Metallurgical Intent
whoops i realised that the previous one i published wasn't the latest version. so here's the latest one, dated 29 January.
Kaelyn was more than just a little surprised to see Nic waiting for her outside the apartment when she returned and she clearly expressed her surprise.
“What are you doing here, Nic? We’re desperately short of manpower here! You should be polishing the equipment for the laser sculpting!”
Nic shrugged unsmilingly. He stood waveringly on the spot, his large brown eyes following Kaelyn as she slid out of her spacesuit easily.
“Guess your battery needs to be recharged again,” Kaelyn sighed wearily. Although she was nineteen, she was assertive in her manners and, competent in her profession. Being one of the most talented and sought after laser sculptors, she thought it was necessary to carry off an air of feminine elegance under the scrutiny of the intergalactic media.
“I’m going to have to switch you off,” her authoritative tone barely masked a trace of impatience. She slid her hand into the small of his back. What she hadn’t expected was the violent reaction from Nic as he nearly knocked her over.
“No!” he resisted. There was just the faintest hint of defiance.
Kaelyn sucked in a breath and tried once more, impatiently. “Not again, Nic! It’s not going to hurt. You’re only a robot; and stop over-reacting!”
Nic leaned against the titanium walls of the apartment, and apparently hit a sensor – the solar shields came down and the interior lights flickered on.
“Alright, okay, you asked for it. Nic, shut down NOW. This is an order.” She spoke more sharply than she had intended to and expected to hear the metallic click of his system switching off any moment.
Minutes passed, but he was still standing there, watching her intently. Kaelyn was more than just a little disturbed by his reaction. Finally, she broke the dreary silence. “What’s wrong with you?! Nic, I swear I’ll send you to be reprogrammed!”
She diverted her attention to the two new robots that had just arrived the day before. JC-17 and IZ-28 were made of highly advanced synthetic jelly silicon with 60 artificial joints each in their faces, necks, and lower bodies. They were specially customized to be able to demonstrate realistic facial expressions.
Kaelyn was preoccupied with examining JC-17 and IZ-28 which had been made to look almost exactly like humans on the outside, but with internal mechanics exactly the same as that of robots.
“Could you please… ” Nic was standing in her way.
“Look, Nic, I’m really busy here. JC-17 and IZ-28 require my attention… now.”
Nic felt a sharp twang of resentment. He grasped Kaelyn’s arm forcefully, catching her by surprise.
“NC-16! Control yourself! This is an order!”
“Kaelyn,” Nic said slowly, a note of passion rising in his automatonic voice. “There are many things I am not made to understand, and this must be one of them. But I’m… I’m almost human. I’m also capable of loving you. ”
The realization that Nic was no longer just an android hit Kaelyn. His ability to model human emotions and display his affection for her far exceeded her expectations.
Robots can’t feel; they don’t have emotions; they aren’t capable of loving! A mental voice reminded her and she freed herself from his grasp. Snapping back to reality out of her momentary confusion, Kaelyn was filled with a sudden revulsion and horror at what had just happened.
She left the room abruptly.
The sudden revelation that he was capable of human emotions despite being a mere android, was mortifying. After all, his positronic brainwaves weren’t wired for such purposes.
This was absurd. He didn’t know what might happen to him – he might suffer a breakdown, collapse, go mad, anything. But he would still love, anyway.
“The Constitution: A robot must not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Loving someone puts them at risk of getting hurt. Contradiction. Therefore I must not allow Kaelyn to love me.”
What about hurt feelings then? Were they also considered injury? When you love someone, you put yourself at risk of getting hurt… And Nic knew, with an inexplicable conviction, that Kaelyn would love him back.
And he also knew, with his head but not his heart, that it was impossible for a robot to disobey the Constitution. It was a mathematical impossibility, an unconceivable idea… but he was already disobeying it. He was becoming more and more human-like each day; he could feel pain, frustration, hurt, jealousy, joy, but most of all, love.
Nic would have been crying at this point, if he could. Instead, though, he sat down and buried his face in his hands – and started working out the prime numbers between 57 000 and 439 000. It always calmed him down, without fail.
*****
Kaelyn sat on the edge of her bed, suddenly frightened in a completely new way. She swallowed nervously and stared at her hands stupidly – they were still tingling with the pressure of his fingers.
No, not him. He was an “it”. NC-16. That was the name she referred to him – by his serial number – when she needed a reminder that he was only a hunk of aluminium and titanium, under a human-like façade.
One did not have to be a roboticist to know that androids cannot possibly be capable of emotions. They made good friends, perhaps even confidantes, but lovers… No. No. NO! How could she be in love with a machine?
Kaelyn shook her head hard. Would anyone else in the space colony understand how it felt to be in love, or worse, to love someone that you weren’t allowed to? She remembered vaguely the stories she had heard of the Earthmen – how they still had wives and children, still loved, still led simple lives. The Earth colony hadn’t changed much since the Revolution a good three centuries ago. It was given up as hopeless.
But here… here on the space colony, anyone could have anyone else. She had had a few guys back in college, but that kind of existence was too empty, futile, useless. Kaelyn wanted someone she could love, that she could call her own.
Maybe she would have been much happier living before the Revolution.
In any case, Kaelyn was tired. She was sick of living the way she did, working as a laser sculptor. Of course, the pay was great and there was the job satisfaction, but she was still missing something.
Nic. Nic. Nic. Her heart contracted in her spasm of pain, and tears flooded her eyes. A stirring from her own body sent a shudder from mind to soul… Her own genetically engineered body was designed by minds who wanted perfection… Was flesh and blood really that different from silicon and electron pulses? How different was he from her?
Why then was she capable of love but he deemed unable and therefore prohibited? Was loving him truly a crime?
Kaelyn knew somewhere in the recesses at the back of her mind that these were questions that no one knew the answer to. And as the sharp pain in her heart became only a dull ache, she gave herself over to her jumbled thoughts that washed over her…
Quite unsurprisingly, the last thought that clamored at her was that of his hand. She remembered how it felt, warm and soft, just like a human being’s.
Almost like a human.
*****
The next morning, Kaelyn met Nic in the hallway with an unusually fond greeting.
“I know… I know this place, with the most extraordinary relics!” she whispered excitedly, beside herself with girlish anticipation. “It’s outside of this space colony, but a short trip on the space bubble should do the trick.” She added, dropping her voice to even lower tones. A prominent figure in society, her every move was monitored closely… And she knew, as everyone else did, the open secret about the Corporation tapping into the networks of apartments at random, to eavesdrop on their private conversation.
“But… but how?” If Nic was thrilled, his inscrutable face surely did not betray it.
“Simple.” Kaelyn could not suppress a grin at the foolproof plan that she had worked out feverishly all night. “I’ll leave first and you’ll set off half an hour later. Study these directions carefully, and make sure you don’t get lost.” She handed him a folded slip of paper.
What seemed like the faintest trace of a smile tugged at the corners of Nic’s lips. “I don’t need these,” he said, quite simply, after his photoelectric eyes had scanned the note. “You haven’t forgotten, have you? I can receive and wire radio signals easily, even in time warps, let alone outer space!”
The secret rendezvous went as Kaelyn planned. Stopping upon the abandoned
L-5 NanoCity in space on the asteroid, she waved her hand airily at the vast amount of junk accumulated on its surface and explained, “It used to be a dumping ground for the Earthmen, about a hundred years ago, when we had already developed the disintegration technology.” She allowed a small smile at the primitive ways of the Earthmen, and their rigidity at rejecting every type of advance in technology.
Picking their way slowly through the pieces of waste, they came across rather curious articles – scrap metal, disjointed robots, rattles, awkward thick objects with squiggles scrawled across their pages, and… and…
Kaelyn dashed over the jagged rocks on the surface of the asteroid towards the craggy cliff. The low gravity made physical activity an easy feat, but the bulky spacesuit obstructed her movements, and she barely cleared the seven feet jump. Stopping and staring in awe, Kaelyn was faced with the most breath-taking sight.
It was an odd instrument, with duo-coloured keys, and a cover that was inclined at an angle so as to allow her to view the dozens of parallel strings inside, each connected to a tiny little hammer. “It must be a Pianissichord!” Kaelyn murmured inaudibly. She had heard about it during her history lessons that such peculiar musical instruments had existed before the Revolution.
Kaelyn depressed one key gently. It created a solemn melancholy sound reverberating through the hushed atmosphere of the City in space. If only there were others to hear it! The sound stirred some lost childhood memory – where she had stared at the picture of the piano on the screen for hours, and wondered how it might have been like to attend a concert.
Imagine the music! The dancing notes swirling through the air, the harmony of chords, each sound distinct and unique from the others… What rapture it must have created in its audience! And how much more, what infinite pleasure the pianist must have derived!
She knew what it was like to be an artist, watching her laser sculptures slowly take shape under the guidance of her skilful, deft fingers… But perhaps, the art even of today could not be compared to that of the past. That single mournful note still rang out, its echoes dying away slowly. A sudden déjà vu swept over her; and Kaelyn felt as if she had never been more alone before.
Nic touched her shoulder gently. “I think I could play that piano,” he glanced at it shyly. “I’ve been programmed to do so.”
Planting himself down firmly on the bench, Nic’s uncertain fingers found the right keys… and there was a sudden orchestration of sounds, like nothing Kaelyn had ever heard in her entire life. This was real.
His fingers swept nimbly across the keyboard, blending rich harmonic overtones; the music rising to a crescendo as he executed octaves and double notes with precision. It was a wonderful showcase, and Kaelyn sat rapt and enthralled. It was all she could do to manage a “Wow!” at the end of the piece, and Nic beamed.
“That was the Paganini Variations by Johannes Brahms,” he cast a sidelong glance at her, and was taken very much by surprise when she reached for his hand.
“That was impressive.” She was overwhelmed by the intensity of her own feelings. “Nic, are you really capable of… loving?”
Kaelyn held her breath and waited for his reply. The dead silence was ringing and it seemed like an eternity before he replied rather dully, “I’m not sure now,” and his voice trailed off.
“So you were lying the day before?”
“Yes.” Nic averted her steely gaze. “I did that all to prevent you from getting hurt. I don’t really love you.” He was lying that he had lied, but he did not have another choice. This was the only way to protect her, now. Even if she had to hate him… He had made up his mind to do so.
The dizzying sensation was gone, and only a gnawing ache in the pit of her stomach was left behind. “Alright, at least I know the situation now.” It was hard to hide the hurt in her voice, but Kaelyn did so with a great effort, and turned towards her space bubble.
She never looked back, he never saw the tears in her eyes, and she never saw him again.
*****
As the weeks turned to months, Kaelyn found it easier to put Nic out of her thoughts. Her feelings toward him were fading quickly, and she found it nearly impossible to stay in love with someone that she could no longer see. Well, perhaps, she had only been in love with the idea of being in love. That was a reassuring thought.
Sometimes, when her mind was idle, her thoughts inevitable turned to Nic, and she wondered what had happened to him then. He never returned, and she never had the courage to find out, but she always took it for granted that he was happy somewhere else.
Nevertheless, Kaelyn did not usually entertain that train of thought. It was an unpleasant memory, to be locked up and stored away; or more preferably, forgotten. Whenever the thought of Nic returned to her uninvited, she made it a personal habit to bury herself in work. This tactic had never failed her.
Kaelyn looked over the laser sculptures she had completed in the past few months, that were to be exhibited at the Intergalactic Arts Fest Conference 2307. Sure, they weren’t nearly as good as the ones she had worked on together with Nic, and they were mere variations of her previous successes… The public wouldn’t notice a difference anyway.
Her life had changed more drastically. For one thing, she now had the two new robots – JC-17 and IZ-28 to assist her.
Nothing they ever did would erase the memory of Nic and his brooding handsome looks, soft dark hair, youthful square jaw, and muscular arms. Still, with the ever-surmounting workload, Kaelyn realized that she could go for days at a stretch without thinking of him. But when the work was done, she would flop down on the couch and feel the aching void within… Everything was meaningless, utterly meaningless!
That was where Stan came into the picture now. Within days of being nominated as one of the Top Ten Entrepreneurs, Kaelyn soon learnt the social norms. She had to have a bedmate, and Stan would do perfectly fine. He wasn’t very much older than her and incredibly dashing… With the sufficient work in the day and Stan at night, she needn’t have worried too much about her feelings.
The older women rallied around her and patted her encouragingly, each recounting her personal tale of some obscure romantic relationship, and all unanimously agreed on the point that she would get over it. “A man a day, keeps the emotions at bay!”
It was on a day very much like the others that the telescreen beeped right after breakfast. Kaelyn shoved her plate away and ignored the shrill sound that was reverberating through the small cluttered apartment. Stan walked up toward her, with a suggestive grin. “What shall it be this morning? Shall we head for vibro-vac-massages down the block? I heard they’re good.” He had his arm around her.
“It’s your decision,” Kaelyn replied sweetly. It was strange, using such language and being so close to someone she didn’t really care for, but it was the social norm. Anything else, and she could forget about her ambition of being the Top Laser Sculptor.
The shrill beeping ceased abruptly, and a human voice came on the speakers. It wasn’t quite the flat robotic one that she had always heard, informing her of her daily workload, and that made her start a little.
“Is this the private residence of Doctor Kaelyn McKenzie?”
“Well, yes.” Kaelyn straightened. Any call that required a human’s precious time and attention had to be something of utmost importance. She slid away from Stan and tossed her tousled hair out of her face. “What is the matter?”
“This is Professor Ernest Stein, from Intergalactic Robots Research Centre, and we have called you regarding your robot NC-16. You were once his previous owner, no?”
“Yes. What is wrong with NC-16?” Kaelyn hastened towards the telescreen, where a projected image of a middle-aged man with an agreeable red face, spoke coldly and crisply.
“He malfunctioned during one of our interrogations last week, and we found it is our professional duty to terminate him, as he had displayed tendencies of defying The Constitution. We would like you to assist our investigations - ” Professor Ernest croaked over the static sound.
“You terminated my robot?! How could you do that?!”
“Doctor McKenzie, the robot NC-16 is now official property of the Intergalactic Robots Research Centre since his detention. I hope you understand.” He reminded her.
“I’ll be right over.” Kaelyn was already putting her spacesuit on with extreme haste. Detention? He was detained? When? How could she not know? A million questions raced through her head.
A perturbed Kaelyn stumbled into the Intergalactic Robots Research Centre head office just half an hour later, and was greeted by a young fresh-looking secretary. “Follow me please.” He led her into the inner office.
They filed into a laboratory in icy silence, and her presence was hardly acknowledged by the team of scientists huddled around the screen. She cast a sidelong glance at Nic who was lying on a steel table, wires connected to his head, eyes shut. He was as handsome as ever, the only difference was he looked entirely like a robot now.
A chill swept over her momentarily as Kaelyn fixed unseeing eyes on the computer screen. It took her quite a few moments to realize that it was entirely blank, but that did not matter.
“You detained him? What actually happened?” She demanded.
“Didn’t you know, Doctor McKenzie?” Professor Stein’s voice was perfectly even. “Our wave beams detected two trespassers on Asteroid L-5, and NC-16 was one of them. Apparently, he was out there with a human female, and from our control station, we intercepted their conversation, of which we could make out that they were involved in a romantic entanglement. Of course, you are aware that this is a crime?”
He paused significantly, but receiving no reply, continued. “However, when our patrol team arrived on Asteroid L-5, we found NC-16 quite alone there. Months of interrogation yielded no results as he fiercely protected the identity of that, uh, human female. And we were wondering if you could assist us in our research.”
He nodded calmly toward Kaelyn, who was struggling to remain composed. “Surely, there was no need to terminate his program!” she sputtered. A dim horror of her worst nightmare and wildest dreams washed over her.
“We took out NC-16’s positronic brain to identify errors in his programming that would, er, lead to his tendencies to defy The Constitution. You see, we can’t have robots that disobey It.” Professor Stein explained patiently.
All of a sudden, Kaelyn realized the significance of what Professor Stein had just said. It was coming together, like pieces of a puzzle – Nic’s confession of love, why he had turned against her, his empty program, his tendency to defy The Constitution… He had done it all to protect her! He had sacrificed himself, his all, for her… But what had she ever done for him in return?
Kaelyn was on the brink of insanity.
“I’m sorry, Nic!” she gasped over and over again, her tears falling, as she realized the hopelessness of the situation. He would never rise again, and he had once loved her! With what contempt she had scorned his love, and it was too late.
Too late.
By: Ada Ngo
29 January 2008
Kaelyn was more than just a little surprised to see Nic waiting for her outside the apartment when she returned and she clearly expressed her surprise.
“What are you doing here, Nic? We’re desperately short of manpower here! You should be polishing the equipment for the laser sculpting!”
Nic shrugged unsmilingly. He stood waveringly on the spot, his large brown eyes following Kaelyn as she slid out of her spacesuit easily.
“Guess your battery needs to be recharged again,” Kaelyn sighed wearily. Although she was nineteen, she was assertive in her manners and, competent in her profession. Being one of the most talented and sought after laser sculptors, she thought it was necessary to carry off an air of feminine elegance under the scrutiny of the intergalactic media.
“I’m going to have to switch you off,” her authoritative tone barely masked a trace of impatience. She slid her hand into the small of his back. What she hadn’t expected was the violent reaction from Nic as he nearly knocked her over.
“No!” he resisted. There was just the faintest hint of defiance.
Kaelyn sucked in a breath and tried once more, impatiently. “Not again, Nic! It’s not going to hurt. You’re only a robot; and stop over-reacting!”
Nic leaned against the titanium walls of the apartment, and apparently hit a sensor – the solar shields came down and the interior lights flickered on.
“Alright, okay, you asked for it. Nic, shut down NOW. This is an order.” She spoke more sharply than she had intended to and expected to hear the metallic click of his system switching off any moment.
Minutes passed, but he was still standing there, watching her intently. Kaelyn was more than just a little disturbed by his reaction. Finally, she broke the dreary silence. “What’s wrong with you?! Nic, I swear I’ll send you to be reprogrammed!”
She diverted her attention to the two new robots that had just arrived the day before. JC-17 and IZ-28 were made of highly advanced synthetic jelly silicon with 60 artificial joints each in their faces, necks, and lower bodies. They were specially customized to be able to demonstrate realistic facial expressions.
Kaelyn was preoccupied with examining JC-17 and IZ-28 which had been made to look almost exactly like humans on the outside, but with internal mechanics exactly the same as that of robots.
“Could you please… ” Nic was standing in her way.
“Look, Nic, I’m really busy here. JC-17 and IZ-28 require my attention… now.”
Nic felt a sharp twang of resentment. He grasped Kaelyn’s arm forcefully, catching her by surprise.
“NC-16! Control yourself! This is an order!”
“Kaelyn,” Nic said slowly, a note of passion rising in his automatonic voice. “There are many things I am not made to understand, and this must be one of them. But I’m… I’m almost human. I’m also capable of loving you. ”
The realization that Nic was no longer just an android hit Kaelyn. His ability to model human emotions and display his affection for her far exceeded her expectations.
Robots can’t feel; they don’t have emotions; they aren’t capable of loving! A mental voice reminded her and she freed herself from his grasp. Snapping back to reality out of her momentary confusion, Kaelyn was filled with a sudden revulsion and horror at what had just happened.
She left the room abruptly.
The sudden revelation that he was capable of human emotions despite being a mere android, was mortifying. After all, his positronic brainwaves weren’t wired for such purposes.
This was absurd. He didn’t know what might happen to him – he might suffer a breakdown, collapse, go mad, anything. But he would still love, anyway.
“The Constitution: A robot must not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Loving someone puts them at risk of getting hurt. Contradiction. Therefore I must not allow Kaelyn to love me.”
What about hurt feelings then? Were they also considered injury? When you love someone, you put yourself at risk of getting hurt… And Nic knew, with an inexplicable conviction, that Kaelyn would love him back.
And he also knew, with his head but not his heart, that it was impossible for a robot to disobey the Constitution. It was a mathematical impossibility, an unconceivable idea… but he was already disobeying it. He was becoming more and more human-like each day; he could feel pain, frustration, hurt, jealousy, joy, but most of all, love.
Nic would have been crying at this point, if he could. Instead, though, he sat down and buried his face in his hands – and started working out the prime numbers between 57 000 and 439 000. It always calmed him down, without fail.
*****
Kaelyn sat on the edge of her bed, suddenly frightened in a completely new way. She swallowed nervously and stared at her hands stupidly – they were still tingling with the pressure of his fingers.
No, not him. He was an “it”. NC-16. That was the name she referred to him – by his serial number – when she needed a reminder that he was only a hunk of aluminium and titanium, under a human-like façade.
One did not have to be a roboticist to know that androids cannot possibly be capable of emotions. They made good friends, perhaps even confidantes, but lovers… No. No. NO! How could she be in love with a machine?
Kaelyn shook her head hard. Would anyone else in the space colony understand how it felt to be in love, or worse, to love someone that you weren’t allowed to? She remembered vaguely the stories she had heard of the Earthmen – how they still had wives and children, still loved, still led simple lives. The Earth colony hadn’t changed much since the Revolution a good three centuries ago. It was given up as hopeless.
But here… here on the space colony, anyone could have anyone else. She had had a few guys back in college, but that kind of existence was too empty, futile, useless. Kaelyn wanted someone she could love, that she could call her own.
Maybe she would have been much happier living before the Revolution.
In any case, Kaelyn was tired. She was sick of living the way she did, working as a laser sculptor. Of course, the pay was great and there was the job satisfaction, but she was still missing something.
Nic. Nic. Nic. Her heart contracted in her spasm of pain, and tears flooded her eyes. A stirring from her own body sent a shudder from mind to soul… Her own genetically engineered body was designed by minds who wanted perfection… Was flesh and blood really that different from silicon and electron pulses? How different was he from her?
Why then was she capable of love but he deemed unable and therefore prohibited? Was loving him truly a crime?
Kaelyn knew somewhere in the recesses at the back of her mind that these were questions that no one knew the answer to. And as the sharp pain in her heart became only a dull ache, she gave herself over to her jumbled thoughts that washed over her…
Quite unsurprisingly, the last thought that clamored at her was that of his hand. She remembered how it felt, warm and soft, just like a human being’s.
Almost like a human.
*****
The next morning, Kaelyn met Nic in the hallway with an unusually fond greeting.
“I know… I know this place, with the most extraordinary relics!” she whispered excitedly, beside herself with girlish anticipation. “It’s outside of this space colony, but a short trip on the space bubble should do the trick.” She added, dropping her voice to even lower tones. A prominent figure in society, her every move was monitored closely… And she knew, as everyone else did, the open secret about the Corporation tapping into the networks of apartments at random, to eavesdrop on their private conversation.
“But… but how?” If Nic was thrilled, his inscrutable face surely did not betray it.
“Simple.” Kaelyn could not suppress a grin at the foolproof plan that she had worked out feverishly all night. “I’ll leave first and you’ll set off half an hour later. Study these directions carefully, and make sure you don’t get lost.” She handed him a folded slip of paper.
What seemed like the faintest trace of a smile tugged at the corners of Nic’s lips. “I don’t need these,” he said, quite simply, after his photoelectric eyes had scanned the note. “You haven’t forgotten, have you? I can receive and wire radio signals easily, even in time warps, let alone outer space!”
The secret rendezvous went as Kaelyn planned. Stopping upon the abandoned
L-5 NanoCity in space on the asteroid, she waved her hand airily at the vast amount of junk accumulated on its surface and explained, “It used to be a dumping ground for the Earthmen, about a hundred years ago, when we had already developed the disintegration technology.” She allowed a small smile at the primitive ways of the Earthmen, and their rigidity at rejecting every type of advance in technology.
Picking their way slowly through the pieces of waste, they came across rather curious articles – scrap metal, disjointed robots, rattles, awkward thick objects with squiggles scrawled across their pages, and… and…
Kaelyn dashed over the jagged rocks on the surface of the asteroid towards the craggy cliff. The low gravity made physical activity an easy feat, but the bulky spacesuit obstructed her movements, and she barely cleared the seven feet jump. Stopping and staring in awe, Kaelyn was faced with the most breath-taking sight.
It was an odd instrument, with duo-coloured keys, and a cover that was inclined at an angle so as to allow her to view the dozens of parallel strings inside, each connected to a tiny little hammer. “It must be a Pianissichord!” Kaelyn murmured inaudibly. She had heard about it during her history lessons that such peculiar musical instruments had existed before the Revolution.
Kaelyn depressed one key gently. It created a solemn melancholy sound reverberating through the hushed atmosphere of the City in space. If only there were others to hear it! The sound stirred some lost childhood memory – where she had stared at the picture of the piano on the screen for hours, and wondered how it might have been like to attend a concert.
Imagine the music! The dancing notes swirling through the air, the harmony of chords, each sound distinct and unique from the others… What rapture it must have created in its audience! And how much more, what infinite pleasure the pianist must have derived!
She knew what it was like to be an artist, watching her laser sculptures slowly take shape under the guidance of her skilful, deft fingers… But perhaps, the art even of today could not be compared to that of the past. That single mournful note still rang out, its echoes dying away slowly. A sudden déjà vu swept over her; and Kaelyn felt as if she had never been more alone before.
Nic touched her shoulder gently. “I think I could play that piano,” he glanced at it shyly. “I’ve been programmed to do so.”
Planting himself down firmly on the bench, Nic’s uncertain fingers found the right keys… and there was a sudden orchestration of sounds, like nothing Kaelyn had ever heard in her entire life. This was real.
His fingers swept nimbly across the keyboard, blending rich harmonic overtones; the music rising to a crescendo as he executed octaves and double notes with precision. It was a wonderful showcase, and Kaelyn sat rapt and enthralled. It was all she could do to manage a “Wow!” at the end of the piece, and Nic beamed.
“That was the Paganini Variations by Johannes Brahms,” he cast a sidelong glance at her, and was taken very much by surprise when she reached for his hand.
“That was impressive.” She was overwhelmed by the intensity of her own feelings. “Nic, are you really capable of… loving?”
Kaelyn held her breath and waited for his reply. The dead silence was ringing and it seemed like an eternity before he replied rather dully, “I’m not sure now,” and his voice trailed off.
“So you were lying the day before?”
“Yes.” Nic averted her steely gaze. “I did that all to prevent you from getting hurt. I don’t really love you.” He was lying that he had lied, but he did not have another choice. This was the only way to protect her, now. Even if she had to hate him… He had made up his mind to do so.
The dizzying sensation was gone, and only a gnawing ache in the pit of her stomach was left behind. “Alright, at least I know the situation now.” It was hard to hide the hurt in her voice, but Kaelyn did so with a great effort, and turned towards her space bubble.
She never looked back, he never saw the tears in her eyes, and she never saw him again.
*****
As the weeks turned to months, Kaelyn found it easier to put Nic out of her thoughts. Her feelings toward him were fading quickly, and she found it nearly impossible to stay in love with someone that she could no longer see. Well, perhaps, she had only been in love with the idea of being in love. That was a reassuring thought.
Sometimes, when her mind was idle, her thoughts inevitable turned to Nic, and she wondered what had happened to him then. He never returned, and she never had the courage to find out, but she always took it for granted that he was happy somewhere else.
Nevertheless, Kaelyn did not usually entertain that train of thought. It was an unpleasant memory, to be locked up and stored away; or more preferably, forgotten. Whenever the thought of Nic returned to her uninvited, she made it a personal habit to bury herself in work. This tactic had never failed her.
Kaelyn looked over the laser sculptures she had completed in the past few months, that were to be exhibited at the Intergalactic Arts Fest Conference 2307. Sure, they weren’t nearly as good as the ones she had worked on together with Nic, and they were mere variations of her previous successes… The public wouldn’t notice a difference anyway.
Her life had changed more drastically. For one thing, she now had the two new robots – JC-17 and IZ-28 to assist her.
Nothing they ever did would erase the memory of Nic and his brooding handsome looks, soft dark hair, youthful square jaw, and muscular arms. Still, with the ever-surmounting workload, Kaelyn realized that she could go for days at a stretch without thinking of him. But when the work was done, she would flop down on the couch and feel the aching void within… Everything was meaningless, utterly meaningless!
That was where Stan came into the picture now. Within days of being nominated as one of the Top Ten Entrepreneurs, Kaelyn soon learnt the social norms. She had to have a bedmate, and Stan would do perfectly fine. He wasn’t very much older than her and incredibly dashing… With the sufficient work in the day and Stan at night, she needn’t have worried too much about her feelings.
The older women rallied around her and patted her encouragingly, each recounting her personal tale of some obscure romantic relationship, and all unanimously agreed on the point that she would get over it. “A man a day, keeps the emotions at bay!”
It was on a day very much like the others that the telescreen beeped right after breakfast. Kaelyn shoved her plate away and ignored the shrill sound that was reverberating through the small cluttered apartment. Stan walked up toward her, with a suggestive grin. “What shall it be this morning? Shall we head for vibro-vac-massages down the block? I heard they’re good.” He had his arm around her.
“It’s your decision,” Kaelyn replied sweetly. It was strange, using such language and being so close to someone she didn’t really care for, but it was the social norm. Anything else, and she could forget about her ambition of being the Top Laser Sculptor.
The shrill beeping ceased abruptly, and a human voice came on the speakers. It wasn’t quite the flat robotic one that she had always heard, informing her of her daily workload, and that made her start a little.
“Is this the private residence of Doctor Kaelyn McKenzie?”
“Well, yes.” Kaelyn straightened. Any call that required a human’s precious time and attention had to be something of utmost importance. She slid away from Stan and tossed her tousled hair out of her face. “What is the matter?”
“This is Professor Ernest Stein, from Intergalactic Robots Research Centre, and we have called you regarding your robot NC-16. You were once his previous owner, no?”
“Yes. What is wrong with NC-16?” Kaelyn hastened towards the telescreen, where a projected image of a middle-aged man with an agreeable red face, spoke coldly and crisply.
“He malfunctioned during one of our interrogations last week, and we found it is our professional duty to terminate him, as he had displayed tendencies of defying The Constitution. We would like you to assist our investigations - ” Professor Ernest croaked over the static sound.
“You terminated my robot?! How could you do that?!”
“Doctor McKenzie, the robot NC-16 is now official property of the Intergalactic Robots Research Centre since his detention. I hope you understand.” He reminded her.
“I’ll be right over.” Kaelyn was already putting her spacesuit on with extreme haste. Detention? He was detained? When? How could she not know? A million questions raced through her head.
A perturbed Kaelyn stumbled into the Intergalactic Robots Research Centre head office just half an hour later, and was greeted by a young fresh-looking secretary. “Follow me please.” He led her into the inner office.
They filed into a laboratory in icy silence, and her presence was hardly acknowledged by the team of scientists huddled around the screen. She cast a sidelong glance at Nic who was lying on a steel table, wires connected to his head, eyes shut. He was as handsome as ever, the only difference was he looked entirely like a robot now.
A chill swept over her momentarily as Kaelyn fixed unseeing eyes on the computer screen. It took her quite a few moments to realize that it was entirely blank, but that did not matter.
“You detained him? What actually happened?” She demanded.
“Didn’t you know, Doctor McKenzie?” Professor Stein’s voice was perfectly even. “Our wave beams detected two trespassers on Asteroid L-5, and NC-16 was one of them. Apparently, he was out there with a human female, and from our control station, we intercepted their conversation, of which we could make out that they were involved in a romantic entanglement. Of course, you are aware that this is a crime?”
He paused significantly, but receiving no reply, continued. “However, when our patrol team arrived on Asteroid L-5, we found NC-16 quite alone there. Months of interrogation yielded no results as he fiercely protected the identity of that, uh, human female. And we were wondering if you could assist us in our research.”
He nodded calmly toward Kaelyn, who was struggling to remain composed. “Surely, there was no need to terminate his program!” she sputtered. A dim horror of her worst nightmare and wildest dreams washed over her.
“We took out NC-16’s positronic brain to identify errors in his programming that would, er, lead to his tendencies to defy The Constitution. You see, we can’t have robots that disobey It.” Professor Stein explained patiently.
All of a sudden, Kaelyn realized the significance of what Professor Stein had just said. It was coming together, like pieces of a puzzle – Nic’s confession of love, why he had turned against her, his empty program, his tendency to defy The Constitution… He had done it all to protect her! He had sacrificed himself, his all, for her… But what had she ever done for him in return?
Kaelyn was on the brink of insanity.
“I’m sorry, Nic!” she gasped over and over again, her tears falling, as she realized the hopelessness of the situation. He would never rise again, and he had once loved her! With what contempt she had scorned his love, and it was too late.
Too late.
By: Ada Ngo
29 January 2008
posted by timetraveller at
10:35 PM
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7 comments
