I was a journalist, for fuck’s sake. Why was it so hard to say what I meant?
You know why.
“I am at a loss, then.” Clanker, who was reclining on his elbow, lay down by my side and turned his face toward me on his pillow. It was incredibly intimate, and I pulled away, pressing my back into the wall.
“What I mean is, you are clearly a person,” I said through clenched teeth. “I was wrong, all right? You happy?”
The silvery lines painted to look like his eyebrows pulled into a small frown. “That you were wrong? Why would that make me happy?”
I shrugged, looking away. “You should hate me. I’m your kind’s number one enemy.”
A slow, sensuous laughter, low and masculine, filled the air. I gritted my teeth. It wasn’t right for a machine to sound so goddamn human.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re too weak, too soft, and too short to be considered an enemy, kitten.”
I bristled. “You should know I work out.”
“Yeah? And how much can you lift?”
“I hip thrust almost a hundred pounds,” I said proudly.
He grinned, and it was perfect this time, slightly mocking, a bit roguish, and too damn handsome for a clanker.
“I weigh three hundred and thirty pounds, boo. Come back once you can hip thrustthat.”
I squinted at him. That smile, that low, honeyed voice… Was heflirtingwith me? Clanker laughed and rolled until he was on his back, grinning at the ceiling that was uncomfortably close.
“That’s not the point,” I said when my head cleared. “I’ve lobbied for years for more stringent control measures over AI and all kinds of robots. If it were up to me, none of you would ever be considered sentient. Or exist.”
His smile shrank. “I’ve read your work. I know your public stance. And yet, you just called me a person.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Guilt and shame churned in my belly, and I looked away, trying to take a deep breath despite my constricted ribcage.
He bumped my knee with his. “It’s all right, pumpkin. Are you well-rested? What do you want to do today?”
I rubbed my eyes. My belly rumbled, and I remembered he told me I slept for over twelve hours. The last time I slept that long must have been when I was a kid.
“What time is it?” I asked, looking for my phone under the pillow.
“Twenty-two minutes past two p.m., Neo Tokyo time.”
I fished out my phone and groaned seeing the number of notifications on screen. I hadn’t posted anything in a few days, and my followers—almost two hundred thousand the last time I checked—were worried. I locked the screen and pushed it out of my mind. I couldn’t tell them the truth, and I wasn’t about to post a lie. Better ignore the comments.
“We have to get into the city. And then maybe find the Zenkyoza headquarters and take a stroll nearby. Will you be able to scan their security system from the outside? I don’t have a plan yet, but we should see what we’re dealing with.”
Clanker smiled—again. It was like he couldn’t stop now that he learned how to do it. I kept my mouth flat so as not to smile back, but it was hard. He was magnetic.
“I should inform you that my contract forbids me from engaging in any illegal activity unless my principal is in danger. Section eleven, paragraph two.”
My heart sank. There it was. I knew I should have read that damn contract.
Clanker laughed warmly, making me shiver. “You’re lucky I’m a person able to make my own choices, then. I’ll help you, darling. Even if it’s illegal.”
“Thank you,” I muttered, that shame squeezing my insides again. “Well, let’s go then.”
The pod opened, and Clanker shimmied out, smooth and agile like an eel. I tumbled out with far less grace, assisted by his steady hands on my waist.
