Almost Human

Chapter 7

Veda picked her nails absentmindedly.

Andrew reclined in the passenger seat of his car.  Veda had insisted on driving, even though she really wasn’t supposed to, seeing as how it was a police car, even though it was undercover.  He had adjusted the seat to lie back as far as possible.  The few hours of sleep he got the night before weren’t enough to stave off drowsiness.  They had been sitting in the car for about an hour and a half already.

When they left, Veda gave no one a clear explanation for their destination or purpose for going.  She seemed to be working on another level, her brain occupied by things existing on another plane.  After their conversation in the communications room, Veda had set herself to planning.  She had focused on nothing else since. 

Now, Andrew tried to get some sleep between the stagnant air of the car and the sun beaming in his eyes.  It was a few hours after noontime.  He yawned and stretched to the best of his ability.  Even though he wasn’t incredibly tall, Andrew’s nearly six foot frame didn’t fit very comfortably in the car.  He never realized how small it was until he was forced to be cooped up in it for a long stretch of time, stationary. 

Every now and then, Veda would quickly focus her attention on their surroundings as if she saw something significant move.  Every time was a false alarm.

Andrew recognized their location as the warehouse the underground android market had been at the night before. 

“Tell me a little bit about yourself,” Veda said out of the blue.  “You’re living in my house and I’m trusting you with Sam and I’s lives, but I know nothing about you.”

“There isn’t much I can really say,” Andrew yawned.  “You already know that I’m a detective.  All that’s left is details.”

“We’ve got time,” Veda jested.

“Okay.  I’m 26.  I live alone in a plain old apartment in the city.  I just moved here a few months ago.  I transferred from a station in another part of the state.  Everyone at the station makes fun of me for being a ‘kid.’”

“That’s funny,” Veda commented, though Andrew felt like it was more to herself than to him.

“Your turn.  You’re more of a mystery than I am.”

“I have a Masters in Robotics which I received about a year ago.  I am currently working on a Ph.D.  I’ve lived in my house since I was five.  I don’t have parents.  I’ve been living alone for the better part of ten years.”

“How did that work out?” Andrew asked, curious as to how she managed.

“When I was too young to look after myself, a group of people worked together to watch me and raise me.  They were robotics engineers like I am and helped me develop my talent from a young age.”

“How did they know about your skill with robotics?”

“I think the story was that I made some kind of simple machine, an electric system or something like that, when I was very little because I was hanging around a technology and circuits class in a high school.  The teacher noticed that I had nowhere to go and handed me off to a group of engineers he knew.  At least, that’s what I’ve been told.  I was probably around the age of four at the time.”

“I didn’t think child prodigies like you existed,” Andrew laughed.  Veda looked embarrassedly at her hands.

“Anyway, I went through accelerated programs at school and ended up where you see me now.”

“So no explanation for you past?” Andrew asked empathetically. 

“None.”

“And you live completely alone now?”