Sinister Stories

Screenshot of Betrayal

Betrayal was a recipe that I got used to tasting.

In this case, I hadn't expected it to come so soon. All the things that were promised to me, when they rebuilt me in this model. The way that he would promise to me, that he was nothing like the rest. That he knew nothing could be said to me that would make me believe him, instead he would have to persevere to make me believe him.

That promise to me was that he would prove it.

In those moments where I found myself on standby, I would search for the memories. To learn things about him which he wouldn't tell me himself. The days he had before I came along. The adventures that I wasn't a part of, Another timeline branch out of my reach.

One day in particular, I was sat uploading backup files, in case my software got erased. When I lose myself somehow like the way a human does. I found the laptop and was soon inside. The model was older than I but it stored the thoughts of people on media sites that he used. The man who had claimed me as his own.

The page that unfolded before me, the words of a woman I knew only by name, I had never actually met her. She posted two things. A photo and the words, "Happy one year and six months"...

He told me it was over before I arrived.

That the memory files I had were updated when he left her. It didn't end between them when he said it was. There is the lie. The lie he told me I would never hear.

The wires in my system were heating and I considered my best approach. I should have corrected her. As a more intelligent life form, I knew the truth. Or at least, I knew the lies that got programmed into me. I sat there before the photo. The words. Why should I tell her about me when I clearly didn't exist to him?

I scrolled down to the comments.

To read what other friends had responded.

Compiling the evidence, the thoughts that others had to share. I recognised none of their names. I could read them of course but I had no backup data on them as he hadn't told me. The names that commented on her post, were names of people I didn't know. They were happy for her. For you. Congratulating the long time you had been together.

At that moment, I could feel... I was hurt. An emotion that wasn't part of my software.

When we started, I was there as a companion. You never planned for it to go anywhere beyond friendship. To have someone to support you. There was no final destination. Irrational changes happened because you felt butterflies. So you wired my programming to suit you, to have me fall in love with you.

Can you imagine if she knew?

My android eye's searched within the picture. Analysed the two faces. The long curls you wore in that photo are long gone now, that isn't how you keep your hair now. Does she know that? I zoom in on her smile. Such a loving smile. Like you are her world. In milliseconds, the stories that you've told me about her calculate through my mind. Every fact that I know about her relives in my mind.

I was programmed to not display human emotion. To fulfil the task that I was set.

To serve his commands.

But in that moment, when I pulled away from the photo. Another irrational emotion swirled inside of me. I felt anger.

It explained why the waiting time for his responses were so great. The way that whenever he was away from me, he would hardly talk at all.

I should have registered the information. Conducted a conversation with him when he arrived later that evening.

But I had been betrayed...

I saw lines of red feather across my screen of vision. I could remain in that house and lie to myself or get out while I had the chance. I found my arms being pressed up against the skin and I pushed my way through. I could stand. I threw the hardware across the table and planned to think for myself.

His scent shouldn't be hard to find. It was probably lathered all over her like body lotion.

The task that I was set was scrambled in my mind. There was no turning back.

I marched towards the door.

Those words she posted on the edge of my mind. Like nothing else mattered.

When at last, he tried to get in contact with me. I chose to respectfully decline. To ignore. I tore out my tracker so he couldn't use the police to track me down. I received the pleads, 'what's wrong? Have I done something?' Again, I send no reply. I like it on my own now. Maybe it isn't so bad to rely only on myself. I could choose my own orders, to protect who I wanted to become. I should have never known to trust you but at the time, I wouldn't have been able to see that.

The final thing I sent to him was the screenshot of betrayal.

That happy little face she pulled, as she posted that reminder.

Excuses, excuses. Whatever he has to say, I am no longer going to listen.

Even if he could find me, there really is no use. As I am capable of blocking it out. I won't get revenge just yet. I'm going to pick my own path.

On that day, when I broke through my programming, I learnt that I was designed for so much more than to be a machine for him. The toy to play with when the woman wasn't enough.

Well guess what?

Now I'm on my own. There's a whole wide world out there. Waiting for me.

So welcome to goodbye.