Page 35 of Ezra
“You heard that?”
“I hear everything.”
“That’s got to be annoying at times.”
“It can be, yes. But I make do.”
I lightly tap Charlie’s leg with my fingertip. Like a real spider, Charlie withdraws it before placing it back where it was and tapping me in response. It trills. “There’s a children’s book.Charlotte’s Web. I figured it fit.”
“Getting attached to a machine,” Ezra quips. “Is that allowed?”
He’s teasing me. I can hear it in his voice. He’s usually so forceful, so businesslike, from what I’ve seen. Now he nearly sounds human.
“Yes, it’s allowed, because he’s not going to steal my job,” I reply matter-of-factly. “And he’s cute and can’t talk back. Thank you very much.”
“Oh?” Ezra’s eyes stop shuttering, and he focuses upon me. “It’s a he?”
“Peeped at a lady in the shower. Seems like a male to me.”
“Can’t blame him,” Ezra replies.
Charlie beeps, like he knows he’s being discussed. I open my mouth to speak but stop short. Another indirect compliment? My face heats, and I’m at a loss of words. I was trying so hard to convince myself that Ezra, as complex and impressive as he clearly is, remains a machine. But a cut-and-dry android wouldn’t say that to me. A human man, on the other hand, absolutely would. That was definitely almost flirting, but—no, Ezra would never flirt with me. I’m imagining things now. Clearly, that had to be sarcasm. Just how jumbled am I right now?
I need to change the subject. “What’re you working on? Or is that a secret?”
Ezra’s irises and pupils change shape, almost like an old-fashioned camera lens. “It’s no secret. Not to you. You were there. I’m trying to make sense of any new findings at the museum, but it’s difficult for me to analyze when I couldn’t be on-site for more than a few minutes.”
“They wouldn’t let you in?” I ask in surprise. “But...you were there.”
“I was,” Ezra replies. “I’m also an android, and it was an android that killed those people. My superiors are hesitant to give me the same freedom I once had in these instances.”
“Because of androids being the ones responsible for the attacks?”
“Yes.”
“So they assigned you to me to keep you out of the way?”
“I suspect so.” Ezra pauses. “I apologize. I’m not sure why I said that. That was unprofessional. Complaining about my current directives isn’t appropriate.”
“No, it’s okay. I’d be upset too,” I reply. “I imagine it’s difficult, when assisting your partner is literally first and foremost in your programming.”
Ezra doesn’t answer at first, like he isn’t quite sure if he trusts me yet. Maybe he’d be right not to. To shut down the conversation and leave it at that. He regards me carefully before responding. “Thank you. Yes, it is.”
The whiteness of his irises is so intense. I quickly look away, amble to the fridge, and take out the smoothie I partially finished. There’s fruits and vegetables in there as well, but the thought of putting anything solid into my system makes my gut churn uncomfortably. I usually love strawberries, salads, carrots, but I can’t stomach the thought of them right now.
“This may sound odd, but can I ask you something?”
“You may.” He’s no longer looking at me. His pupils shutter again.
That makes me curious. “The thing your eyes do, the way they look like a camera? What is that?”
“It’s how I control different subject matter on my optical screen,” he replies. “You can compare it to zooming in and out or swiping left and right.”
“So that’s you doing your job even here?”
“Yes.” He focuses on me again. “I’m always reviewing case information, even when it appears like I’m doing something else. Right now, I’m reviewing security footage that may have been tampered with. I have a lead, but I’ll need to go to the crime scene at some point to confirm if my suspicions are correct, do a side-by-side comparison.”
I point to his tablet on the table, which occasionally lights up with notifications. “Then why use that?”
