Human Code

16 || S I X T E E N

"But I guess, in the end, we'd have to swallow our pride as human beings and accept what we don't want to hear, right?"

*

He was me. An exact replica copied down to every part of my very code. And I couldn't understand why.

"I bet they said you were one of a kind, right?" Axe smiled, tilting his head as he stepped back from Wendy. She let out a quiet cry once his hands left her sleeves. "They promised you were special?"

I looked down at my shoes, remembering everything ever said to me. All of the droid-medics were baffled by my existence, some wanted extra studies done on my brain. But none were happier than my parents, than Mary. And the bot who made it all possible.

Rory...

My head shot up as red lights flashed from the ceilings.

Did they all know about this?

"No," I said to him. "I was never special."

Axe laughed, shaking his head. "Are you serious? Really?" His hand moved up, fingers stroking his chin. "You were once a human being, flesh and bone, and here you are now, a bot, right? That's really special."

The lights moved faster. Wendy looked up at them, terror on her face. My sensors picked up on her rapid heart rate.

"Yeah, but there's more to it," I said, glancing back at the hall I'd run through. The droids weren't headed this way. Where were they going? "It was more than just my creation."

Axe laughed again and let out a hard sigh. "Oh, Javi, Javi, Javi, you're so naïve. She's really left you in the dark, huh?"

"No!" I shouted, looking back at him. "From the beginning, I wasn't my own bot, and if you're saying you're me, then you'd know that."

Why was I arguing with him? Explaining myself? I didn't owe him anything. I didn't know him, and the only reason I'd come as he requested was to get my sister back. Baring my teeth, I moved fast to the left, my sensors pinpointing ways to save my sister.

"I know," he said, clicking his tongue. "You see, being a copy of a high-functioning droid is one thing." He pointed at himself. Then he moved that finger and pointed it towards me. "But, being a copy and having a human-code—come on, Javi. You do the math."

"Battery at forty-two percent. Immediate charging is required. Scanning area for a compatible base."

I looked down at my arms. The burning under my skin subsided. And so did the data in my eyes. I could no longer see the running dots in my field of vision. As my power steadily dropped, I was blinded to the digital world.

"If you understood what the Replicas were, then maybe you'd understand why I wanted you here so bad."

Lifting my head, I looked up at him. The lights overhead got brighter but moved slower. The pounding feet stopped. "Let my sister go."

"Oh, you know I want to." Axe lifted both brows as he grinned. "But you know life isn't that easy. Do you think you can come here and make demands? That isn't how this works."

Wendy's bright, glistening eyes looked at me as she tried to inch forward in her seat. Yet, the second she moved, Axe moved fast and grabbed her, forcing her back into place. I watched her mouth open wide as her cries left her, wailing in distress.

"What the hell do you want!" I shouted, trembling with anger. The edges of my vision were lined with red. "If it's me you want, fine, but let her go!"

"Can't." Her cries didn't bother him. He leaned his head on her shoulder, pressing his lips together with a playful coo. It made me sick. "I need to make sure I get what I need from you, then I'll let you all go. I'll call off the dogs."