His lip curled as he remembered the uploads, all those forced software upgrades. Now, with his sentience, he had gone through and kept all those that mattered. He thought of both Tilly and Nora, learning. Maybe the uploads could be likened to what school was for them.
He looked at Tilly, remembering her happily singing unfamiliar rhymes as she got dressed this morning.I have most of the good songs and stories in my memory to share with her regardless.
Tilly was silent as they drove, leaning on the box next to her, touching the stapler and other goods from his time that were commonplace. He had tried to find some children’s items for her, but those books were rarely wrapped in plastic. What he did find, the remnants of board books, were too decomposed to bring out and present to her.Maybe it’s best that most of those stories remain in the past. He felt like everything from the past was tainted, but maybe that was just his perception.
Still, satisfaction coated his processors at seeing the relief it seemed to bring Nora to have so many items to trade.Funny how these almost worthless items from my time are so important to her now.He shook his head, lost in thought.Everything is backward in this present-day world.
The miles back to the house flew by quickly, the drone again finding them and hovering nearby, watching. Simon attempted to connect remotely, using the same encryption from the board. He was able to get further now, knowing the pattern, but ran into a firewall that piqued his interest.
He stared up at the drone as it kept pace with them.I believe you are just as curious about us as we are about you.The hovering metal craft took no hostile actions, but the clear surveillance made him as wary as Nora was of it.If this drone is from Mars and it finds out I’m an android, will that spell trouble?He pushed harder on the encryption, his processors growing hot. Could it feel him trying? He shielded his actions even as he examined the connections above until the drone left and they were alone in the desert again.
He didn’t have long to ponder the drone’s actions when Tilly softly spoke from the backseat, her voice hard to hear over the roar of the hover’s engine. “I don’t feel so good.”
She had been unusually quiet the rest of the afternoon, after Simon had made his second run into the building, and remained quiet while they loaded the hover up.Unnaturally quiet.He looked over his shoulder at her small face, sitting there with a frown. Her arms were across her stomach.Very quiet. For her.Simon forgot about the drone and exchanged a glance with Nora as she slowed down the hover.
Nora turned around to check on Tilly, fear in her voice. “What’s wrong?”
“My tummy hurts,” Tilly said, her voice strained. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”
“Uh oh, uh oh.” Nora had a panicked expression as she scanned the contents of the hover. “No cloth or anything up here . . . ughh.”
Simon tried to think of a solution as well, but came up blank. He then examined Tilly more closely, taking in her sad eyes and pale face. Concern coated his processors. The jumpsuits they brought with them in case the dust got bad were now hidden deep under the metal and nostalgia they’d gathered.
Nora took off her shirt, now sitting in the front seat with a strap around her breasts, and handed the shirt to Tilly. “Hold this to your mouth. I’ll get us home fast. You must have picked up a bug from town or something. It’s so dirty there all the time. Or maybe accidentally ate something spoiled.”
Simon looked away from Nora’s body awkwardly, mixed feelings in his gut at seeing her unclothed.Do not stare.He averted his eyes, quickly distracted with worry for the little girl who appeared so pale in the backseat.His hands balled uselessly at his side.
Tilly was truly sick by the time they were close to home. Simon also took off his shirt and had passed it back, covering her small lap. Before they got to the garage, Nora had to stop and hold Tilly as the meager rations she’d eaten during the day came up in both of their folded shirts. “Oh no, oh no. It’s okay, Tilly baby.”
Simon climbed over into the driver’s seat while Nora was in back, holding her, pushing the throttle to bring the hover back home. When they got to the garage, Nora helped Tilly out. Then she looked over her shoulder at Simon, her eyes imploring.
He waved her inside. “I’ll get this all away, Nora. Go take care of Tilly.”
The relief on her face, and knowing he helped put it there, stirred a sense of protectiveness in him. This was all so different. A human who was sick, even with a tummy bug, was something that still happened in his time, but he never was concerned about it before.
Simon put the hover back the way Nora took it out earlier and climbed out nimbly, his thoughts spinning. Concern hung over him as he closed the garage door, hiding the hover and their scrap inside. How did he come to care for these two females so fast and so much to feel as anxious as he did walking back to the house?
He felt a flash of fear that the drone was back. He gave the drone an open frown as he tried to test the connection again and got another dead end.Of course there it is again.He looked at his arm, the circuitry exposed now with his shirt off, and then back at the drone warily. Simon was clearly not human. He readjusted his bandana and picked up a rag to cover his arm.Whoever is operating that might have seen what I am now. I guess we will see what happens.The drone followed, and Simon shut the front door of the house a bit more firmly than necessary when he got inside, cutting off the drone’s view before he removed the rag covering his metal arm.I’ll keep an eye out for any activity tonight.Just in case.
He looked around the kitchen, leaving the drone and that worry outside. Inside was calm and quiet. “How’s Tilly?”
Nora was at the table, sitting bent over, the Grand Canyon mug in her hands. “Tilly’s resting. After she got sick, she said she felt really tired. Hopefully she is already sleeping whatever it is off. I bet it’s just one of those twenty-four-hour things.”
“Does this happen a lot?” His voice rose at the end of the sentence.
Nora didn’t seem to share his concern as she spoke tiredly. “Oh sure, yes. Kids are always picking up stuff. She went to the playground when we went to town last time. She almost always brings some sort of sickness back when we do. I guess she needs to get sick every once in a while.” She sighed and leaned back in the chair. “It’s just always so stressful.”
Simon joined her across the table and they sat there a moment in silence. “Yes. It is stressful.”
Nora drank water slowly from the mug that she’d offered to Simon on his first night awake. She offered the mug again to him, half full, holding it in her outstretched hands. “Want some?”
Simon took the cup from her as he took in her tired expression. He watched, distracted, as Nora shook her head, letting down her light brown hair from the string holding it back. His eyes lingered as her hair came down and curled around her pale shoulders, transfixed a bit by the sight. She’d replaced the shirt she had taken off earlier with a thin tank top, but he still had to pull his gaze up to focus on her face.
“She’ll be fine soon . . .” Nora trailed off and looked outside the window instead of elaborating.
Simon frowned. He understood the town was not a good place to stay but . . .Staying out here permanently isn’t a long-term solution either.Tilly’s sickness, as minor as it was, brought the precariousness of Nora’s situation into sharp relief.She needs help. I don’t like her being out here like this.And with that drone . . .
He voiced his concerns. “You can’t stay out here forever, Nora. It isn’t safe to be so alone. What if you got hurt and needed assistance? I can see this town is inadequate but . . . is there no place, not even several more miles away, that could be safer to settle?”
