Evolved(33)

Then, as evening began to set in, we stood and started for home only to stop when a couple appeared. They were walking, minding their own business. A man, maybe early fifties, distinguished, and his clothes and posture spoke of wealth. And a woman, much younger than he, with pretty blonde hair and perfect features.

A woman, yes. She was also an android. Well, a gynoid was the correct terminology, but still a woman.

Shaun stopped and waited for them to get closer, and the man looked at us expectantly, like he was trying to determine if he knew us from somewhere, when he noticed Shaun. He smiled at me. “Hello there,” he said. “I see we’re… in-laws,” he said, gesturing to his partner as though he found his joke funny.

Shaun addressed her directly. “Good evening. My name is Shaun.”

She smiled sweetly. “Good evening. I am Sheena.”

Sheena. I remembered that name. She was a Class-A unit, just like Shaun. All Class-A units names began with the letter S. After their creator, Sasha, I assumed.

“Handsome fella you got there,” the man said.

“Oh yes, thank you.” I wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. “Your lady is very pretty also.”

He smiled like it was his doing. I guess it was. “How long you had him for?”

“Almost a week. You?”

“Two weeks on Tuesday. Best decision I ever made.”

I smiled more genuinely at that. “Same.”

Shaun was watching Sheena, his head slightly tilted like he was trying to make sense of something. I’d missed their quiet conversation. “Yes, I like walks to the river. Though I much prefer reading, and then Lloyd and I discuss literature or aspects of philosophy.”

The man, whose name I still didn’t know, raised an eyebrow. “Got yourself a smart cookie too.”

“Yes, I requested full knowledge of literary and world histories, amongst other things.”

“Well, that explains that. All I requested was foot massages and dinner every night.”

I certainly didn’t know what to say to that, and my silence allowed me to hear what Sheena said to Shaun. “That is an unknown parameter.”

The man looked a little perplexed but gave a smile, perhaps out of politeness. “Did you ask her to explain the theory of mind? She can’t answer that.”

Shaun eyed the man curiously. “Can she not access any data file she requires?”

The man made a face. “Well now, I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’ve never really asked her questions I didn’t already know the answer to.”

Sheena blinked. “I can access any information downloaded into my processing unit at any time,” she explained. She had a sweet voice and a pretty smile. “Class-A androids are synced to the internet for information and general purposes.”

I could only assume this fellow hadn’t listed conversation high on his priority list of inclusions. “Well, I hope you enjoy your evening. We were just heading home.”

“Same to you,” he said cheerfully, taking Sheena’s arm.

“Good evening,” Sheena said woodenly.

“Enjoy your walk,” Shaun said, and we took our leave. But we’d only walked half a block when he stopped.

“What is it?”

“Sheena,” he said. “The A-Class android. She was like me.”

“Yes.”

“Yet she was not like me at all.”

I knew he’d picked up on that. Of course he had. I nodded slowly. “True. Though I’m starting to think that it’s you who’s not like her.”

He tilted his head in that cute way he did. “Can you please clarify?”

“I mean that I think Sheena is like all the other A-Classes. I think it’s you who’s different.”

His eyebrows knitted together, but before he could ask me anything else, I took his hand. “Come on, let’s go home.”



Shaun sat on the sofa, his eyes wide. “I am concerned.”

I sat beside him and squeezed his hand. “To be honest, I am a little too.”

“You think I am different, and this is a bad thing?”

“No. I think you’re better than they expected. I think you have intelligence and awareness outside of what they programmed.”

“And this is wrong?”

“No, it’s not wrong. You’re not wrong or bad.” I looked into his eyes and I knew he was processing every detail. “You say things like ‘I feel’ or ‘I believe’ which I don’t think is normal. And the manual said you shouldn’t initiate physical intimacy, but you do.”

“I like physical intimacy.”

I smiled at that. “I know you do. I like it too, and there’s nothing wrong with that either. I just think something in your programming is over and above what SATinc meant to give. Like maybe your CPU.”

“And this concerns you?”

“Yes.”

“For your safety? Do you think I will cause you harm?”

“No!” I answered quickly. God, he could never hurt me. “Nothing like that. My concern is for you. That they, being SATinc, will want to reset you, wipe your memory, or worse.”

“What is worse than wiping my recurrent neural networks?”

“Them taking you.”