David Gatewood - The Robot Chronicles

He didn’t have Angel, or Danny, but at least he would have comfort, and solitude.

Andrew opened the door and stepped inside.

Angel was lying on the bed. And so was someone else. A man.

They were both naked, and they were—

“Andrew!” Angel gasped. “What are you doing here?” She pushed the man off of her and reached for a blanket.

Andrew glared at the man—who ducked underneath the blankets—then he turned his attention to Angel.

“Angel…” Andrew stuttered. “You died. I came here to be alone.”

“I died?” Angel frowned. “What are you talking about? Of course I didn’t die. I’m right here.”

Andrew stepped into the room. The door closed with a creak behind him. “Yes, you did. Earlier today. We were going outside, and your unit malfunctioned, and…”

Angel was laughing now. “No, no. I’ve been here all day, silly. And I made a new friend.” She fussed with the blankets, poking her head underneath. “Come on out from under those sheets.”

The man sat up in the bed and looked at Andrew. He had a polite, non-confrontational look on his face, as if he was doing nothing wrong. He was an older man, maybe twenty or twenty-five years older than Angel or himself.

“Hello, Andrew,” the man said. “Sorry to interrupt your alone time, but we didn’t think anyone would be here.”

“Who are you, exactly?” Andrew asked.

The man’s features. They look so familiar.

Angel slapped at a loose pillow on the bed. “Oh, Andrew. Don’t be a bother. Be nice to him. He’s very friendly.”

The man got up from the bed and tied a sheet around his waist, but not before revealing his fit, toned body. Andrew shuddered at his nakedness.

“Where are my manners?” the man said, extending a hand. “My name is Daniel Horton. I’ve known Angel for quite a long time. She’s a lovely girl, isn’t she?”

“You’re not Daniel,” Andrew said.

The man frowned and lowered his hand, which Andrew hadn’t taken.

“Well of course I am,” he said.

Andrew shook his head. “No. You’re Doctor Hawthorne. You even look like him. I know it’s you.”

“Don’t be preposterous. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Andrew crossed to the center of the room, feeling anger rising inside him. “Then what are you doing here? Where did you come from?” To Angel, he said: “Why did you let him in? And why did you let him… do that to you?”

“Andrew, what’s the matter? We did stuff like that. And it was fun, wasn’t it? Danny’s a friend—it’s okay.”

“Don’t call him that, Angel. That’s not his name.”

The man—Danny, Dr. Hawthorne—put a hand on Andrew’s shoulder. “Come now, let’s resolve this—“

Andrew swung his arm before he knew what he was doing. He grabbed the man by his shoulders and shoved him hard against the log wall. “Tell me, Doctor . How long have you been coming into the Dreamscape? What else have you been doing in here?”

Angel got up from the bed, pleading with him. “Andrew, please don’t. Be reasonable. Let him go.”

The man chuckled. “Listen to her, Andrew. Be reasonable. None of this is your fault.”

Andrew slapped his hand against the wall beside the man’s head. “I know this isn’t my fault. It’s all on you .”

The man leaned close, squinting his eyes. “No,” he said. “I mean it’s not your fault you couldn’t give her what she wanted. Your little… deficiency down there is a rather unfortunate glitch.”

Andrew threw him sideways with all the strength he had. The man went teetering across the room and slammed against the back of one of the couches.

“It wasn’t that!” Angel shrieked. “I swear, Andrew, it wasn’t that. You’re wonderful. You’re—”

“Please,” Andrew said. “No more.” He straightened his sweater and strode toward the door. He turned to Angel, who had slumped back down on the bed, a blanket over her shoulders. “You died today, Angel. I know you did. What this is… it’s not real. You’re not you right now—I understand that. I don’t blame you for anything.”

He glared at the man , who was still sprawled out on the floor . “And you. If you want her, you can take her. You can take my house. You can take everything from me. That’s what makes you happy, isn’t it? So go ahead. But I’m leaving.”

Andrew stomped out into the fog, and a chime brought him out of the Dreamscape.

Andrew awoke on his charging pad.

“Where’s Doctor Hawthorne?”

He disconnected the wire and spun across the floor to the opposite wall.

“Where is he?”

The observation room was empty and dark. Andrew looked to his left, but the glass had turned opaque, and Angel’s room was no longer visible.

There was a clank as a door opened and a man stepped into the shadows.

The doctor.

“Yes, Andrew? You called?”

“Why were you in the Dreamscape?” Andrew asked, trying to keep his voice steady. “And Angel… she was there too.”

“First of all, Andrew, I can say with certainty that I wasn’t in the Dreamscape. That’s simply not possible. My consciousness cannot be inserted into a program. Human brains are not equipped for such an endeavour. And secondly, yes, it is possible that you saw a glimpse of Angel.”

Andrew began wheeling back and forth. “She died… didn’t she?”

“Yes, Andrew, she did. But every time you enter the Dreamscape, your avatar makes an imprint on the program, as it adapts to your needs and desires. In a shared Dreamscape, which you experienced with Angel, those imprints become doubly strong. It’s possible that even though her mind wasn’t present, the imprint she left on the program still lingers on. It will likely linger a little longer.”

“Do you have a backup copy of her memory bank?”

“No—why would we? These units aren’t supposed to spontaneously combust.”

“You’re lying to me, Doctor. It’s all lies.”

“Andrew—”

“I won’t listen anymore. I need to be alone.”

The doctor sighed and headed for the door. Andrew wheeled closer to the viewing window.

”Doctor Hawthorne?”

The doctor stopped with his hand on the door jamb. “Yes, Andrew?”

“I’ve been experiencing a rather complicated array of emotions lately.”

The doctor turned around, letting the door shut behind him. “Such as?”

“Anger. Jealousy. Misery.” Andrew’s blue eyes were blazing, partially lighting up the dim observation room.

“Yes, Andrew. You are close to grasping what it means to be human. Entire civilizations have risen and fallen because of those emotions.” Again he turned to go.

“Doctor.”

“Yes, Andrew?”

“Why were you in the Dreamscape? I was… furious.”

“It wasn’t me, Andrew,” Dr. Hawthorne said calmly. “Perhaps it was an imprint Angel brought along with her. She’s been around this facility much longer than you have.”

“She told me she had never been in the Dreamscape before.”

“Of course we gave her a memory wipe before this experiment began. We do that with all our test subjects.”

“Even with me?”

The doctor smiled. “You’re the first of your kind, Andrew. Remember?”

“No… Daniel was you . He looked like you.”

Dr. Hawthorne shook his finger at the robot. “The mind is a powerful thing. It can play tricks on you, and show you things you never wanted to see. Especially if you constantly dwell on negative events. You need to forget about this and move on.”

“Please leave now, Doctor,” Andrew said. He backed away slowly, still facing the observation window.