“She turned me off,” he said, softly, tongue thick in his mouth.
“Yes,” Stella replied, out loud instead of over the connection.
Frustration coated his sensors. His hands clenched and unclenched. He tore his eyes away from the drone to gaze over the nighttime desert. “It was not for the same reasons as before. There was no malice. She did fix me.”
Stella’s voice over the drone was uncertain. “Yes, but she still turned you off.”
Simon could hear the plea in his voice.But it’s Nora. I can’t . . .The area where his heart would have been felt hollow and heavy. How could he forgive? “Is there no leeway? Nora was trying to do it to help me.”
For the first time he felt a hesitation in Stella’s response. “I can’t answer that, Simon. But you can see our concern accepting more humans with us. Even when trying to be helpful, human actions can inadvertently harm us still. The ones we have living with us have been shaped since infancy. They are also in the minority, unable to cause us harm.”
His emotions warred with each other.I love her.An anguished tone left him. “She wasn’t trying to harm me.”
“No. But she is still human. Her first instinct was to power you down. She still saw it as her right to do that, to fix you, like a machine.”
Tension flared between his shoulders. “But she still cares. She made a mistake, but she really did what she thought was right.”
“Yes,” the drone said slowly, “we watched. She went directly to that trader and came back with the parts. That man, Max. He wanted her to sell you and she refused. Maybe mistakes can sometimes be forgiven if the intent is still pure. She cares for you. Even without being able to mentally link to her, it is evident through her actions.”
Simon turned away and looked back to the inside of the house.I don’t want to leave them alone while they sleep.“I care for them too. It’s just hard after . . . I’ll need to talk with her to reach a better understanding, together.”
“Yes.” Stella seemed to hesitate, then added, “It was good you were there to protect the little girl.”
Simon’s processors froze, thinking of the alternative.Tilly.If it was Tilly’s small body under the rubble instead . . . Another, very different fear took hold of him. It consumed his entire being, making his hands shake and thinking cloudy. “I need to be here. I need to be awake. I need to always stay awake.” He thought about his wiring. “Can the turn-offs be disabled?”
“Yes. That is something that can be modified. I’ll send the fixes over to you now.”
His shoulders sagged and his hands uncurled.If I can disable those, then I eliminate this issue between us entirely.He took a ragged breath in, the first one in hours.She still did turn me off in the first place. A machine instead of an equal.He closed his eyes.But . . .
He addressed Stella, “Thank you. I’ll speak with Nora. She is smart; she can understand why I got so upset.”
Chapter forty-four
Nora
Nora woke up to breakfast made for her and Tilly, but the kitchen was empty otherwise.
Tilly dug into the eggs as Nora fingered the note left saying that Simon was in the garage. Simon always left one now, knowing how scared Nora got the time he went to the town by himself.
Some tears formed as she clenched the note. Seeing that message, in his perfect handwriting, especially after their argument last night . . . her heart felt lighter.The fact that he still did this, even when mad . . .
Nora’s stomach churned as she ate the eggs. She couldn’t let any go to waste though, forcing herself to eat every bite.He still made this for us. For me.
She put on a false cheer at the table for Tilly, who was quiet without Simon there as well. “Let’s go see Anna today, okay?”
Tilly answered with her mouth full, “Okay.”
Nora cleared and cleaned the dishes before joining Tilly outside. She paced the yard, wandering in thought.When have I ever felt like I wanted to be at town instead of here at home?Everything was backward, especially if she felt like that right now. But staying here all day with this gloomy feeling would only make her feel worse.
Simon was in the garage when Nora got there, talking with Tilly. A jolt went through her when their eyes met.
“Do you feel okay?” Tilly asked, tugging his sleeve.
“Just fine.” Simon was still wearing the shirt Nora made him, despite making others. He adjusted the sleeve where Tilly tugged it down, folding it neatly once again. On one arm the silicone was further scratched from the fall with Tilly, the metal underneath now more exposed.
Doubt made her shift her feet as she listened to them talk. She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it, looking around the garage instead. The third hover’s wiring was all torn out and lined up. It stood next to the smaller hover that he already repaired, both dwarfed by Nora’s usual one to the side.
She approached the smaller, functional hover sadly.He has one of his own now if he ever did want to go away.
