Forever Friends

“Simon, hand me that wrench please.” Tessa holds out her hand, retracting them only when she feels the cold metal in her palm. “Thank you, Simon.” She proceeds to tighten a bolt.

“It’s my pleasure Tessa. I do enjoy spending time with you like this. It seems like we don’t get to do it often anymore. It reminds me of the old days, when I was still a child; in a sense of course. You and master are so busy now with your social appearances and interviews.”

“Tell me about it. Honestly, if it were up to me, I’d be in here much more, but Lena is always agreeing to those things and I can’t exactly refuse since I’m the brains behind the whole operation. I guess I’ve gotten used to being in the limelight at this point, but I’d still prefer to be working on the droids and improving them. I enjoy this time with you too though Simon.”

Simon smiles. “Thank you, Tessa. You know, I’ve always considered you like a mom. I know Diana is your actual child, but I still feel that way, even if you don’t see it that way.”

Tessa places down the wrench and places her hand on Simon’s with an affectionate look. “Oh, Simon, I do consider you like my child. I made you from the inside out. Every nut, bolt and rod inside of you was assembled by me. You may not have my DNA or have grown in Lena’s belly, but you’re still our child. I hope you’ll always know that we love you just the same.”

She leans over to hug him, and they share a warm embrace. “Tessa?”, he whispers.

“Yes?” She can feel his grip around her tighten, as though he’s scared.

“You and Master would never shut down the program, would you? You’d never shut the FFs down or droids in general such as me and Clyde, right?”

“Simon…where’d you get an idea like that? Of course, I wouldn’t. You’re too special.”

“I believe you Tessa, but can you vouch for Master? Would she ever consider it?”

“Simon, you know that Lena would never do something like that without my consent. She leaves all the tech stuff to me as it is, so she probably doesn’t even know how to operate the system to do such a thing. She’d come to me first, but she knows I’d never agree, so she won’t.”

“Yes, but you agreed to the neural links. Not to say you shouldn’t have, both Master and I did our best to convince you even before that incident, but just for the sake of argument, you agreed to do something you swore you’d never do in the end. So, how can you be so sure that if Master were to come and say she wants to shut the program down, you won’t give in if she pushes you enough. We both know you’re not exactly strong against her sweet talking and pleasure. A couple of good orgasms have swayed you to her will on several occasions.”

“Simon, you’re going too far!” She bangs her hands on the lab table, making the metal frame of the droid fall to the side. “You are way out of line talking about the intimate moments between me and my wife to support your pointless argument. The neural link was a special case and as you said, you and Lena pushed me towards it and that incident was just the final shove. Now, I’ve said it many times already, and I’ll say it only once more. I’m never going to shut this program down, no matter who tries to convince me. Now, I’m going to cool my head. You need to reflect on your actions and remember your place!” Tessa immediately regrets her words. “Si-.”

“I’m sorry, I was out of line. I’ll never mention it again. Please excuse me, Master.”

She watches as he walks away, the pain evident on his face. “Simon…I didn’t mean….” He’s never once called her master since the day she gave him permission to call her Tessa and so the fact that he did in this moment says more than any words he may have spoken could. “I’m sorry Simon.” She lowers her head in frustration and sadness, as she sits back down and cries.

***

“This is bullshit!” Diana slams her palms down on the table as she jumps up and shouts.

“Diana, language. You are in the presence of the President of Providence and your senior. Not to mention, using such profanity in the presence of your own mother is quite classless.”

“Mother? Who? Surely, you can’t be talking about yourself. When have you ever acted like it outside of times like this where you use it to assert your authority? I’m not that little girl anymore, you can’t intimidate me. I’m twenty-five years old, I’ll talk however I damn please!”

A loud smack echoes through the room and Diana quickly clutches her stinging face. Lena stands tall before her with a scowl, until she finally says, “perhaps if I’d have spanked you more as a child, you wouldn’t have grown up to be such a brat. I shouldn’t have let your Mama spoil you so much. No, maybe I shouldn’t have had you at all.”

Diana looks at her mother, the pain clear on her face. The slap hurt, but even that couldn’t rival the sting she feels in her heart now. She’s always known but hearing those words out loud for the first time really hurts, as is clear from the stream of tears that fall from her eyes.

“Now, now. Let’s all calm down. Diana, your mother was just a bit heated, but she didn’t mean that. Let’s just all take a breath and continue this discussion in a calm manner.”

“I hate you!” Diana shouts this at her mother before turning and running out the room.

Lena sits back down, seemingly unfazed and turns to the President as she says, “shall we continue then with just the two of us?”

“Yes, I suppose so, but Lena, wasn’t that a bit too harsh. You didn’t mean that, right?”

“Of course, I meant it. I’m not the type to beat around the bush. I should’ve aborted.”

“Lena…that’s…how could you-.”

“Please, allow me to finish. I truly believe it would’ve been better if I never had her, not just for me, but for Tessa too. She was already the product of an unnatural phenomenon as it was. Do you recall Tessa’s condition?”

“Yes, hermaphroditism, right? Where she was born with both male and female organs?”

“Yes, Intersex is another accepted term. In most cases, those affected with this disorder are sterile, as they usually lack fully developed reproductive organs of either sex, but Tessa is an exception. She’s always the exception, even in the case of someone like me falling in love.” She smiles slightly, as though remembering a fond moment. “Anyway, the point is, she was told she’d never be able to have children, as despite being able to ejaculate as a man would, because her testes were underdeveloped, she couldn’t release viable sperm. Therefore, no reproduction.”

“Clearly that wasn’t the case however.”

“Clearly. How surprised I was to hear the words, “you’re pregnant” upon vising the doctor due to my constant nausea and vomiting. Tessa almost fainted. She was also a bit uncomfortable with it at first, since she’s always preferred to identify as a woman, so knowing her male organ was the one that worked properly rather than her female was a blow to her confidence. Though she’s come to realize that parts don’t make the man, so to speak, and so she doesn’t consider herself any less of a woman than she always had and of course I don’t either.”

“I see. So, you didn’t want her, but you decided to keep her anyway? Why?”

“Because she was mine. Simple as that. I’m a possessive person and even if something is a nuisance and I don’t want it, if someone places in my hands and says, “this is yours”, I own it.”

“Sounds a bit selfish to be honest.”

“It is, but that’s not a surprise, is it? I am selfish, Tessa won’t tell you otherwise. But it’s the truth. She was mine and so even though I loathed every day she grew inside me; I wasn’t about to let her go. However, that fact didn’t change that never I wanted children, so once she was born, I insisted that we put her up for adoption. Unfortunately, no one wanted her, due to her unusual conception, so she ended up at an orphanage. Tessa would often visit her there in secret. She never thought I knew, but I just pretended not to know. I was selfish and made her give up our child when she wanted to keep her, so the least I could do was let her watch her from afar. I’m also the one who introduced her into the running for the selection of our clinical trials, though Tessa didn’t know that either. She believed it was by chance, and I preferred it that way. I didn’t want to raise her as our own but knowing Tessa would be interacting heavily with the children, I figured it’d be a good way for her to develop that connection with her, even if it was just as the nice tech lady. I didn’t want her, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t care for her in a way.”

“So, you basically kept her at an arm’s length, but still cared for her as your child in an indirect manner? I guess I misjudged you, I’m sorry. I guess I just didn’t understand your love.”

“Most people don’t. Tessa did. She always has, somehow. That’s why I think I came to love her. She could understand that I don’t love with sweetness and affection. My love is hard, blunt and frustrating, but it’s probably the truest love you’ll ever have. Tessa understood this and in turn, I could understand her feelings better than anyone. I didn’t see her as a freak the way others did. She was the most beautiful person I’d ever met, and I wanted her to be mine. Simple.”

“I understand now. But if this is how you feel, if you do love Diana in your own way, why didn’t you tell her? Why make it seem like you hate her and wish you could be rid of her?”

“Because I’m not the parent she needs to look up to or idolize. I don’t want her to grow up as spiteful, hateful and mean as I have been. I grew up surrounded by people like me, so I became just the same. Children are a product of their environment, no matter what genetics may follow. Tessa grew up insecure, naïve and weak because her parents were the same. However, she was able to rise above it and become an amazing woman. The caring, sweet, motherly woman she is today. The kind of parent Diana has come to idolize and love dearly. Diana is so much like her mama, even I’m impressed. It’s what I hoped for, but she still has a bit of me in her too as you saw. I guess it’s unavoidable, but if she takes ninety-five percent after her mama and only five after me, then I call that a win. One day, she’ll understand; at least I hope she will.”

“Your cruelty is your love.”

“My cruelty is my love. I see you’ve got it now.”

“Yes. I sincerely hope that Diana will come to understand it as well someday.”

“Yea, but even if she doesn’t, it’s ok. I’m used to being hated. Anyway, let’s continue.”

“Very well. I’m certainly a bit distressed to hear such news, but I’m glad that Diana didn’t hesitate to share it right away. As we’ve previously discussed, although I’ve found that things have been much more peaceful as they are now, it wouldn’t do to have a city full of chaos and I’d rather not lose my citizens. However, allowing those miscreants back into our society is not an option, so if suspending the program until further notice is the best course of action, I won’t hesitate to do it. But, if we do this, are you certain we can beat the revolutionists after drawing them out. Could their numbers be higher than you’ve been informed of?”

“Trust me, their numbers are not as grand as they say. They are bluffing because they believe we’d have no way of knowing for sure. However, little do they know they have a rat.”

“I see, so you have someone below ground. Impressive. A droid I’m assuming?”

“No, a human of course. In fact, that rat should be waking up as we speak.”

“Interesting. So, they’re reliable? You are certain their forces are limited?”

“Very. That’s why they had to be so convincing to Diana. They need her to take their bait because if she can’t make this happen, they’ll have no choice but to follow through and be annihilated in the process. They don’t want that, and my rat would rather their home not be fumigated, so they agreed to be my eyes in secret until the time came to act in return for the assurance that their family will be safe. We’ve been communicating through quite interesting means too, but I won’t waste time with those details. The point is, they are ready to act, so we must be prepared to do the same. We will suspend Project Harmony and lure them out of hiding with the belief their negotiations have been accepted and then we’ll smash them at once with our military. Once that’s been done, we can restart the program, but this time, ensure that the droids will never have any measure of control over us again. Humans are above machines, that’s how it should always remain. Thinking otherwise was a foolish childhood dream. Time to wake up.”

“It’s sensible, but I wonder, will you be able to convince Tessa?”

“No way! She’ll absolutely shoot me down in no time. That’s why I’m not asking.”

“Wait, you don’t mean…you’re going to go over her head? I’m aware you are the only other one with the credentials to manage the main system, but isn’t that a bit terrible, even for you? The amount of trust you’d be breaking between you two, it may not be repairable.”

“I’m willing to take that risk. She’ll forgive me eventually. She always does.”

“I hope you’re right Lena. Anyway, I guess it’s about time. I’ll make the call.”

“Yes, it’s time to put things into motion on my end as well. Let us reconvene at a later time, Selene.” Lena gets up and nods to her friend before walking out the door.

***

“They’re playing us?!” Lee shouts in disbelief as he hears the news. “They are seriously trying to bait and trap us? Those bastards! They must be calling our bluff about having a massive force behind us. How could they possibly know?” He looks around suspiciously. “Was it someone here? Are one of you the mole?” He looks around at his followers, waiting to see if anyone will show signs of guilt. However, no one is giving any clear sign. “So, it’s not anyone here then. I don’t understand, the civilians down here don’t have access to the surface. Not since we’ve closed the gate. I remember it clearly because it was just weeks before Morgan entered her deteriorated state. So, it just shouldn’t be possible. I don’t understand.”

“Sir! We’ve found something.” An operative hands over a doll. “Huh? This is Morgan’s doll. Why have you taken it from her? She never lets it out of her hands. What’s going on?”

“Well Sir, it seems Morgan is not in her room. She’s been seen at your daughter’s bedside just now. It seems she’s come out of her state somehow. But more importantly Sir, that doll; look inside its filling. There’s some kind of radio device inside.”

Lee rips open the doll to reveal a radio, just as they said. He presses the call button. “This is Lee, leader of the Revolutionists. Who’s on the other end? The jig is up, so speak up!”

They all watch as Lee’s face changes from anger to one of distress. He’d put the earpiece in such that only he could hear and so no one can understand his reaction when he runs out.

“Morgan!” He stands speechless, as he enters his daughter’s medical room, and sees her.

“It’s been so long darling. I’m back and I promise I won’t go away again, so forgive me.”

“Tell me it’s not true. Tell me you had nothing to do with this! What is this!?” He tosses down the doll and it falls to the floor with a loud clank.

“Oh, I really liked that doll honey. So, did Anna, how are we going to make it up to her?”

“Stop with the games! Just tell me the truth, is that yours? Did you know it was there?”

“I think you already know the answer to that Lee, but don’t worry, everything will be fine. I’ve already secured our safety; you just have to trust me. We can come out on top.”

“How?! By betraying our people? Our friends and the people who’ve been good to us for all these years. The ones who accepted us in when we had nowhere else to go and allowed me to lead them? You would ask me to forsake them just so we can live?”

“You want Annabelle to survive, don’t you? And Lori. And me? What about us?”

“I will protect you all of course, but in my own way! I had a plan and you’ve ruined it! All these years, you were just pretending? You let our child grow up in so much pain thinking her mother didn’t remember her? Were you always that heartless? Who are you even?”

“I’m still your wife. I’m me. But I’m also sick and tired of running and hiding out like a rat! It’s time for us to return to the surface and take back our freedom. That’s why I agreed to play along with them. I chose to be their spy for us and our future. Just trust me, it’ll be ok.”

“How? They are trying to lure us out to kill us! If we don’t go out now that they know we’re onto them, they’ll surely send in their forces to smoke us out. We’re dead either way!”

“No, you don’t get it, they won’t be doing much of anything. Just watch. You’ll see.” She seems so certain; Lee can’t say anything else. They are silent, having nothing left to say.

***

“Oh my, what a pleasant surprise. It’s been a long time Lori. Have you been well?”

Lori stands in the doorway of Simon’s room. “You don’t seem surprised to see me Mr. Simon. Is that possibly because you’ve known where I was all along? You’re tracking me?”

“Just a moment Lori.” Simon holds up a radio device. From it, Lori can immediately pick out Lee’s voice. Simon smiles and says, “I think you’d do best to ask your wife Sir. Take care.” He turns off the radio and turns his attention back to Lori. “Ok, my attention is yours now Lori.”

“That was Lee’s voice! Why were you speaking with him? How? Wait…you…have you been using that to speak with your contact in our base? I’d long suspected there was a mole, but I never picked up on anyone’s trace. You’re the one conspiring with them, not Lena?”

“Smart as always Lori, very good. Lena knows what I’ve told her, but only I’ve had direct contact with Morgan. She was surprisingly easy to convince. I made contact with her soon after she arrived at the revolutionist camp with Lee, when I gave her that doll. We’ve been working together ever since. She really cares for you and Lee. Anna too of course. So, I guaranteed their safety with their cooperation. In fact, the revolutionists will all be safe.”

“How so? If you guys know our location and our plans, you have the upper hand. I’m guessing they’ve agreed to cut the program then? Is that why Morgan woke up and why you’re revealing yourself? Are us droids about to be eliminated once and for all? Tell me!”

“No, no Lori, that’s not correct. Not quite. Lena has indeed done what I feared, even going as far to go over Tessa’s head to do it. However, I implemented a failsafe into the system. Pull up a seat and watch with me Lori. Watch as human hubris finally serves as their undoing.”