"Do androids and machines abide by the same human laws?"

*

Rory returned. I wasn't sure of the hour. Being pulled from my dormant state too quickly caused disruptions in my computers, my ability to comprehend what was around me. Yet, without complaint, I followed him down the dark halls of our facility.

As though we were being chased, Rory pulled me with haste. Occasionally, he'd pause in the middle of the hallway before pressing us against the wall. He'd glance into the dark rooms, ensuring no one was around. All of his movements, his behaviors, seemed irrational to me.

Yet, without fully functioning computers, I found I could not help him or ask for clear direction.

"Systems in boot mode. Fifty-percent completed. Hard drives loading."

"Once we're there, I can find you," Rory whispered as he moved us down the hall again.

As I looked around, I thought I could recognize my surroundings, process the information. But the halls seemed strange to me, as if pulled from a forgotten file I wasn't meant to find, like the rest of the data I'd discovered earlier that night. I hadn't asked Rory because I was afraid of finding an error within myself. But with his behavior, his sudden human-like anxiety, I wonder if he already knew.

I stumbled into a large, open space with a singular android bed. Rory left me standing there and flicked on a light side near the left wall. When it powered on, it brightened the room and I saw everything clearly. Computers were lined up on the wall, screen to screen. Ten different monitors with paired keyboards waiting for commands.

Rory moved to one of them, the computer on the far right. With quick fingers, he inputted a username and password, logging in.

I watched him. "Rory, why are we here?"

When he turned to look back at me, I saw the red had returned to his eyes. They were deep in color like pools of blood. Intrigue caused me to dip my head. Is he with errors? "Rory?"

"Come, come." With quick feet, Rory hurried over to me but gently grabbed my arm this time. Rather than pull me, he led me over towards the android bed. I obediently followed as he aided me in sitting down as though I were a child. Nervous, yet soft hands rubbed my arms. "You're here so I can find you."

"Find me?" I watched him as he returned to the computers. He opened three different programs, logging into each one. "Rory, you located me within my station. As a head Replica, I—"

"No, no, no, no." Rory laughed, but there was no humor in the tone. He seemed distraught, an emotion I had only ever experienced from Mary Jordan, my creator. Rory had always been the one to show me kindness, care.

"Rory?" I pressed my brows together. "Why are we here?"

"Please." After slamming his finger on the keyboard's enter key, Rory returned to my side. Again, with soft hands, he coaxed me to rest and lay my head against the pillow. I followed, but my eyes never left his. My computers noted the color fluctuations, the sudden sparks of electricity beating off of his skin.

I tensed. "Rory."

He let out a nervous laugh. "I just need to try something, okay?" He turned his discolored eyes in my direction, holding my gaze. "Can you bear with me a moment? I know there's something in you and I—"

"Is it the files within my data?" My question left me so quickly, I could not take them back. Rory's reaction meant I didn't have to. His eyes widened, but he remained. Listening.

I continued, "There are hundreds of files, different data, all foreign to me. My computers can compute a command to delete and discard them, but—"

"No, no, no, no." Rory straightened and pressed a hand to my chest. A weak smile lifted his lips. "Don't discard them. I think they're what I'm looking for. Just... give me a moment."

"Yes," I agreed. And as Rory returned to the computers, I closed my eyes.

Whatever he was determined to find, I hoped it would resolve my errors. If he could fix these before Phillips returned for my next training, I would be thankful. Grateful.

And if he can't fix this error, but keeps my secret, I will do anything he asks.

*

Memory loop. Playback saved file.

Dated September 1st, 2016.

I kicked and fought against the droid-medics who dragged me into the next room. I'd put up too much of a right, my strength was gone. And without Rory at my side to tell them to stop, to leave me alone, I was defenseless.

My back slammed against the floor as the larger droid-medic shut the door, locking it. I watched as he turned, slowly, and approached me. With my hands at my side, I crawled backward until I reached the wall. "You can't do this to me. This is inhumane!" I shouted.

The larger medic glanced at his smaller partner. The two locked eyes for a moment before laughing. "Inhaume?" The smaller medic looked at me before turning towards a computer set up beside the door. "Is it... when it's done to a person."

"Really?" Pushing up the wall, I stood and pressed my back against the painted bricks. "Are you fucking serious? What am I then? Chop liver?"

"No." The larger medic rolled his head around his shoulders. As his partner typed away at the computer, the larger medic approached me. There was no kindness in his eyes as he looked at me. "No. You're an android."

Android? No.

What he said made no sense to me. Was this a joke? Had Mary and Rory come up with some sick plan to get back at me? Pressing my hands up into my hair, I tried to remember the night before.

There was nothing I'd done wrong. I had taken Mary away for a night, yes, but it was an important night; our wedding night. Last night, she looked me in the eye and swore to be Mrs. Javier Morales, for better or worse. But what happened after our vows? Had the worse come so soon?

I pulled one hand away from my head and stared at my ring finger. Empty. No wedding bands.

"Mar..." I breathed her name and hoped she'd somehow hear me. Save me. Anything.

This wasn't funny.

The larger medic sighed as he approached me. When I glanced up and looked at him, his mouth was pulled down into a deep frown. He scratched his face as he said, "You're an android replicated from a project too close to a 'human' for its own good."

I blinked. My head pressed back against the wall behind me as my hands fell to my side. "What?"

"I said what I said," the larger medic cracked his neck before glancing back at his partner. The smaller man hadn't paid us much attention. Three computer screens were at his command.

With another sigh, the larger medic looked back at me. And my eyes widened.

"I can tell you all of this because this entire memory sequence, the one you're storing into your computers right now—probably without realizing it—will be tucked so deep into your mainframe, not even Jesus Christ will know where it is."

I held my breath.

Then I realized... I had no air to hold. No oxygen.

Covering my mouth, I told myself it was all in my head. I was breathing. I had to be.

"Shouldn't you just delete all of it?" The smaller medic pressed a few keys louder than necessary. When he turned to look back, the larger medic shrugged. "Why haven't you?"

"I tried," the larger medic said. "That's why we're in this mess. There's some kind of crypto-lock on it; no idea what Mary Jordan did to her robo husband, but this guy here has the same shit."

"Same shit?" I slammed my hands back against the wall. "I am that guy, fuckers! I'm Javier Morales!"

The larger medic laughed after I yelled. "You?" He shook his head. "Actually, fucker, you're the android with no name."

What? What he said pushed through me like a knife. My legs buckled under the pressure building inside of my chest. Before I could crash to the flow, the larger medic rushed towards me. He grabbed me and cupped my head.

The medic at the computers sighed, muttering words under his breath before he spoke louder, "If we can't delete this stuff, then I'm just going to assign him to squad B. Cool?"

"Ha!" I felt his large hands grip my neck. My eyes opened wide, but I couldn't see. I could barely think. But I was aware enough to hear him as he said, "Put him on the losing squad? Shit, you don't have to tell me twice!"

Lights brightened before they faded. Darkness is followed by silence.

For a moment, a small moment, all I heard was the sound of a beating heart.

*