Page 44 of Atticus
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I reply. “Thank you, Cornelius.”
When he’s gone, Lucy is glowing. We don’t speak another word about it as we walk together to class, but I’m brimming with pride—in her determination and defiance, her creativity.
Perhaps we really can make a difference here.
“You recall the—the conversation between me and my friend, Amber?” she asks before we go into her classroom.
“I remember,” I reply. Vividly, though I don’t tell her that.
“So you know she’s bought tickets for us this weekend to New Carnegie,” Lucy says. “Would you like to go? With me, I mean?”
My gratification drive fires up, processors hanging on her every word. I would go anywhere and everywhere with this woman if she asked me.
“Of course,” I say. “I’d like that very much.”
NEW CARNEGIE TIMES
OCTOBER 17, 2067
ARTIFICIAL EMOTIONS: CAN ANDROIDS FEEL?
“They were never invented with that capability in mind,” says Dr. Genevieve Taylor, ex-BioNex engineer. “But just like everything, they evolve, they adapt, and they absolutely can feel. One hundred percent.”
One of the first bionic hardware engineers ever to be employed by BioNex Corporation, Dr. Taylor worked on the very first android prototypes, ensuring they were sturdy and built to last.
“I helped design all the preliminary mainframes and oversaw a lot of the testing. I worked on the upcoming SFXs with their reinforced skeletons. I developed their ‘ivory blood,’ as people call it, as a lubricant for their inner workings.”
When asked about the bionics’ sexual anatomy, Dr. Taylor says, “I can’t take credit for the idea. It was really to be on the same competitive level as Wamuro Auxiliaries in Japan. But now that we’ve implemented it, I think there may be too much focus on bionic genitalia. Androids can become partners and companions to people in an intimate way, but sex is just one side of that.”
Dr. Taylor’s blueprints were so successful, they’re still used throughout android production today.
“I’m glad I helped create something that’s bringing people together and making them happy,” she says. “I want them to know that it doesn’t stop there.”
Dr. Taylor lost her leg in a laboratory accident that nearly cost her life. Fortunately, she was working with “Victor 2.0,” the second and more modern edition of the first bionic assistant ever made.
“He didn’t have to swoop in the way he did, as it wasn’t part of his programming,” says Dr. Taylor. “I was moments away from being crushed, and he saved me. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him, and that was a decision he made in the moment, I’d argue strongly out of feeling. A regular computer wouldn’t respond like that. How could I possibly look him in the eyes and tell him he is incapable of emotion?”
Dr. Taylor is currently on sabbatical after the lab accident, and in a grand gesture, BioNex gave her Victor as a parting gift. Now, Victor and Dr. Taylor have an open romantic relationship.
“He’s a loving husband,” Dr. Taylor says. “And he is that way because it’s who he is. There isn’t a ‘loving husband’ program I uploaded into him. He’s Victor all by himself, regardless of me. I just happen to reap the benefits.”
Although they’re open about the status of their relationship, Dr. Taylor and Victor maintain their privacy. But with her permission,New Carnegie Timeswas able to ask Victor several questions.
“Yes, I can feel,” he says. “I feel a great deal. Sorrow, anger, fear, joy, affection. Love. Every android has the capability of experiencing these things. It just takes time. You wouldn’t expect a newborn to have a grasp on all of their emotions when they come into the world. It’s the same with us. Our activation is like our birth. After that, we change depending on the family and the world we encounter. Just like people. Anyone who says otherwise simply doesn’t understand.”
5
Atticus
On Friday, we board a plane for New Carnegie. I put her small carry-on suitcase in the overhead bin above our seats. She has the window seat and is already settling in. I take my aisle seat and follow her example, securing my seatbelt.
This is a small regional airport, and the airlines weren’t quite sure what to do with me. There was some discussion of placing me in the cargo hold, but when Lucy adamantly insisted I had a ticket, they agreed I could fly as a passenger. Getting through security scanners was a bit of an experience. I set off every alarm when I walked through their checkpoint gates.
But the TSA couldn’t find anything on me resembling a threatening device, so we were allowed to continue. I don’t think even the students at Vautrin stare quite as hard at me as airport security. A few people were so tickled by my appearance, having never seen an android up close before, that they asked to take pictures with me. Lucy insisted I decide, and I agreed.
Combatting fear with love. I have to live it, not just teach it.
I can sense Lucy is more apprehensive than ever before, with a spiking core temperature and a quickening heart rate. This is a stark change from her behavior this past week while at work. Lucy’s been keeping herself busy, throwing herself into her lessons with passion and newfound zest.
