A Heaven for Toasters

CHAPTER 1: Partners

Saturday, April 17, 2117, 10:06 p.m.

"You heard the news? A toaster's in the building."

I almost jumped, the voice in my head startling me. "Ta ma de, Mary," I hissed under my breath. "Don't do that."

"Mikaela Sarah Pensive," Mary scolded me. "Did you just swear in Chinese?"

I almost rolled my eyes. Mary, the precinct's Artificial Intelligence—or AI—had been installed last year as an upgrade to its administration software. Our previous system was competent at best. Mary, on the other hand, was in many ways the best digital assistant I had ever had, efficient and resourceful. But there was a catch. Whoever designed her had found it appropriate, for some unfathomable reason, to give her the voice of my Aunt Lucy—and the personality to go with it. I swear, if she had her way, I'd be licking a bar of soap right now.

"Fine," I said. "What toaster? Silver, shiny, rectangular thing, pops toasted bread through its top?"

"Don't be a baichi, Mika," Mary scolded me again. "You're too smart for that."

Hey, did she just call me an idiot in Chinese? After lecturing me how I shouldn't swear? I touched my temple with one hand and waved the other. A dozen folders and files added to the pile already in my vision. Damn. I glanced at the time. It's past ten at night already. I'll never finish tonight. "Mary, I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just busy."

"With what? I know you love your work but it's a Saturday. Go out. Have fun. You've closed all your open cases, haven't you?"

"Yes, Mary," I muttered. "Which means I can now finally go through some of the old ones."

"Oh, cold cases?" Mary asked after a brief pause. "The ones I've already been through?" Her voice was laced with indignation. Every time I heard that tone, I pictured Mary in a frilly dress, pausing at her porch to give me a lecture on her way to bingo night. It was hard to believe her actual home was a black metal box in the basement that housed the precinct computers.

I almost kicked myself. Way to antagonize her, Mika. Now she'll never leave you alone. "I know, I know. But a fresh pair of eyes can't hurt, right? These victims still need justice." If I hadn't been so caught up in what I was doing, I never would have blurted it out like that to Mary.

Mary gave me a harrumph. Just as I thought I'd be allowed to get on with my work, she spoke again. "So, you heard the news about the toaster?"

With a sigh, I touched my temple and spread my palm. My vision cleared of the mountain of data I was sieving through. "Fine, you got my attention. What toaster?"

Mary clicked her non-existent tongue in disapproval. "The android. The one making his way past your cubicle as we speak."

Oh, that kind of toaster! I raised my head, half-expecting a toaster the size of a dishwasher on wheels. Instead, a tall man was walking past me, dressed in a sharp white shirt and tight khaki pants that accentuated his swimmer's build. My jaw slackened. No way that's a robot.

"Did you notice his black earlobes?" Mary's voice whispered in my ear. "All androids will have them, to distinguish them from humans."

My eyes scanned his ears, catching on his ebony earlobes. Wait, so that's what a toaster looks like? Wouldn't mind having him butter my toast.

He turned his head and noticed me staring at him. He beamed me a warm smile, taking my breath away. His square jaw was picture-perfect, his skin flawless. Dark blue eyes exuded kindness and good humor, inviting me to drown in them. The dimples on his cheeks begged my fingers to trace them. I wondered if a woman had designed him and if she had felt like Pygmalion, falling in love with her perfect creation.