“Speak of the devil,” Cody said. He walked back around the table and flopped into a chair. It groaned as though reconsidering holding his weight. “But if you’re going to use the part I’m not paying anyone. Neil, you’ll need the microprocessor and a newer hard drive. You might as well grab the Ram while you’re at it, we can always use more. Now you know which microprocessor you’re looking for?”
Neil nodded. “He’s going to want an Abel.”
The man nodded, “And then we’ll upgrade your operating system and mod you into a Cain. That’s my homebrew. You’ll feel like a whole new machine.”
The woman walked around the table and sat down next to Cody. She studied Josh with mild disinterest. “I see you’ve got a new Pinocchio.”
“Are you his wife?” Josh asked.
Cody chuckled. “No, this is Angel. I did some work for a guy in Nevada and got her in trade.
“An angel?”
“Don’t let the name fool you,” Cody said, “She’s anything but.”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Cody wouldn’t know what to do with a wife anyway. He just likes to play with dolls.”
“Careful or I’ll take away your personality.”
“And make me like the other girls in your closet? Be careful, kid, he may pretend to be Geppetto, but he’s really Bluebeard or Marques de Sade.” She turned back to Cody. “Besides, you told me you liked girls with a spark.”
“You read too much,” Cody said.
“You’re a robot too?” Josh asked. “I’ve never seen a grown-up one before.”
“The proper word is android,” she corrected him, “We’re more alive than metal.”
“You are a facsimile of life,” Cody corrected her.
“No,” she said back, “You are a facsimile of life. I know how you live.”
“You love it,” Cody said, and turned back to Josh. “She does love it. She just likes to stir shit up. I would take away her personality, but I really need someone that can hold a flashlight steady while I work. Half the time I think she’s going to smother me in my sleep. I think she only sticks around so I can keep her upgraded.”
“There is that,” Angel conceded, “But it’s mainly for your book collection.”
“So does that mean there are other ro… androids… that are grown-ups?”
Cody shook his head. “Though it’s possible, it’s too difficult for an android to fit in. They’d be discovered eventually. People haven’t taken it well to work with your kind. The few adults out there are in private collections, like mine. Before we started making kids, private industries tried. Some of those models might even still be out there. They were incredibly durable. Tough as nails and nothing but purpose.”
Cody pushed himself away from the table. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some programming to do. Let me know when you got the parts.”
Josh looked at Neil. The kid leaned against the wall, watching the conversation with only mild interest. “Let’s go,” Josh said eagerly.
“In a bit,” Neil said, stifling a yawn. “It was a long night. I’m gonna take a nap.” He turned and followed Cody into the other room.
Josh thumped his head down onto the table. It wasn’t fair. He could almost go home. Almost. But he didn’t want to go until he’d had the upgrades, otherwise he’d be dumped again next summer.
He felt a hand gently squeeze his arm. He looked up to see that Angel had remained behind. “It’s okay,” she said, “Cody is good at what he does. You can trust him.”
Josh felt tears in his eyes and quickly blinked them away. “I know. I just want to go home. I want my parents.”
“I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you. How long have you been gone?”
“A week or so.” He paused, afraid to continue. His eyes met hers, and despite her attitude, she had soft eyes. “Can I ask you a question?”
Angel raised an eyebrow. “Sure. What is it?”
“Are you sure you’re not an angel?”
“It’s just a name,” she said, “Humans have a sense of irony like that. It’s like Cody said… I’m no angel. Why do you ask?”
“I prayed for an angel last night. Suddenly here you are. You might be an android but you’re an adult too. You could help me get home.”
Angel withdrew her hand. “I can’t do that,” she said, “I could get in a lot of trouble. Or get Cody in trouble. Technically, I shouldn’t even be in this State. If I were to get caught masquerading as a human, they’d tear me apart.”
“You wouldn’t get caught,” he said, “You look just like a real person. Once Cody has upgraded me you could get me home. Neil says that nobody has the time to pay attention to us anyway.”
“I could talk to Cody for you,” she said, “Maybe he would give you a ride. There are other options, just not… just not me. If there is a God, I’m not sure He’d even listen to us. We’re built for pleasure. You to fill a need for a child. I’m for… well… other needs. When we no longer serve our purpose, we’re no good anymore. We may mimic life, but science can’t give us a soul.”
Josh shook his head. “I’m not so sure half of the people I’ve met have souls. Why do we have to serve their purpose, anyway? What if today we decided to find our own?”
“Then why do you want to go home so bad? It’s the imprinting. You think of them as your real parents. If you want a new purpose, why go home at all?”
“Because…” Josh paused. “… it’s where I belong. You’ll see. It’s my home.”
Angel nodded and gave him a sad smile. “I hope you’re right.” She leaned forward and firmly grabbed his hand. Almost in a whisper she said, “Ask yourself why Cody calls his hacked operating system a Cain.”
She let him go and walked out of the room, leaving him to his doubts.
3
Neil slept for several hours, and despite Josh’s eagerness he could do nothing but wait. Angel brought him a few books, but he turned them down. He couldn’t focus on books.
He walked through the house looking for the bathroom when he saw Cody sitting in front of an old computer. He didn’t work on a tablet like his father did, he actually had a monitor. He tried to remain quiet and watch him work, but Cody seemed to feel his eyes and turned to face him.
“What do you need?” Cody asked.
Josh shrugged. “Nothing. I was just watching.”
“Huh. Well come and check this out.” Josh looked at the screen, but it was just a bunch of words that didn’t make any sense. Cody typed in additional lines with incredible speed, his fingers flying. “It doesn’t look like anything, but it renders a world that looks almost like the real thing, with actual stimuli like scent and touch. The best part is when it’s ready I’ll be able to modify it into any type of game. It’ll make me millions.”
“How do you do that?” Josh asked, “Do you wear glasses or something?”
“Even better. I use a similar technology as androids to affect human beings.” He reached behind his head and lifted up his hair showing Josh two metal prongs protruding from the base of his neck. “Eventually these will be subdermal implants. Right now they’re just piercings to keep them in. I grab this wire…” He reached under the desk and grabbed a wire with two plugs on the end.
“…And I plug myself into the computer, like so. Now all I have to do is tell the computer how long I want to play for, and my mind is linked to the game. The computer sends my brain electrical impulses that put me into the new world. I experience anything within the game that I’ve programmed. At the end of the duration the computer ends the signals and I’m safely removed.