SENTIENT

Abberation

Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. Red.

"You're ruled by your machines. You're an evolutionary dead end."

Yellow. Red. Red. Red.

"The trouble is that to take your mind off it you try to drag everybody else down there with you."

Red. Red. Red. Red.

Red was the ground where the leaves fell and dried. The cherry blossom trees swayed in the dead of saturnine silence. He told himself to wake up, but he wasn't asleep.

He saw the boat in the distance. Empty. The lake still. He swore that he was just there. He called out into the lake, "Is anyone there?"

No answer. He looked into the lake where he could see his reflection. The water was cold to the touch of his fingertips. He could feel this and wondered how it was a dream when it felt so real.

He looked up. There it is again. The shadow. It's standing on the boat. It's turning his back on him. He stepped closer where the light could illuminate the dark object at the right angle.

The shadow revealed itself. It was Connor. An exact duplicate. Except now, the other Connor could feel his stare at the back of its head.

The other Connor is now slowly turning around. He revealed himself to have the same pointed nose, sharp features, cheekbones, and jaws.

Everything, except for the eyes. They were no longer electric blue. They were all white, as if his eyeballs had been completely twisted around.

He took a step back as the other Connor curved his lips into a sinister smile.

When she was sixteen, her mother once said that it takes only fifteen minutes to decide if you want to see somebody a second time or not – with the assumption that you're a reasonable person who has a healthy relationship with commitment.

In the first ten minutes, Tobias used his charms on the diner lady to order AJ a fresh plate of banana pancakes for dinner. He asked her about her childhood and how close she must have been with her father.

She asked him about his personal beliefs and he spoke about going to church each Sunday but hates when people impose their beliefs onto others. He was a valedictorian in high school and got into college with a baseball scholarship.

"How are you single?" She joked.

"Honestly, I don't know," he laughed. They both did. He wiped with a napkin and placed away an empty plate of what had been fish and chips.

"What about you?" Tobias asked AJ.

"Well, it's not easy," she admitted.

"Why not? I think it should be. If two people decide they want to be together, they will." He smiled.

"I see where you're coming from, it's just that... this job." She let out a nervous laughter at where the conversation was headed, "Do you ever feel like that?"

Tobias finished his milkshake and pushed it aside. He disagreed, "Actually, no. In my opinion, it will be easier if those two people understand each other's job."

She wrinkled her eyebrows, "What do you mean? The VCOS department prohibit couples from working together, did you know that?"

"I know. I mean, naturally, one partner has to give in their badge for good, right?"

"Naturally?"

"And I'd hate coming home to an empty house, so..."

After those last words, she finally realized what she was about to sign up for and she was glad that they went to a diner. Otherwise, a vodka-tonic would've made her stayed a lot longer.

"Anyway, thanks for the pancakes. I'm glad we had this talk," she said.

"Yeah, anytime," he said. "Can I call you later?"

"Oh, no... I don't think so," she smiled and paid her share of the bill.

He was baffled, "Why? Was it something I said?"

"Oh, you said all the right things. That's why I think I shouldn't call you back," she grabbed her jacket quickly. "But you're really, a good guy, Toby."

It has started raining again. She wished that her jacket was waterproof because the cold wind was starting to sting. She drove with the windshield on maximum setting to 115 Michigan Drive. A place where she should've been earlier.

She knocked. "Connor?"

No answer. The door was locked. He never forgets.

She peeked through the window. The humble living room was a mess. Coffee table was flipped over. Large sofa pushed to an odd tilt by a brute force.

In the dark, her right hand held onto her gun holster and the other tracing the exterior cladding of the walls to guide her way to the backdoor.

It was unlocked. The only light inside was coming from the kitchen. "Connor, you in there?" She called again, almost hesitant not to.

Nobody answered. Just silence. She waited. Until shuffling noises were heard from inside the house, like footsteps but

She was determined to draw her pistol now. In the darkness, something was glowing red.

She squinted, only to realize the red glow was growing larger in size. Whoever it was revealed himself to the light. It was Connor's LED.

He had a look of fight or flight on his face. He had his target aimed at AJ. The adrenaline rushing through his blue veins made the pistol shiver.

The slightest pressure and that bullet will travel through AJ's heart in the most efficient speed.

"Connor, put the gun down," said AJ, who was now holding her weapon as she extended her arm, perpendicular to her target – which was between Connor's two eyes.

"Who is it? Step back!" His vocal cords stuttering uncontrollably.

"It's me, Connor. Just put the gun down!"

"Who are you?!" Thundered Connor again, this time even louder.

There was a split second when AJ looked in his eyes and did not recognize who it was. There was a plead of help, muffled underneath layers of pure steel and polymer. She treated the situation the same way she would with a hostage or a negotiation.

"My name is Audrey Jeanette Whitley, you called me AJ!" She exclaimed, not giving up on her aim. "Your name is Connor..."

"Audrey... AJ?" He whimpered.

He resumed eye contact and that's when she knew, he's returned. He's hurt, maybe wounded, but he's still alive.

When he realized he was aiming at AJ, he dropped to his knees and loosened his grip. The pistol fell onto the linoleum floor. AJ kicked it out of the way.

She withdrew her gun and held his head straight with both of her hands. On the kitchen floor, the two of them were on their knees, coming together to an embrace.

She felt his skin hot to the touch like a fever or an overheated processor. Both of them breathing heavily from the intensity. Everything happened so quick, and it's only starting to slow down.

"I'm sorry..." He wept. His head fell into her arms, but she was strong enough to carry the weight of it. In this state, they remained still while she stroked his hair spontaneously.

She hushed, "No, I'm sorry..."

He let her rock his body back and forth, he asked, "Did I hurt you?"

"No, of course not. You scared me, but... I'm fine. We're fine," she assured him.

"I can't let myself hurt you, AJ," he confessed. She knew what it meant. He said, "You have to take me away and reset me. There's no other way–"

Her palms pressed the sides of his head, she looked into him in all seriousness. She said, "I don't believe that, Connor, you know that."

They held each other still. She might have even shed a tear, without questioning why androids were made to cry too.