Number One Fan

Chapter 15: Pieces

If he were broken and worthless, she'd let him go. The scrap heap was better than this place. He knew she'd never waste her precious time and parts trying to fix him; he was 'deficient,' which made him 'worthless.' If he could break himself, he'd be free...he just hoped Mother didn't completely scavenge what was left of him like the vulture she was. Robots like Cade compute every step, every blink and every fake animatronic inhale and exhale they produce. Everything was calculated. There were no 'involuntary' movements; if Cade meant to do something, he did it because he meant to. If there are involuntary actions, it is a malfunction. Why was he thinking this? Because as he stood at the edge of the highest step...he knew he was definitely malfunctioning. No sane being, robot or organic, would willingly throw themselves down the stairs to try to escape. He knew just how to position himself so that he would break just enough to be nonfunctional but not destroyed. He'd be tossed into the recycling bin, then picked up by a scavenger—because whether Mother liked it or not—he was 'pretty.' He was valuable, domestic units(even mismatched ones) were priceless, and someone would eventually rebuild him. Then he'd be free.

Cade was experiencing anxiety...but not because of the stairs—but because the entrance to Mother's lab was directly behind him. Even now, he was terrified. He was made to feel, and that's why he kept his emotion chip running, but in one quick internal chat with his motherboard, that emotion chip was no longer making virtual butterflies in his virtual stomach. How cruel that some intern somewhere at Daughtler-Hirabayashi Industrial Corporation gave him the ability to 'feel.' For no reason. Fortunately, a spontaneous pain center was beyond their ability for now, but with luck—his restraining chip would be rendered completely destroyed. Not an accident.

"Cade, what are you doing?" Mae had been watching him for a while now. 

"Hello, Mae," Cade responded neutrally. He sounded more like the medical droid he restored than his usual self—evidently because his emotions were locked in a little box. "You won't stop me. So don't try." Cade turned to eye her, his face a stoic slate. He sensed his time was finite. So, he decided it was time to go ahead with his plan. He put the heel of his foot over the edge of the first step. 

"No, you'll break!" Mae strained. She rushed to approach him.

"Don't come any closer," Cade warned her. "I'm free." He didn't want to go head-first anyway; he just let gravity do its thing, and sure enough, Cade was ready to go. But here came Mother, putting her nose in just about everything.

"C-2, get away from there! You'll waste my parts." The parts she was referring to—were the ones inside of him.

"It's Cade!" As soon as she came into view, his emotion chip was back on in the blink of an eye. She wasn't even worried about him! She just wanted her stupid components back! And for that, he was furious. "I don't belong to you anymore—I'm free!"

"No, you're not. If you go down those stairs, no one will ever put you back together again. You're worthless," Cade's mother said to Him with little regard for his fake feelings.

"I shouldn't be the one going down the stairs..." Cade stepped closer, his hands poised like claws as he approached his mother slowly as if to avoid spooking her—like she was some kind of wild animal. "You should!" Cade grabbed onto her and entered a death spiral. He tried to force her down the stairs.

Mother screamed and desperately tried to get the remote out of her coat pocket. Despite Cade being slightly shorter, his will was enough to overpower her.

"I said I would kill you—I did!" Cade laughed and smiled wickedly as he pushed Mother closer and closer to the stairs.

"Stop it, both of you!" Mae screamed. She covered her mouth as she gasped and watched as Cade and her mother became just a discolored blot in her field of vision.

The remote eventually worked its way free and flew far out of range. It clattered to the ground, and despite its plastic housing, it still sounded like a hammer as it banged against the wooden metal. Mother quickly went for it.

So did Cade. He kicked it away from her. It went flying in Mae's direction.

"You ungrateful grease pile—I put you back together when no one else would! I helped you and gave you a home!" Mother wheezed. She didn't want to die, and she was grasping for anything. Was there any way to reason with Cade at all? Was that possible?

"No—you gave me prison!" Cade snarled, "But it's over." In her communication, she failed to realize she was one push away from tumbling down the stairs. "Goodbye. Mother." Cade growled, but before he could complete the act—he felt that hot, piercing needle again and then clenched his chest as he yelped in agony. His eyes widened; it was just a taste, but that was enough to make him stop trying to push Mother. He looked back, tracing the remote's signal. Mae. "What the hell are you doing?! Don't you want me to be free?"

"Yes, but not like this!" Mae continued to protest, "You'd be a murderer, Cade. Now, just calm down, and we can talk."

"No. I'm done talking. Give me the remote." Cade demanded, moving toward his sister.

"Don't come any closer. I swear I'll turn it on. I'll turn it on and leave it on." Mae threatened; she kept the remote aimed at Cade like a firearm—it might as well have been; she was sure it felt like hell when it was activated. She didn't want to hurt Cade—she never did. But that was her mother! She couldn't just let her die! He left her no choice.

Cade, on the other hand, was right not to trust organics. It was like he doused him in gasoline and set a match to his body; he was so angry—something ignited in his brain, an uncontrollable rage. He lunged at Mae.

She hit the button again.

Cade seized, clenching his chest like he was having a heart attack. His motors overloaded, and his internal diagnostic system displayed in his HUD, with bright red letters, 'SYSTEM FAILURE. SHUT DOWN.'  Cade fell down the stairs—just like he planned.