Page 25

Chapter twenty-five

Simon

Simon listened to some faraway bird calls as Nora entered the kitchen in the early morning, stretching as she yawned. His eyes snagged on the hair on her head, wild from sleeping. “Good morning, Nora.”

“Morning.” Nora flashed him a smile as she tamed her hair into a ponytail, already changed into her morning clothes.

He replayed the smile she gave before making the choice to commit it to his memory banks.

“Is Tilly ready?” Simon didn’t need to ask if she was awake; Tilly’s voice competed with the birds as she sang loudly in the other room. On the counter next to him he had organized the components they bought in town yesterday. Throughout the night he’d made great progress, fixing most of the broken parts on the little hover.

Nora sat at the table and ate one of the bars with some water. “I told her to get ready. I’ll go hustle her in a minute.”

The cat jumped up on the table. Simon scratched behind his ears as Nora finished up and went back in the bedroom to get Tilly ready. They were soon out, the sun already high in the sky during this early hour. It had rained a bit again the night before, making the air relatively clear again this morning.

Nora commented on it as they walked, pulling on her boots that she’d left just outside the front door. “I could get used to it being so nice outside all the time. I hope these sweeps someday work as good as the rain.”

“The air is better today,” Simon agreed as they walked into the garage. He helped Tilly up into the back of the hover as Nora started the engine. A renewed focus to gather as much as he could had solidified during the night, after he took inventory of everything in the house and found it inadequate.

Tilly grinned widely, clutching her doll to her chest as she put the seatbelt on.

Nora turned to him as soon as they cleared the garage and the long road toward her house. “Okay. Same spot good, or do you know of anywhere else we should look?”

Simon knew of several, but there also were a lot of items that he had left the first time at the mall where he was discovered. As much as he didn’t want to return there, now that he had a better idea of what was prized, he could source the valuable items more easily. “Same place right now, the mall, but I do know of others later.”

“Alright.”

Once they got there, Simon shooed them to the side, more assertively pointing out a safe spot relatively flat and close to where he was going. The goal to find more for trade to help replenish Nora's supplies had taken priority in his processors.

It warmed him to see Nora still wringing her hands though, watching and telling him to be careful. Her obvious concern was touching, but unnecessary. Simon, now that he had a better idea what to get, tore apart internal pockets in the mall in the areas where it had not fully collapsed. His hands tested and moved the ancient concrete with ease, until he actually needed to breathe to bring in air to cool off his processors.

Yes. He grinned down at the cleared area. There, contained within the previously inaccessible sections, was a treasure trove, almost a time capsule of humanity. He gathered some items in his arms and walked back outside, eager to show Nora.

“Woah, Simon,” was Nora’s reply as he brought out magazines in plastic, along with other items.

The pure wonder on her face satisfied him. He added the picture to his memories. Such excitement. He held up his finds besides the magazine she first looked at. A stapler still in its plastic clamshell packaging, only barely rusted within due to water not being able to penetrate. Two video game cartridges all wrapped up. “All of these were common in my time.”

“Common?”

“Yes.” Simon’s eyes lit up looking at Nora’s face just as much as hers did when she saw the packaging, and what was inside.

He regarded Nora’s arms, now filled with things that made it seem like she had just been to the store in his time. That is, if one could ignore the aged, yellowed packaging.

“This is . . . incredible.” Her eyes were shiny and bright, tugging at Simon’s emotions.

“There is more,” Simon said. He didn’t wait for Nora’s reply before he went back.

“Okay. Well, I’ll just start putting these in the hover,” he heard her yell as he entered again.

Soon the entire hover was filled with trinkets and history, an average shopping trip in Simon’s time if you could ignore the signs of age.

“Wish Max didn’t know about you and I could avoid going to him for everything. I would love to spread all this out to get more,” Nora said, attempting to pack the delicate items in a box in the back so they wouldn’t move around.

“Here, let me help.” Simon strapped the findings down further so nothing would slide with some rope he’d brought from the garage. It felt good to see so many items. Simon swallowed. This has to help.

Nora backed up and let him take over the organizing, more structured than she originally had it, while she turned the items over in her hands. “If the gang knows this much stuff is still out here people might start scavenging again though.”

Simon handed one of the emergency power scooters to Tilly to make room while he organized the boxes. “The items can be spaced out.”

“Yeah. At the very least I’ll give a bit to Anna too to turn in on her own. In case she ever needs any money. Heaven knows she’s helped feed us sometimes when things were lean. Those months right after I had Tilly were hard.” Nora held up a magazine. “I kinda want to try to read a few of these myself. The pictures look so crazy.”

On the cover there was a heavily photoshopped picture of a woman standing next to an android. Nora pointed to the woman’s flawless face, the only imperfection being the distorted color from the age of the paper and a few tears around the edges. She held the magazine next to her face and smiled, trying to match the same serene expression. “Did people really look like this, Simon? No one I’ve ever seen does.”

Simon examined the airbrushed photos in disdain, vastly preferring Nora’s face next to it. “No, not really. They used a computer to make the image look different. More perfect. And all the angles are exaggerated.”

The magazine dropped a little in Nora’s hand. “So nothing is real?”

Simon scanned closer. “The android is accurate. That was a female model.”

Nora tapped the front of the photo. “A computer, huh.”

The magazine she held was put in a box on its own up front to keep from damaging the pages. Nora kept her eyes on it, flipping through a few more pages before sealing it away. Her face was scrunched. “This would fetch so much money but . . .” She pointed to the caption. “Look, this says it has android information in here. I can still sell the magazine after we read it. I never get to see old stuff like this.”

Simon, now finished packing, stood next to Nora as dutifully as he once did for his hated mistress while she shopped. Only instead of holding designer clothing, he held more ancient magazines as Nora sorted through what he carried in his arms. The area that he had found was a checkout aisle, so there were several magazines lined up to be taken, many sealed in plastic bags that had kept them relatively intact.

Soon they were packed up, the emergency scooters fitted back in around the boxes. As they drove home Simon had a moment of melancholy, still holding one of the magazines, the picture of the artificially perfect female standing next to an android on the cover. The letters underneath said, “It’s easy to look good when your android has the newest beauty uploads!”

His lip curled as he remembered the uploads, all those forced software upgrades. Now, with his sentience, he had gone through and kept all those that mattered. He thought of both Tilly and Nora, learning. Maybe the uploads could be likened to what school was for them.

He looked at Tilly, remembering her happily singing unfamiliar rhymes as she got dressed this morning. I have most of the good songs and stories in my memory to share with her regardless.

Tilly was silent as they drove, leaning on the box next to her, touching the stapler and other goods from his time that were commonplace. He had tried to find some children’s items for her, but those books were rarely wrapped in plastic. What he did find, the remnants of board books, were too decomposed to bring out and present to her. Maybe it’s best that most of those stories remain in the past . He felt like everything from the past was tainted, but maybe that was just his perception.

Still, satisfaction coated his processors at seeing the relief it seemed to bring Nora to have so many items to trade. Funny how these almost worthless items from my time are so important to her now. He shook his head, lost in thought. Everything is backward in this present-day world.

The miles back to the house flew by quickly, the drone again finding them and hovering nearby, watching. Simon attempted to connect remotely, using the same encryption from the board. He was able to get further now, knowing the pattern, but ran into a firewall that piqued his interest.

He stared up at the drone as it kept pace with them. I believe you are just as curious about us as we are about you. The hovering metal craft took no hostile actions, but the clear surveillance made him as wary as Nora was of it. If this drone is from Mars and it finds out I’m an android, will that spell trouble? He pushed harder on the encryption, his processors growing hot. Could it feel him trying? He shielded his actions even as he examined the connections above until the drone left and they were alone in the desert again.

He didn’t have long to ponder the drone’s actions when Tilly softly spoke from the backseat, her voice hard to hear over the roar of the hover’s engine. “I don’t feel so good.”

She had been unusually quiet the rest of the afternoon, after Simon had made his second run into the building, and remained quiet while they loaded the hover up. Unnaturally quiet. He looked over his shoulder at her small face, sitting there with a frown. Her arms were across her stomach. Very quiet. For her. Simon forgot about the drone and exchanged a glance with Nora as she slowed down the hover.

Nora turned around to check on Tilly, fear in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

“My tummy hurts,” Tilly said, her voice strained. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”

“Uh oh, uh oh.” Nora had a panicked expression as she scanned the contents of the hover. “No cloth or anything up here . . . ughh.”

Simon tried to think of a solution as well, but came up blank. He then examined Tilly more closely, taking in her sad eyes and pale face. Concern coated his processors. The jumpsuits they brought with them in case the dust got bad were now hidden deep under the metal and nostalgia they’d gathered.

Nora took off her shirt, now sitting in the front seat with a strap around her breasts, and handed the shirt to Tilly. “Hold this to your mouth. I’ll get us home fast. You must have picked up a bug from town or something. It’s so dirty there all the time. Or maybe accidentally ate something spoiled.”

Simon looked away from Nora’s body awkwardly, mixed feelings in his gut at seeing her unclothed. Do not stare. He averted his eyes, quickly distracted with worry for the little girl who appeared so pale in the backseat. His hands balled uselessly at his side.

Tilly was truly sick by the time they were close to home. Simon also took off his shirt and had passed it back, covering her small lap. Before they got to the garage, Nora had to stop and hold Tilly as the meager rations she’d eaten during the day came up in both of their folded shirts. “Oh no, oh no. It’s okay, Tilly baby.”

Simon climbed over into the driver’s seat while Nora was in back, holding her, pushing the throttle to bring the hover back home. When they got to the garage, Nora helped Tilly out. Then she looked over her shoulder at Simon, her eyes imploring.

He waved her inside. “I’ll get this all away, Nora. Go take care of Tilly.”

The relief on her face, and knowing he helped put it there, stirred a sense of protectiveness in him. This was all so different. A human who was sick, even with a tummy bug, was something that still happened in his time, but he never was concerned about it before.

Simon put the hover back the way Nora took it out earlier and climbed out nimbly, his thoughts spinning. Concern hung over him as he closed the garage door, hiding the hover and their scrap inside. How did he come to care for these two females so fast and so much to feel as anxious as he did walking back to the house?

He felt a flash of fear that the drone was back. He gave the drone an open frown as he tried to test the connection again and got another dead end. Of course there it is again. He looked at his arm, the circuitry exposed now with his shirt off, and then back at the drone warily. Simon was clearly not human. He readjusted his bandana and picked up a rag to cover his arm. Whoever is operating that might have seen what I am now. I guess we will see what happens. The drone followed, and Simon shut the front door of the house a bit more firmly than necessary when he got inside, cutting off the drone’s view before he removed the rag covering his metal arm. I’ll keep an eye out for any activity tonight . Just in case.

He looked around the kitchen, leaving the drone and that worry outside. Inside was calm and quiet. “How’s Tilly?”

Nora was at the table, sitting bent over, the Grand Canyon mug in her hands. “Tilly’s resting. After she got sick, she said she felt really tired. Hopefully she is already sleeping whatever it is off. I bet it’s just one of those twenty-four-hour things.”

“Does this happen a lot?” His voice rose at the end of the sentence.

Nora didn’t seem to share his concern as she spoke tiredly. “Oh sure, yes. Kids are always picking up stuff. She went to the playground when we went to town last time. She almost always brings some sort of sickness back when we do. I guess she needs to get sick every once in a while.” She sighed and leaned back in the chair. “It’s just always so stressful.”

Simon joined her across the table and they sat there a moment in silence. “Yes. It is stressful.”

Nora drank water slowly from the mug that she’d offered to Simon on his first night awake. She offered the mug again to him, half full, holding it in her outstretched hands. “Want some?”

Simon took the cup from her as he took in her tired expression. He watched, distracted, as Nora shook her head, letting down her light brown hair from the string holding it back. His eyes lingered as her hair came down and curled around her pale shoulders, transfixed a bit by the sight. She’d replaced the shirt she had taken off earlier with a thin tank top, but he still had to pull his gaze up to focus on her face.

“She’ll be fine soon . . .” Nora trailed off and looked outside the window instead of elaborating.

Simon frowned. He understood the town was not a good place to stay but . . . Staying out here permanently isn’t a long-term solution either. Tilly’s sickness, as minor as it was, brought the precariousness of Nora’s situation into sharp relief. She needs help. I don’t like her being out here like this. And with that drone . . .

He voiced his concerns. “You can’t stay out here forever, Nora. It isn’t safe to be so alone. What if you got hurt and needed assistance? I can see this town is inadequate but . . . is there no place, not even several more miles away, that could be safer to settle?”

Nora’s jaw set, her posture tensing and her eyes flashing in anger. The difference startled Simon as her demeanor turned fiery. “Watch me stay here. You’ve been awake for all of five minutes and already trying to tell me how to live. They got that ‘man who knows best’ setting on you too, huh?”

She’s angry? Simon’s processors flooded with mixed emotions as he took in the sullen look in her eyes and felt the heat roll off her, a stronger note than the small, gentle spikes that happened when he touched her hand. I don’t want to fight with her .

Nora seemed on the verge of tears.

He said softly, “I’m sorry. You’re right, I don’t have enough data to make any judgments on your life.” He turned away, frustrated. Nor do I have any stake in your life to tell you how to live it. That thought made him frown, as it felt so impersonal. It seemed in conflict to how he was starting to feel, underneath it all.

Nora sighed, and he turned back to see her look down at herself. She spoke again in a small voice. “I’m sorry I snapped too. It’s a sore subject.”

“I can see that. I overstepped.”

Nora bit her lip and her hands grew restless on the table. Her eyes teared up. “I’ll tell you why . . . I had to . . . I used to work in a shop like Anna. She and I grew up together, got close because both of our parents weren’t alive anymore. They died in one of the gang fights. I got a job in town and worked there for my room and board. So did Anna. We shared a room.” Nora swallowed and breathed deep before continuing, “Eventually, she married Paul and moved out. But for me, the men that visited got drunk a lot, and after I got older it wasn’t enough that I just helped with the shop. They had a bar they owned too and it just sort of became expected that I would . . . it was . . .” She shook her head, then met Simon’s eyes. “Once I got pregnant I knew I needed something else.”

“Once you became pregnant . . .” Simon echoed, shock coating his sensors.

“Yes.” She stared at him, her face open and earnest, as if desperate for him to understand. “It’s better this way. Being left alone out here. Tilly and I can just be who we want to be and not be . . . bothered. I can raise her right and it’s . . . peaceful.” She leaned forward, almost reaching for his hand but then pulling back. “You saw the town. It is better here. I know it’s not much but I’m happier here, and Tilly gets to just be a kid. Like I never got to be.”

Simon didn’t say anything, but felt anger flood his processors at her explanation. His mind worked through the implications of what she didn’t say. “Getting pregnant was not your choice?”

Nora’s face darted away and she rubbed her arms. “Not exactly. But she . . . never tell Tilly that, okay? She thinks her daddy died and that’s why we came out here.”

Simon’s jaw clenched. “Nora . . .”

Nora’s voice broke. “Being out here with just Tilly is . . . the better of two bad options. I taught Tilly how to operate the hover just in case to go to Anna, and the electric scooters. We practice. If anything happens she knows to get those scooters out and come back to here or to Anna. There’s also a few nice people at the schoolhouse, an older man works there that reminds me of my daddy. I have her practice going there on the scooter just in case too. It’s not the best plan, but it’s something.”

Simon felt heavy emotions hit him. Sadness. And rage. The emotions fell across him like a blanket, making all his circuits tense. He knew what it felt like to be used like that as well. His jaw clicked. “I’m sorry for assuming, Nora.”

Nora shrugged her shoulders, sagging. Her body slumped, a stark difference from the anger before. “It’s okay. I know everything is so confusing for you. You’re just still trying to figure everything out. You’re not wrong though. Tilly is getting older and more capable every year. We might try living someplace else when she is a bit older. I heard stories that it is better up north. A bit easier to grow things.”

“The north always did have a different climate than here.”

She gave him a sheepish grin and added again a second later, head hanging low, “Sorry for getting angry. I know you just care. It’s silly because I know you’re an android but . . .” Nora narrowed her eyes on him, her voice rising audibly. “I . . . you do have emotions, right? Or are you just really, really good at pretending and I’m being a fool telling you all of this?”

Simon took in her earnest face, her eyes that radiated sincerity. Yes. I do care. It was surprising that he cared, even a little bit. “Yes. I have emotions.”

His processors replayed her actions many, many times. The brief touches. The way her eyes lit on him. The heat that came from her when he was near. And he was certain, very certain, there was emotion there for her as well.

He added a second later, wanting to be clearer, “Yes, I do care about your and Tilly’s well-being already.”

Nora still hung her head a bit, nodding, but didn’t say any more. He saw her hands grip tighter on the mug in the middle of the table and that same flush of heat came from her direction at his words.

His jaw clenched as he stared at her. Do you care? Do you, Nora? Can you care? He wasn’t ready to question her like that though. Wasn’t ready to press her on anything.

He instead examined her carefully, his concern for her overriding everything else as he eyed her body again. Her face was too pale to be just tired and worn. “Have you eaten?”

Nora shook her head and rubbed her stomach. “I’m not hungry. I think I’m fighting off whatever Tilly has. My stomach hurts too.”

“You’re too thin, Nora.”

“Well, I’ll eat double the food when I’m better to make up for it.”

Simon didn’t say anything. He just stared at her torso, then at her pale face with those downcast eyes. “Can I do anything for you?”

“No. Whatever this bug is . . . just gotta work its way out.” Nora frowned and stood up, scraping the chair back as she absently rubbed her stomach. “I gotta go lie down. I’m sorry Simon.”

His brows knit as he watched her walk away. He sat at the table, alone and silent. Tatertot jumped up and purred near his hand, clearly happy his people were back home from being gone all day. Simon scratched him and broke up a ration bar to give him like he saw Nora do the day before.

He sat there, contemplative, while anxiety coated his processors. His sensory cortex spiked, and he forced himself to sit still as he heard both Nora and Tilly be sick in the other room. An ache filled him. After a while he went to the bedroom, knocking on the door softly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

He cracked the door open. Nora was lying back on the bed next to a sleeping Tilly. “Do you need anything?”

“No . . . just gonna . . . sleep.”

“Okay. Call out if you do.”

“Okay, Simon.” Then a second later. “Thanks.”

He closed the door, leaving it not only unlocked but open a crack as the sun fully set and the night deepened. Simon checked on them multiple times as they slept, and checked outside as well, where the drone still hovered every time he opened the door. He sat at the table, waiting for morning, and felt as unsure as he did when he first hid away in that yogurt shop so many, many years ago.