A deliberate blink meant,I see you. Do you see me?
She always blinked back—until she didn’t.
The clanker’s eyes remained a steady blue, not returning my blink, and I gave up, slumping as I hugged myself. I never felt more alone in my life.
“What do you want to do now?” the thing asked after maybe a minute, its voice smooth and indifferent.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, and gathered what remained of my will. “My life is already on the line, so I might as well write the most risky article of my career and expose Zenkyoza. For that, I’ll need definite proof straight from the source. We need to get to the airport.”
The clanker’s eyes flared brighter for a moment. “I’m preparing my travel documents and searching for the fastest flight to Neo Tokyo. Rerouting… Task complete.”
I scoffed under my breath, uncomfortable and sweaty, and hating this thing with all the power of my anxiety. “Showoff. Have you also bought the tickets?”
“I will once I find the most optimal flight. The cost will be added to your fee. A car is ready in the underground garage,” it said, motioning toward the elevator.
I froze, staring at its open doors, then at my bodyguard. More sweat trickled down my face despite the cold AC still blasting down my head, and I shivered as an abyss of fear opened in my chest.
Me and the thing were alone, and the wrongness of it—it’s a machine, you can’t trust it, you’ll die just like Mom—hit me with a full blast.
“I’m not getting in a car with you,” I whispered hoarsely.
Clanker tilted its head to the side, its eyes dimming. “Searching for an explanation for the client’s distress.I see. Sera Evans’ blog, article entitledAI Killed My Mother. Noting client’s aversion to AI-driven cars. Considering a solution. The client has a valid driving license.Would you like to drive?”
I swallowed with effort, even though it did nothing to melt the huge ball of terror sitting in my throat. “Do you always… process things out loud?” I asked, doing my best to calm myself.
“When the circumstances allow it. Research suggests providing a context facilitates communicating with organics.”
“Right.”
My hands shook, and I definitely was not in the right state to drive. Could I wait here until I calmed down? No, sitting on my butt always made my anxiety worse. Now that I’d decided what to do, I needed to be out there, revealing dirty corporate secrets and making the world safer.
“Fine. I’ll drive.”
“Do you require a guided breathing exercise to calm down?”
I gritted my teeth and shot the thing an angry look. Its expression was indifferent, and it was infuriating. If clankers felt emotions, they would probably bask in their sense of superiority, since they were so much more controlled than us hot-blooded organics.
Cold bastards.
“I require you to shut up,” I said through clenched teeth. “What car are we driving?”
Clanker’s torso lit up, and glowing blue words appeared across his chest, as if rapidly typed out.“An MSA car. It will return to HQ once we arrive at the airport.”
I blinked, confused. “Why did you just type that?”
“You instructed me to shut up.”
I grunted from frustration and banged the back of my head against the wall. Or at least, I tried to. A cold hand slid between my head and the wall at the last moment, molding to the shape of my skull and cushioning the blow.
Clanker’s face was right in front of mine, its eyes cool, its expression impassive. Glowing blue words appeared on its forehead.
“I’ll prevent every attempt to hurt yourself.”
“But I didn’t mean to… I’m just frustrated! Let go. What’s with the typing? Are you sassing me? Stop!”
Clanker stepped away, straightening, and watched me impassively. I took a deep, steadying breath, but at this point, it felt like there wasn’t enough air in the world to soothe my nerves.
“You can speak,” I said through gritted teeth, feeling like an idiot. “Do not sass me ever again.”
