He shifted away from her helpful gesture and Nora scooted back, confused.
“What are you doing?” Simon asked.
“Helping you up?” Nora extended her hand to him, raising her eyebrows.Does he not want help?
Her gesture was unnecessary, as Simon didn’t answer, but instead attempted to lift himself on his own, not relying on Nora’s helpful hand.
He's still too weak.Nora stepped back and watched him struggle to stand. "Hey, it's okay. Let me help." She intervened and put her shoulder under his armpit, bracing him. He was only a few inches taller than she was. "Alright. It’s this way.”
Chapter seven
Simon
Simon sat on the worn mattress, his mind spinning.
Nora turned on a handheld lantern for them to see better in the small room. “I know it’s not much. But hold on, let me go get. . .” She hesitated, then left.
Before Simon could do more than look around the room, she came back with the repair kit from earlier in her hands.
She cleared the four dolls and the cups off the nightstand and put the repair kit by him for easy access. “Just in case you have the energy to use any of this tonight. I . . . do you sleep?”
Simon eyed her hands as they nervously fidgeted with the cups she’d picked up from the nightstand. He said in a measured voice, “No. But I do need to charge.”
“All . . . alright then. Do you need anything else? Want me to help?”
“I am still recalibrating. I’ll know better what to fix once that is done. More light if you have it would be helpful.” He waved his arm to point to the small solar light on the nightstand, barely illuminating the room.And time alone.He shifted, uncomfortable, under her eager expression.
“Oh. Okay. Yeah, getting used to here probably will take awhile. Hold on.” Nora left and came back a few minutes later with a flashlight and another lantern, both with solar arrays on the top to charge them. “These should have enough juice to last the night.” She watched him for a moment. “That battery is still going in you okay?”
He held the battery pack to his chest, feeling his inner ones charge. “Yes.”
“Okay, good. You shout for me, okay?” She pointed over her shoulder. “I’m just over there in the room across the hall, gonna settle Tilly to bed. You can then sit and join me at the kitchen table or . . .”
Please leave.He spoke briskly back to Nora, averting his gaze.“A full diagnostics will be easier to run by myself.”
He looked back to see Nora’s face fall and eyes dim. “Oh . . . okay . . . well, I want to get a few things done in the kitchen before I pass out. Call me if you change your mind.” She waved behind herself and then gently closed the door, leaving it a crack open.
Simon watched until the shadow left from underneath the doorway. Then he examined the area where he sat, his processors spinning from the influx of information. This room was clearly designed for a child; it was as colorful as could be given the circumstances.Nora appears to try hard for that little girl.
The light was still on under the door in the kitchen. He could hear Nora sitting at the table after putting Tilly to bed, quietly tinkering with something. A sardonic smile came across his stiff lips.She put me to bed roughly the same way as she did that human child.There was obvious confusion as to his role here with her and their dynamic together, or how to treat an android.
That will need to change. But first, Simon needed more information. There was a restless feeling in his sensory cortex.I’m in the dark right now.Not literally, but figuratively.What a frustrating feeling.
His links to the internet refused to connect and there was no mainframe to find and plug into.In fact, there seem to be no electrical circuits anywhere.Everything was running off solar, gas, or some other fuel source. All direct, local power only. No overarching infrastructure system.
So even if he had any better idea on what to do or where to go, tonight he accepted Nora’s plans for him, sitting with the solar cell on his lap and feeling his internal battery charge.What else would I do anyway?This place was good enough to restart and begin to learn about the world again.
The rain tapped on the roof in a steady beat as he ran a full body assessment while lying there, sipping on a glass of water that Nora had brought, filling his coolant reservoirs. Twisting his hand, he examined it in the lantern light.She tried hard to fix what she could on me as well.
He tested the viscosity of the vials she left as well, feeling them between his fingers.All are foreign oils, but have some of the same components I need, I think.He set some on his fingertips and processed the chemical makeup to see which had the best compatibility as he looked out into the rain.I want to see more of what’s different out there.The thought was tempered by a clap of thunder.Can’t go anywhere in rain like this though.
Nora didn’t sit long in the kitchen alone either. In the other room he heard her messing with the radio, the dial softly clicking and static coming through. He listened to her movements as if studying her small actions could help him understand her better. Her footsteps were light and hesitant, as if she second-guessed even walking across the room at times. From the static on the radio, it sounded like she couldn’t get reception in this storm.
The radio turned off and Nora’s head reappeared in the doorway. “I’m going to head to bed now. You . . . you’re okay here? Everything is okay?” Her voice trailed up at the end.
He nodded, hearing her need for reassurance and unspoken fear.She’s nervous.He was well programmed to understand human emotions. Again, even though he didn’t have to, he reassured her. “Yes. I will remain here the rest of the evening running diagnostics and will not disturb you. I will see you when you wake up. My batteries need to recharge. In the morning I will let you know if there are any repairs I could use your assistance with.”
Nora shook her head as her shoulders visibly dropped. “Okay. Well. Still, just knock if you . . . need me. I’m a light sleeper. Goodnight Simon.”
