by Luis Robles
“By whom?”
“... Travelling from mainland, aren’t you?” he asked as he continued on the grill.
I just looked at him with some confusion for a moment, trying to play innocent. I think I pulled it off.
He sighed a bit, “Hsu and Hsu say they're brothers but they look nothing alike…Probably brothers-in-arms, kind of thing. No one knows what they were like before the Landing. But they were taken in for whatever happened, and they came out as one of them.”
My eyebrows furrowed and mouth parted in surprise, “One of them?” I felt my stomach sank at the words.
“Not physically...” he clarified, “but mentally. They carry out the will...”
We were quiet together for a minute in silence, doing the dish work. I tried to understand what it must be like for the Hsus, brainwashed like that. It was disgusting to imagine, and sad to wonder what they were like before the invasion.
Eventually, he spoke again. I was pleasantly surprised that he was the one to start speaking.
“It's hard for my wife... These days, no one knows who to trust... Please don't take it personal,” he confided, his words soft and filled with sincerity. My heart felt warmed by what I heard.
“...Of course, I won't... Thank you.”
Family
That night, 11:57PM, Amadeus
The bipedal beings slept soundly through the night, but I found it imperative to keep a guard. I listened to the sound of snoring throughout the building. It seemed that a number of people in this changed city had poor sinuses.
After about half an hour, lounging and rolling about within the small and cramped room where both Jaika and 'Er-ling' were resting, I will admit that I became somewhat restless. Some might say 'bored'.
Everything in this new place was very odd to me, and I hungered for experiences. After all, as the smartest…okay, now admittedly, second smartest android in existence—still a marvel of science—I needed to always strive to learn. That is, after all, how one stays wise.
Even if the new, taller, larger and scarier android had superior engines, processing power, and computational facilities, that didn't mean that he was, by any means, better; only different. I was still wiser for my years, and my quest for knowledge would keep me there on top, where I belonged rightfully.
I knew that people may be somewhat jealous of our wealth. After all, as well intentioned as Jaika was, it seemed obvious to me that she was flaunting much of our good fortune. The exchange of all that valuable purifier and radio for only one night seemed like an extreme waste of resources. But Jaika wanted what she wanted. There was not anything I could have done at the time. I'm just a cat, after all.
I crawled out to the main sitting area.
They were still out there, Shu-Hui and Kuan-Lin. It seemed as though most of the customers had gone to bed, or at least to their rooms. However, the owners sat at their bar with the CV radio set between them, listening to the community station which had kept us informed all those years. They also chat softly to one another about some kind of matter, between the radio presenter's words. Shu-Hui tapped at the table with her fingernails, and Kuan-Lin gave a little huff and shifted about his heavy suit before replying softly.
I tried to remain still, just to eavesdrop. Perhaps pretend to be a decoration. Regardless, it was all for nothing. But thanks to their paranoia living in a world under siege, it did not take long before they spotted me.
Their eyes grew wide, and I was taken aback. After a subtle glance to one another, they readily approached me and picked me up.
I would have none of it, but they were offering shelter to my family. Although I could have shocked them away, I decided against it. Railgun was still much new to this world, and he might not be familiar with his own body, in case something was to happen. Then, we would be putting dear Jaika in danger. It was best not to react harshly. After all, it was my own curiosity that got me in this mess. Perhaps, I hoped, they would listen to reason.
“Let me go at once, if you wouldn't mind!” I exclaimed at them, struggling and squirming away from their fumbling hands. I gracefully leapt to the floor and landed on my paws.
I was surprised they were so alert at this hour, when everyone else had been so exhausted.
“You know, I've never seen a robocat that talked before. Who got you built?” eagerly asked Kuan-Lin. Although his words were clearly directed towards me, he seemed to have turned and asked his wife, as though she would know. It seemed he believed she knew everything. I cleared my throat, ready to clarify that for him.
“Alright, if you must know, I was built by the... great genius Dr. Liu...” I began with pride, but by the end, my words hit me deeply. I wished to say 'late', which would have been most accurate. It would have been unwise, I had decided. I kept that word to myself, although even considering it had caused sadness within me.
Regardless, the CV radio continued to push out sound. Whatever they were listening to, it must have been really important, for it had interrupted the trail of thought of the two patrons. The words had them walk away from me in order to get closer to the speakers.
“No way... Are you hearing this, Kuan?” asked Shu-Hui, eyes lighting up with an expression I hadn't seen in a long time, even if only for an instant, before fading again.
Kuan placed his arm softly on her shoulder and pressed his lips together.
“It seems that... I'm getting a word...” the presenter started, louder than before, “Emergency announcement! Listeners, it seems that they are moving. They are moving! Are they leaving? Oh god... Oh god, I don't think they're leaving... no... They're... relocating. It seems that they are just moving. They wanted... They wanted to inform us, I'm hearing, that... It's because of someone in Taiwan. Taipei! Someone 'foul', who acted against them. Oh... They're coming here! If you look outside of your windows now, you might see the ship approaching... I know I can,” the presenter said, ending the words in an ominous tone.
I immediately went over to the window to look outside. The two of them followed behind me, mouths opened slightly. They took each other’s hand.
Clouds covered the sky, making it slightly more difficult, for a moment, for us to spot the dark object on the horizon. It was going very fast for its size. It must have been looming near the atmosphere, parts of it reforming and reshaping, and other parts seemed to fade out of vision altogether. I noticed that the humans behind me didn't want to look at it for too long, averting their eyes.
“They made an offer to let people go!” the radio continued after a few seconds of silence. “They... They said that they'd let people be well-judged if they could prove themselves to be honest enough to bring the hostiles forward. Hostiles? Everyone, it seems that this is some kind of bounty. They will judge you 'pure' if you bring in the young woman from Dr. Liu's address...” He called out the address of my former home. I stayed very still.
“If you bring the ones that escaped their scouts, ‘the Malallas’, then you'll be judged pure, and... You'll get to live. They said, every day that they do not receive the woman, they'll be... working twice as hard in order to bring us ultimate judgment as individuals. What, what does that mean?” the presenter asked himself. “I believe... maybe it means more people could be in danger. Everyone, stay vigilant and strong …” he continued on, but I didn't get much chance to listen to what else he had to say.
Before I could make a move, Shu-Hui reached out and grabbed me again while I was still on the windowsill. I had to keep myself as calm as possible.
“What do you know, kitty? Android made by Dr. Liu? You know where they are, don't you?”
I felt that if I didn't talk my way out of this, Jaika could be in real trouble. Shocking her wouldn't get me out of this. She would just use that as some kind of evidence against me. No, the best thing would be to stick to the story.
“Nothing at all, Ma'am. I have been travelling for ages and I haven't heard from Dr. Liu for a long time!” I defended.
“How did you even get in here? I didn't see
you here earlier,” she said with narrowed eyes, giving me a little shake with her meaty hands.
“I snuck in when that girl came in! I've been following Er-ling and her from the main street... I hadn't seen another working android for so long...” I told them. I was a genius.
They seemed a little confused by how much personality I was proving to have. The androids they probably remembered dealing with were much less interesting than I was.
“Who lived in Dr. Liu's home then? Who is this girl they're looking for? You expect me to believe it's not Jaika?” Shu-Hui asked again, not seeming to think over my story very much, which was disappointing.
Then, before I could even answer, her eyes widened slightly and she cleared her throat. She turned to mumble into Kuan's ear, but they didn't realize how advanced my android body really was. I could hear everything perfectly.
“You know,” she began, “if it really is the young woman... that means she's taken down one of them. Or probably her android has... We could really use her help. Maybe she could train the Resistance how she's bypassed their defenses... Perhaps we should not act so quickly,” she said, a pleasant surprise to hear from her. Though she still tossed me a distrustful look, there was something of appeasing curiosity there now.
Kuan frowned though. “If she is.... our lives are in danger. You know they'd stop at nothing to get vengeance for an act like that. It's a matter of their pride, now. Nobody has raised a hand against them in over nine years. Why? Because they are freaking invincible, they can’t be taken down. What if it was just a coinsurance, what if it will only happen once? This has got to be a big mistake,” he pointed out, eyes turned sadly to the floor as he spoke. I didn’t believe he was very happy with his own thoughts on the matter. From what Jaika had told me earlier, it had seemed as though they had gotten along so well. To hear such words from him now, I couldn't help but feel second-hand betrayal.
Pretending I heard nothing, I blinked at them, “What's going on?” I asked.
“... Nothing...” Shu-Hui said. She hesitated and narrowed his eyes before putting me down. I slowly backed away from them and started dashing back to Jaika's room.
I woke her up quickly. Railgun was at our side before Jaika had even acknowledged me. It seemed he didn't even try to go into a sleep mode. I suppose he didn't really need to conserve his energy. His energy more or less indefinitely supported itself.
I told Jaika everything I had heard downstairs.
After a moment of hesitation from her part, I said desperately, “We need to get out, now!”
“The ship is here?!” she finally said, reacting to my words, ripping the covers off of herself and going to the window of the guest room across creaking floorboards. She nearly fell walking over as her blood pressure might have momentarily dropped from having stood up too quickly, and Railgun was instantly there to support her.
The black, well, oddly colored mass was a heavy swell in the sky. Jaika picked me up and held me close out of fear, as though I was a teddy for her.
“But there's a resistance! That's excellent news...” I tried to be optimistic. Someone needed to be, and Jaika's face showed that it was a little hard for her at the moment. I could understand. It had been a long... long day. The poor girl looked exhausted.
“Yes, but you said that people will die the longer I'm not there! And they'll be saved if I am brought in? Who wouldn't do that to save themselves? They think I can teach them something, but there's nothing I could really do! Railgun is one of a kind; we can’t make one for everyone!” she ranted out in harsh whispers.
“These people are good,” I argued, “Maybe we should give them a little more faith and we can hope that they won't break our trust either. They could really use us. If they just have that spark of bravery to trust us even a little, that's all we can hope for.”
“... Staying here is unsafe for Jaika. There is too much risk,” Railgun stated. “The extra-terrestrials are at our door. Everyone is looking for us now. It’s better if we take control of the situation. I don't like staying here.”
“Would you rather go outside, where anyone could see us? At least here, they are still making up their minds. They know us better than a stranger on the street knows us. It's the best shot we got at safety right now!” I pointed out, actually contradicting what I had said earlier about leaving the place in an instant.
Jaika shook her head, “No, I'm not happy to stay here. We need to take them out, somehow someway. We can't stay anywhere to hide. We made a promise,” she asserted and tried to take a step towards the door. She made a couple of steps before wincing in pain and nearly fainting. Railgun was there again to offer his arm.
“Jaika, you're hurting yourself. Take your medicine, and please rest,” I begged of her. “We can use this time to plan... For now, just sleep, okay? We're not yet found... They might use us for good.”
She eventually listened to me and the night fell silent once again, though I stayed watchful the entire night for any formidable event.
Soon, the sun rose again against the dark clouds, casting that dim light through the windows. People’s voices could be heard from downstairs, entering the tavern and rest. They didn't sound so rough from far away, I thought. My ears twitched up to listen to the voices, so different and each one unique and strange to me.
Jaika got up after a short while. Railgun kept watch over her always. She would probably want to leave that day, I considered, but we hadn't even discussed properly where we were going to go or what we were going to do.
It seemed to stay here would be the best idea for the meanwhile. As she had no better idea and wasn't sure if they would attack her or not, we all agreed to see how another day might play out.
However, it seemed nearly as soon as we went downstairs, the eyes turned to watch us.
“Joining up with them might not be so easy...” I said quietly to Jaika. I didn't hide in her jumper now, because frankly I didn't see much point. It seemed to me that Shu-Hui and Kuan-Lin already had us figured out. They just had to decide if they wanted to use that to benefit themselves or everyone else. I hoped that Shu-Hui would pull through for me.
Once Railgun came after us though, ducking his head under the beams, it seemed that the rest of the group downstairs took offense. Maybe it was his size, or how he seemed to somehow glare with an expressionless visor at anyone who moved too close to Jaika. I imagined that certainly didn't help.
She greeted the proprietors behind the bar, each of whom looked over her nervously and nodding along to whatever she was saying without really listening to her. The rest of the place grew quiet, like they were waiting for a cue. I didn't like the look of it, and I didn’t think Railgun was comfortable of it, either. His internal engine was winding up slowly, putting everyone on edge. Jaika was clearly uncertain how to continue.
“Yes? I could work here again. I just... Looking for somewhere I can get some help,” she told them. She went a little quieter when everyone hushed, which was understandable. Then she did something I didn't expect. She took a deep breath and added, “I'm Dr. Liu's granddaughter.”
It was like that was the signal they were waiting for. It wasn't long for them to start rushing and fighting each other to try and grab hold of her. The entire tavern was in chaos. Some, I could see, tried to keep the others away from her, but most were making their way to seize her.
Railgun pushed them off of Jaika, but I knew that it was pointless. They might make it to the door before it was closed, but not before these people could grab them—there was just too many of them. To make matters worse, Railgun was still adjusting his new power limitations that Jaika had given him after almost killing the human that had tried to steal from Jaika. I needed to do something and I needed to do it fast.
Without even processing it as an option, I jumped off of her and onto Railgun's back.
I didn't even look back at Jaika’s face as I did. I had a job to do. I, too, was built with a purpose—to serve my family.
�
�GET TO SAFETY!” I shouted back at them as I leapt from his back. “I'll take care of it.”
Railgun understood. He picked up Jaika and carried her away out of the door and into the steps outside that led the way to the road.
My back arched up and the lightning danced across it. My core hummed, and processing power became slightly less limited as the electrical charge grew. I hissed loudly, sounding like a static noise in order to grab their attention, and then let out the wave of electricity to bounce across the room with the force of a Taser, affecting most of the area ahead of me.
I didn't see the doors slam but I heard them loud and clear. I could only assume that Railgun had secured them for her. I was glad.
Only One Way
Jaika
“HOW COULD WE JUST LEAVE HIM THERE?” I screamed back at Railgun. As he stood there like a kicked puppy again, shoulders slumped slightly. I didn't care.
“Amadeus was with us through EVERYTHING! We just left him there,” I said, furious and frustrated.
It wouldn't matter anyway if what Amadeus had told us was true, if they were really getting everyone together to hunt us down. What is the point of running like this? What could we do to win?
“Amadeus... He was the... the last family I had...”
Now I had nothing. I had mourned so much already. I felt tired from it all. I felt like all I had done was cry, and walk, and cry. It was exhausting. Nothing had come of it. I felt like nothing could come of it. Tears fell down my cheeks but I hadn't had the energy to keep falling apart.
Railgun put his hand on my shoulder.
“I'm sorry for your loss,” he said and I brushed his hand off of me.
“No, you're not! If you were sorry then you wouldn't have let this happen! You tore me from him! HE WAS RIGHT, YOU LET MY GRANDFATHER DIE!” I screamed at him. I screamed at him and then I walked away, stomping the floor and not paying attention to where I was going.
“JAIKA!” he called after me. Of course he was following me.
“We need to be smart if we're going to get through this,” he told me. My heart broke hearing those words. It broke into pieces the way I would have never thought it would. Those were the words my grandfather had used to try to console me when I ran out of the house that day—the day when my parents died. I then knew a new level of pain. A kind of pain that can only be caused by losing everything you ever had. Hearing those words squeezed my heart, but at the same time, the fire burning within me grew. It was the fuel I needed; it was all I needed to know what to do.