Automata

CHAPTER 6 - A Ripple in the Lake of Fate

TW: some language

After an eternity of trekking through the seemingly endless dunes, Annette and 9s arrived at a camp. This "camp" contained nothing more than a small pond and a view of abandoned houses. Annette took out her half-empty water bottle and debated on whether or not to refill it at the pond.

"Excuse me, erm.. 9s? Would you happen to have a water purifier or something?" Annette asked as she walked over to 9s who was taking samples of infected plant life growing from a crack outside a house. "Why do you wanna drink the dirty pond water?", he questioned. Annette furrowed her brows and tilted her head. "I don't know! Maybe it's because we're in the middle of a goddamn desert?!" she shouted. 9s pulled out a vial from his pocket and inserted a sample of a mold-stained leaf into it. He cracked a small smile in the process.

"Good point. Humans are always so needy.. and selfish.". He muttered the last part as his face went blank as if he was contemplating something. "You can always make a sand filter. Just fill the bottle halfway with sand, add water, poke a few holes in the bottle cap, and then it should be drinkable after a few minutes" he explained.

"Thanks". Annette walked to the pond again to make a sand filter. After around 10 minutes, she was finally able to drink partially clean water. This'll have to do. She mumbled, taking another sip. After drinking all that she could, she carefully placed the modified water bottle into her satchel. As she observed the satchel's contents, Annette suddenly had an idea.

"Hey!" Annette blurted out as she ran back up to 9s. She held out her family portrait which was partially covered in sand and tried to wipe the sand off. "Do you recognize..". Annette pointed to her father, assuming that 9s could see what she was pointing at. "Him?".

9s tilted his head as he turned his head towards the photo. "Possibly. I have saved data files of almost everyone I've encountered on the Surface. I say 'almost' because recruits usually aren't in the system until their sixth month on duty.". Annette thought about his words. Her best friend Courtney was gone for around 3 months now. She probably wasn't in the database, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"My friend recently joined the military. Around 3 months ago I believe? Her name is Courtney Adams. She hasn't returned to the Underground yet, and I'm very worried about her." Annette explained, looking into 9s' blindfold.

9s nodded. "I passed by her once when I was surveying a small village. One person in the crowd looked suspicious, so I followed them...", 9s began.

"They were wearing a dark green cloak. It seemed as if they were trying to avoid detection. The average human wouldn't have recognized her as someone from the Underground, but I managed to identify her after scanning her fingerprints when she touched one of the fruits at the market. Speaking of fruits, I noticed that she was taking quite a bit more than one person could need."

9s rummaged through his backpack. "She seemed to be in a hurry, so I attached a small tracker to the inside of her cloak so I wouldn't attract suspicion from her. I can take you to her last known location if you want.".

"Really? That's amazing! Wait, if you know her whereabouts, could you tell me if you recognize.. him?", Annette asked. She held out a family photo and gestured to her father. "That's my dad. He went to the Surface a few years ago. Do you... recognize him?.." she asked cautiously. 9s took a long look at the photo and nodded. "Look here.", he beckoned as he opened his palm revealing a floating hologram of a biography file of Annette's father. Annette carefully observed it. Her eyes widened upon reading a particular line.

Deceased-
Cause of Death:
Asphyxiation

9s closed his hand, causing the hologram to disappear. A heavy silence befell over them.

Asphyxiation? No way in hell... something isn't adding up...  Annette began to hyperventilate. 

She snapped out of her impending mental breakdown when 9s firmly grasped her shoulder. "Are you okay, ma'am? I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure he did all he could to protect you." Annette didn't look at the android and instead, she removed his hand from her shoulder and stepped back. "Do you really mean that?", she muttered, and then raised her voice: "Or are you just following lines of goddamn code telling you to show fucking empathy?!". Tears started welling up in her eyes as she began to yell at the top of her lungs. "All androids do is replicate human emotions! You'll never be human no matter how hard you try! You don't feel bad for anyone or anything because all you probably care about is—".

"The survival of humanity! That is my purpose!" 9s yelled back suddenly. The two were silent for a moment, and then he continued: "Now if you have a different opinion, that seems like a personal problem that you need to solve on your own." he added coldly.

Annette flinched at his sudden change in tone. Hot tears streamed onto her face as she turned away from him. After another long silence, 9s spoke once again.

"You don't have to like me. All you need to do is trust me. I will bring you home safely. I promise." 9s assured her. He didn't step closer though as he didn't want her to have another outburst, so he stood there unfazed as the wind picked up, causing his hair and skin to attract tiny bits of sand.

Annette looks at the picture of her family once more. A single tear dropped on the sand-covered glass frame before she stuffed it back into her satchel. There's nothing I can do about it now. Well.. except..

Annette finally turned to face 9s.

"Take me to Courtney."

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Author's Note: Thanks for reading! If you liked the story so far, feel free to vote! It really helps me in the long run! My next update will most likely be next Monday (Jan. 15th). 

If you have any questions about anything, please don't hesitate to ask! :)