Michael 2.0

Part 14

“No way!” Caroline said, her eyes wide opened. “Oh, my God… I just… I –”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Charlie replied, miserably; she had decided to open up to her sister, in hopes that her pain would pass, but if anything it only made it worse. They were in the kitchen, their happy place. Ever since they were kids, when one of them had something important to talk about, they’d go to the kitchen instead of the bedroom.

“He’s a simulator? A robot?”

“If you say this again, I will stick this banana –”

“I’m just making sure I understand! So he isn’t human? He was created in a lab?”

“Yes,” Charlie nodded. “But he is different. I know he is. I don’t know what happened during the process, but he developed something we were not expecting. He became human, with genuine emotions.”

Caroline frowned, thoughtfully, as she sliced an apple to make a fruit salad.

“You don’t believe in me,” Charlie accused her.

“I believe in you, sis, of course I do,” she rushed to say. “It’s just too much for me to process.”

“You saw him. Did he look abnormal to you?”

“Despite the fact he is drop dead gorgeous? No, not really. At least, I’d never guess he was a robot. I always had this idea that robots were, you know, a bit more steel than skin…”

“He is perfect,” Charlie sighed. “I know how ridiculous it sounds. Perhaps Dr. Lawrence is right. It’s just stupid. I let it go too far, I shouldn’t have.”

Caroline did not reply.

“Don’t forget you promised me not to say a word to anyone, specially anyone of your work,” Charlie reminded her.

“I will not, I promise,” she said. “What are you going to do now?”

“What else can I do? I will try to move on with my life. I have a career to take care of. No more men, no more love. I’m done with it.”

Indeed, she tried to move on with her life. Charlie went to work the day after and did what she was supposed to do: dealt with programing, data bases, numbers and reports. And that’s how it was day after day. She had no sight of Michael, but she heard that Dr. Lawrence had assigned someone else to do his interactions, a recently employed Technician named Claire Taylor. Charlie passed by her one day, examining her young, fair face and felt her chest exploding with jealousy. Claire Taylor got to be with Michael, to speak to him, show him things… Maybe Michael would find the new girl more interesting and beautiful than her, who knows? The thought of being replaced combined with imaginary scenarios of Michael laughing with Claire Taylor would bring Charlie to tears every night, when she was alone with her pillow.

A whole week had passed, and Charlie had not gotten over it. In so little time, she had become so attached to Michael that she could barely believe herself. Did her senses really deceive her, or was it all real?

“Charlotte, can I have a private word with you?” Dr. Gregory asked one day, during the lunch break. Charlie was distractedly eating her vegetables alone, and it was quite a shock for her to see the tall man standing beside her.

“Of course, Walter. Is there anything wrong?”

He sat by her side, looking around to make sure everyone else was at some distance. For a moment, Charlie thought of her sister insinuating that Charlie should give her number to Walter Gregory when she had the chance. The memory made her smile.

“I am not supposed to tell you this,” he said carefully, his green eyes looking down. “But I know you’d like to know it.”

“Michael?” she whispered nervously. “Is there anything wrong?”

“He’s not responding well to his new companion.”

Charlie could not help but to smile, this time feeling the selfish warmth of pride take over her body. He had rejected that little Claire Taylor thing!

“He’s acting quite selfishly lately,” he went on. “He refuses to see Dr. Taylor, and yesterday, he yelled at her, telling her to leave. He won’t talk to anyone. Dr. Lawrence insists in letting him activated, but if he starts getting violent, I’m afraid we will be forced to deactivate him for good.”

“No!” Charlie exclaimed. “No, it cannot be!”

“He talk to me,” Dr. Gregory continued. “Whenever we have the chance. And he asks about you and why you are not coming. He is very distressed, I daresay he’s miserable.”

“Walter, do you believe in me?” Charlie grabbed his sleeve urgently. “Michael is special, his behavior –”

“Yes, Charlotte, I see what you mean,” he said. “But we need to do something about this. I was thinking, perhaps if you talk to Michael…”

“How?” she asked sadly. “I am forbidden to do so, remember?”

“I can help you, if you’re willing to do so,” he said. “Michael is monitored by cameras all the time. But the moment he is taken from the testing room to his room: that is not entirely monitored. I am the one conducting him.”

“What must I do?”

“You will meet us on the way. It takes around 10-13 minutes to go from one room to the other. You will have around 5 minutes if you wait for us on the North wing, corridor 3B. That is the only unmonitored corridor in the way.”

“Alright,” Charlotte agreed. “When?”

“Today,” Dr. Gregory stood up. “Go now. We’ll meet you in about 30 minutes.”