An Android Dog's Tale

by D.L. Morrese

  ~*~

  MO-126 slowly made his way through the trees. The ewes must have given birth yesterday, one to a single lamb and the other to twins. The little lambs nursed as he watched, wagging their tales rapidly. An old, neutered male, a wether, stood protectively nearby.

  They should be accustomed to dogs, but MO-126 would be a stranger to them, and he did not want them to run. With night falling, this seemed as good a place for them as any. A stream provided water and protection on one side and there were trees to browse on the other, which is probably why the tiny flock came here. Sheep normally grazed ground vegetation, but they did like tender twigs and bark as a change of pace now and then.

  The android dog decided he would watch over them that night from a comfortable distance in case the wild dogs returned. In the morning, he would bring the sheep and their lambs back to the village. With two legs and a couple of functional hands, he could toss ropes around their necks and lead them home, but as this option did not exist, he would have to herd them. He felt confident he could manage. If real dogs could do it, he should be able to as well.

  He sat on his haunches a few meters into the trees and made himself comfortable. He needed to make a call.

  “I found the sheep,” he sent to Tork. “I’ll bring them to the village tomorrow. How’s the old woman?”

  “About the same as when you left,” the trade android replied. “I still think this is a bad idea.”

  “Why? The village gets their sheep back and an old woman gets to live a few more years.”

  “Those are both transitory and relatively unimportant matters. The return of the sheep could undermine the prestige of their holy woman.”

  “Ryenne? Why is that a bad thing? That woman is crazy.” He refrained from telling Tork that Galinda’s life probably mattered to her; and to say it was transitory, well, from a far enough perspective, everything was. This did not mean nothing was important.

  “Yes, but that crazy woman helps these people make sense of their lives,” the trade android said.

  “She helps them make nonsense, you mean.”

  “Perhaps to us but not to them, and who is to say it’s wrong? No one, not even those of us who consider ourselves intelligent and well informed, has a complete understanding of the universe. The most we can achieve is some partial understanding of it that works for us. A universe with demons in it works for the primitives.”

  “I’ve known you a long time, Tork, and you’re not clever enough to have come up with that on your own. You got it from Corporation indoctrination files, didn’t you?”

  “Well, yes. It’s part of the Trade Interface package, but that doesn’t mean it’s not right.”

  MO-126 shook his head and realized he needed to be more careful about acquiring human mannerisms. His companion was not there to see the gesture, so he could not reprimand him for it. “I’ll tell you what’s not right. It’s not right to let someone die if you can help prevent it.”

  “For a dog, that’s a terribly human sentiment.”

  “I’m not a dog.”

  “You’re not a human, either.”

  “No, I’m a mechanical simulacrum of a dog. That doesn’t mean I’m heartless.”

  “Technically, it does.”

  “You’re being intentionally obtuse. You know what I mean.”

  “Yes, I do. You’ve grown fond of the primitives here, and you’re letting that affect your better judgment. You have to remember that these are primitives. When the corporation found their ancestors, they were foraging a meager existence from wild plants and picking the leftover carcasses abandoned by better predators. They probably still are, if they’re not extinct by now. The people here are sentient, but they’re not much different from their sheep. Don’t make them out to be more than they are.”

  “They’re—,” MO-126 began to protest. He felt he should defend the humans, realizing that this might be due to the canine basis of his programming. It hardly mattered where the feeling came from. It was part of who and what he was.

  “They’re employees of the Galactic Organic Development Corporation, and so are we,” Tork said. “They can perform their jobs better by living simple lives and holding simple beliefs, and we can perform our jobs better by helping them do so.”

  “All right,” the android dog said. “But I’m still bringing back the sheep. I’ll be there with them sometime tomorrow. Make sure to give Galinda some food and water.”