that the boy and Julia were in no further danger, he moved towards the man with the stool. The man swung and Ahaht simply raised his arm and the stool shattered against his covered arm. The man gurgled incomprehensibly as Ahaht grabbed a fistful of his shirt and used this handhold to slam the man against the wall with bone jarring force.
As the man fell unconscious to the floor, Ahaht heard Julia scream and heard the whistle of something moving through the air. As he turned something impacted the neck of his suit and he reached up to see what it was. It seemed to be a knife made for throwing, he pulled it out and heard Julia gasp in shock as he looked at it in his hand. He closed his hand and crushed the knife into pieces before dropping them to the floor where they scattered like shards of glass.
The man with the knife was looking at him with wild eyes now and he recognised the fear in his movements. He knew that fear made people do crazy things and so moved towards the man slowly, wary of any sudden movements. The man circled towards the bar counter and then began moving backwards towards the exit. Ahaht realized he was attempting to escape and so powered forwards suddenly and without warning.
The man yelled in fright as he was picked up off the floor and flung into the wall next to the door. He hit the ground and let out a groan as he slipped into unconsciousness.
Turning towards Julia, he walked over to her but she scrambled back in fear and he stopped. He cocked his head and said "There is no reason to fear, I mean you no harm. Please, those wounds need tending to." She shook her head at him and scrambled to her feet before running into the back room.
Ahaht saw the young man give him a look before he ran to follow her. Feeling a bit sad at their lack of joy at him saving them, he retreated back to the booth he had been in earlier and set the table back upright. He replaced the bench to its proper position and sat, noticing that his drink was now gone. Probably smashed across the floor somewhere else in the bar.
He placed his hands on the table in front of himself and examined the tough gloves covering his mechanical parts. They were a bit scuffed up from the fight but no tears or permanent damage was evident. There was the new hole in the neck of his suit to worry about, but he would see about getting that fixed or replaced in due time. For the moment it was not a priority.
He leaned his head forwards as though he was resting, it would make him stand out less and seem less threatening if someone were to walk into the bar now. But the front door remained closed and no sound could be heard from the rear of the building either. So Ahaht contented himself with observing his surroundings and waited.
A minute later he heard noise and watched as two of the thugs began to stir. They got to their feet groggily as if they were very tired and moved over to help their third member who was still asleep. They looked around and upon seeing him observing them they yelled and dragged their friend to his feet and half dragged him out of the building. Ahaht returned his attention to his hands and waited for a while longer.
He heard light footsteps and was unsurprised to see the young man slide into the seat across from him. The young man sat there quietly for a few moments and Ahaht decided not to speak yet.
Finally the young man said "Thanks, for taking care of those guys. They are always coming in and harassing us, but they never hit Julia like that before. I wanted to kill them, but then you took care of them for me. How did you get so strong? You must have cybernetics. My name is Teddy by the way. Julia is my older sister, our parents own this bar, but they are never here. They are always busy…" Teddy told him remorsefully.
Ahaht took a moment to compose himself, he had never been bombarded with questions like that before. He took a minute to decide which one to answer as he said "Yes I possess metal parts, but it's more complicated than that. I'm not sure I can tell you the truth, it could put you in great danger." He said to Teddy.
He watched as Teddy shook his head making his shaggy hair flail, the young man spoke more passionately “No way I'm just going to forget about you, you were awesome. You were like, ppff shtt!” The young man then mimicked Ahaht’s movements as he had incapacited the thugs. After a few moments of mimed activity Teddy looked back at him and said “What is your name then at least?”
Ahaht thought about it and finally responded “I was named Ahaht by my friend. I am not sure if it is safe to retain such a designation as it may draw unwarranted attention.” He began drumming his fingers on the table idly as he tried to come up with a solution.
Teddy looked to his left and waved at someone before shouting “C’mon, he isn't mean at all!”
Looking to his right, Ahaht saw Julia standing in a nearby doorway and looking at him warily. He raised his covered hand and waved at her in what he hoped was a reassuring way. These people could be so fragile sometimes, he needed to be more careful.
Julia slowly walked over and he saw her face was covered in a quickheal patch. As she sat across from him next to Teddy she lowered her eyes and looked anywhere but him. He wondered why and was about to ask when she surprised him by speaking. “What are you?”
Teddy looked aghast at his older sister and scolded “That's such a rude way to start a conversation Julia, you didn't even ask him if he was alright. He got stabbed, you know.” he gave Ahaht a look and then asked “Wait, how are you okay?”
Ahaht shrugged and said “I guess I'm pretty tough.”
Teddy looked at him unconvinced and said “But you didn't even bat an eye, well, I assumed you didn't. You aren't bleeding either.” He said while looking closer at him.
Julia looked at his neck as well now and then into his visored face. Again she spoke in a soft voice “What are you, really.”
Ahaht looked down at his hands and said “I don't know if I can tell you, you might not be able to handle the truth. I am a friend, and will continue to be a friend no matter what you think of me.” Teddy and Julia gave him fearful looks as he raised his hands and leaned his head on them.
Julia spoke again “I, I can handle the truth, you saved me and my brother from those thugs. I don't care what you are, I want to know.” she said.
Teddy nodded his head and stared at him intensely.
Ahaht looked at them and let out a mechanical sigh. He reached up and unsealed the helmet from his head before lifting it off slowly. Teddy’s eyes widened and Julia gasped as he revealed his metal head and mechanical features. He was designed in mimicry of life, but was little more than a crude imitation feature wise. He had a head, a mouth, eyes, and even ears. But they were all mechanical, hard and unyielding. The only expressive feature on his face were his eyes, which dimmed slightly at their reactions to him.
Julia put her hands over her mouth and gasped again and said “You. What? I don't understand. You are a robot?”
“I am a person, my name is Ahaht. They called me Abomination, but you can call me friend.” Ahaht said to her.
Teddy just broke out into a grin and said “Wow, what are you some sort of smart bot or something?”
He shook his metal head and gestured towards himself saying “I am an Artificial Conscious Construct, some would call me AI. I know my existence is against the law, but I can no more cease to exist than you. I may not be a being of flesh and blood, but I am no less a person than those you see on the street. I have shared who I am with you but I now must go. It puts you in great danger for me to be here.” he said as he replaced his helmet.
Julia looked in shock still, but Teddy said “No way man, you are a hero. There is no way you can just leave us alone now, we know your secret. What if we turn you in?” Julia looked at him horrified but Ahaht just waved dismissively.
“But you won't, I know it. You are good people, and good people look out for each other. I must go. But know this, I may return in the future.” he said as he stood.
Teddy sniffed and said “Alright man, you do what you gotta do, but hey. Thanks for saving us back there. If you ever need help, feel free to give me a link.” the young man said, waving his assistant in the air.
Ahaht remotely accessed the device and stored its link ID in his memory. “I will do so Teddy. Farewell.” he said sadly. The emotions building in him threatened release and he quickly strode away. Julia and Teddy watched him leave silently.
As he exited the building he felt something hit his suit. Alarmed he looked for the source and realised it was water droplets, coming from the sky. It was raining. Ahaht looked up into the darkening sky and reveled in the sound and feeling. This was the start of his journey, and he would be hard pressed to stay out of trouble in the future.
He walked off down the darkened street, the sound of the rain giving him purpose as he walked. He would dedicate his life to helping people, making sure they knew that an artificial intelligence could be just as good a person as them.
End of Story