Evolved(25)

But I was with him, as in with him. And he wasn’t human. Sure, androids were a daily occurrence. It was 2068 after all. The majority of people didn’t care that people were in relationships with androids, but there were some, like the old dinosaur Mrs Van der Heek, who did.

But as I walked up the busy city street toward Southbank and along the Yarra River holding Shaun’s hand, I didn’t care what anyone else thought.

I was happy for the first time in a long time. Possibly for the first time.

“This pleases you?” Shaun asked.

“Yes. Does it please you?”

“Very much.” He grinned just as a gust of wind tousled his hair, making him look so incredibly human. And beautiful.

It was so surreal, not only to walk in public with him, but to have an immediate boyfriend, life partner even. In the last three days, my life had changed completely. From being alone, to living with a man 100% compatible for me.

Despite my earlier concerns, I realised now I didn’t care that his emotions were synthetic. I didn’t care that he was programmed to suit me, to want me, to smile when he saw me. I didn’t care that his love for me was binary coded, programmed. It was real to me. And in many ways, it was more real than anything I’d had with any human. Human love came with conditions and limits, with mess and noise, and was fleeting at best.

Shaun’s love wasn’t. It was forever and completely, unequivocally mine.

Like a sign from above, a ray of sunshine burst through the clouds casting yellow and white beams of warmth against the otherwise dull grey and cold day. It was the most apt symbolism for my life in that moment that I almost laughed out loud.

Shaun looked up at the sky and grinned. “That is very beautiful.”

I couldn’t agree more. “Yes it is.” I squeezed his hand and smiled all the way to the store.



“What about this one?” I asked, holding up a navy peacoat.

“It is very nice,” Shaun said.

A sales lady approached us. She was human and at first, she didn’t realise Shaun wasn’t. “Can I help you gentlemen with anything in particular?” she asked with a professional smile.

“Well, we’re looking for a coat for my…” I paused, wondering what to call him. Boyfriend? Partner? “My partner, though we’re happy to browse.”

She smiled, looking from me to Shaun, then did a double-take. Her smile faltered. “Oh.”

I raised one eyebrow at her. “Is that a problem?”

“Oh, uh, no, of course not. Please let me know if I can be of assistance.”

With the average ticket price in this store, I didn’t think anything should be a problem, but I refrained from saying that. Instead, I pulled out an even more expensive coat than the navy peacoat and held it up. “Shaun, what about this one?”

He was staring at me, his head slightly tilted in that way he did when he was about to question me. “You addressed me as your partner.”

So, he noticed that. “Yes. Was that okay? If there’s something else you’d prefer—”

“I liked it,” he said. His lips twitched as if trying not to smile.

“Well, I’m glad. I wasn’t sure if boyfriend was appropriate.”

“Boyfriend. A person’s regular male companion with whom they have a romantic and/or sexual relationship.”

I glanced around but thankfully no one was paying attention to us. “Uh, correct, yes.”

“So by definition, that term is accurate. You could have used it.”

“Yes, I could. But the term partner seemed more appropriate.”

“Partner. Someone’s husband or wife or the person someone has sexual relations with. Or, one of two or more people, businesses et cetera, that work together or do business together.”

“Well, yes. But there’s a human component that lends a qualifier to the definition,” I said. He tilted his head, listening intently, learning. “That would imply you, as my partner, are of equal standing with me, and that I hold more affection for you than just a boyfriend.”

He blinked. “You do?”

I nodded slowly, my heart beating triple time. “Yes.”

His smile started slowly and became a full grin. “Your words activate a rush along my neurotransmitters.”

I laughed at that. “Is that your way of saying it makes you happy?”

He chuckled. “Yes.”

I slid my arm around his waist and pulled him close. “Hurry and pick a coat so we can go home.”

He hummed, kissed my temple, and pulled away, going toward a row of mannequins on an elevated platform. He stood before them and stared for a long moment. More existential questions were no doubt coming my way. I followed him and rested my chin on his shoulder. “What are you thinking?”

I braced myself for what he might answer, but he said, “I like that coat.”

I looked up at the mannequin, then noticed the coat he was wearing. It was a black, fitted double-breasted trench coat. Very stylish and fashion-forward, and not at all what I thought he would choose.

I kissed his shoulder. “Then you can have it.”

I got the sales assistant’s attention and she found Shaun’s size. He tried it on and it fit him like it was made for him; pulled in at the waist, down to his thighs. I guessed the fact his body was textbook perfect helped with the fit, but the colour really did match his hair. He looked hot.