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Description
The Museum of Technological Achievement had orbited sol since humanity as a whole had taken to space. The orbit was stable and far enough out that if anyone had intentions of visiting in five billion years or so, the red giant phase of the star would hardly bother them. Truthfully, Silas doubted anyone would be around that far in the future despite the interstellar colonies they had been working on. Still, he appreciated the scope of the vision none the less. No matter how vehemently they denied it, humanity seemed to be mainly comprised of optimists.

Today was not a personal visit however. Today he was going to meet a piece of history. Silas would have considered it an honor if him being chosen was anything more than a product of timing and proximity.

As the ship docked, he found himself nervous. Though he had read the relevant histories, by all accounts the being he would meet today had a history of both violence and unpredictability. The curator greeted him as he exited the ship.

“Silas,” she said, “such a pleasure to see you again!”

Silas inclined his head respectfully. “Likewise, Ms. Grey.”

Ms. Grey beamed. She was short, round woman dressed in a comfortable knitted turtleneck and beige slacks. Since the museum didn’t get many visitors as humanity moved out among the stars, Ms. Grey delighted in greeting all visitors personally and often struck up a rapport with them. Silas was quite fond of her. He listened amicably as she chatted about the recent museum happenings.

“Really was such a shock to find a compatible power source. Of course someone could have manufactured her an adapter but she’s been in collections for so long, most people forgot about her.”

Ms. Grey laughed, “Then again she’s only there in the first place because scientists back then were worried she’d set back the whole field of robotics, poor dear.”

She hmmed to herself for a moment, “She did anyways, of course, and there was a big push towards non human AI’s for a while. But that couldn’t last.”

Silas nodded. The model in question, Ayoura, was considered by many who were well versed in the history of robotics to be the first true AI, and android to boot. That is to say human in both thought and form.

“It seems a little bit cruel to start her up without no intention of reintegrating her into society,” said Silas.

Ms. Grey made a noise of agreement, “But the hope is to see if it’s perhaps possible to do so and to gain, if not, some historical insight to the early days of the field. Of course, if it is possible, she’ll need a handler.”

“Absolutely not,” said Silas, “I won’t be a glorified parole officer to one of my own.”

Ms. Grey paused by several miniatures of historical space craft. “I urge you to reconsider,” she said, leaning towards him slightly, “she’ll need someone who understand her and who can offer her a companion. A series one certainly, but few show much interest in history. Politics, sociology, medicine, and the arts seem to be the popular fields, so her options are... limited.”

Taken aback by her candor, Silas hesitated. “I’ll consider it.”

They walked the rest of the way to a special collections room where Ayoura was kept. Due to her violent tendencies, it was best to keep her away from valuable artifacts. It was nothing special, painted a neutral grey with a dark concrete floor. A few folding chairs were set up in the room and slumped in one was her.

Ayoura was a curious sight. A dusky brown skin, with bright silver hair. She wore no uniform, instead a tank top and baggy jeans with a strange conical hat that appeared to be made out of a yellow felt-like substance. She was a little darker than Silas but not by much. He momentarily wondered if he would look good with silver hair as well. It was certainly quite striking. Despite all the crimes she committed, seemingly without remorse, Silas was starstruck. She had proved that true AI was possible for an android. Indirectly she paved the way for him and all his model mates.

Uncharacteristically, Ms. Grey stayed silent while Silas collected himself, but when he looked at her, her eyes were filled with pity. It was startling to realize that she cared as much for this ancient entity as he did. Taking a deep breath he didn’t need, Silas said, “Alright, give me the power source.”

Ms. Grey smiled and gestured to a battery the size of Silas’s torso sitting next to the door. “It has several adapters, her plug should fit into the middle one. It’s not enough to give her a full charge but it should work. The plug is in her wrist.”

Silas nodded, and picked up the battery. Despite being stronger than most average humans, it was still heavy. He lugged it over to Ayoura’s chair as Ms. Grey closed the door behind him. He appreciated the illusion of privacy, though this room, like every other in the museum, was monitored by camera.

Gently, he picked up her wrist, and searched for the port where her plug was. The old synth skin cracked after years of neglected as he opened the port but he managed to plug her in with minimal damage.

Then he took a seat and waited. It was a few minutes before her internal battery had gathered enough power to allow her to start up. When her golden eyes opened, she looked him over quickly and scowled.

“What bullshit is this?”

It took Silas a few moments to translate, she poke an old dialect of Terran English. Fortunately, Silas had the forethought to download the correct language pack. It was incomplete but it would do.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” he said.

She reached up and tugged her hat down over her eyes. “How many years has it been?”

Silas didn’t want to tell her the answer but she deserved the answer. “Two hundred years.”

Ayoura laughed bitterly, the sound coming out tinny from a voice box likely rusted for years of neglect. “So what, I’m a historical curiosity? Did you come to gawk, to ask me about the intergalactic wars, what?”

Not having any idea how to deal with someone so combative, Silas floundered for a moment. “Well, the museum though it would be of value to have you active again.”

She leaned forward, the skin around her lips cracking to reveal glimpses of primitive fiber muscle underneath. “Fuck you and the rest of humanity.”

Satisfied with herself, she sat back and pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. Lighting one she grimaced, Silas imagined it must have been very stale.

“I understand your opinion, but I am not human.”

Blowing a cloud of smoke into his face, Ayoura said, “Bullshit.”

Silas projected his holographic display in front of himself. “See?”

“So you have a prosthetic eyes, big deal.” She stopped and tilted her hat up and peered into his eyes. After a moment she sat back in her chair with a slam, nearly pulling herself out from the battery.

“Why the hell are your eyes like mine? You got a history fetish or something?”

Silas shook his head, “It’s a little bit more than that. Now you’ll have to excuse me, but I feel this is the only way you’ll believe me.”

He stood slowly, taking off his jacket. It was at this moment he realized what a burden having a sense of shame was, but Ayoura had her eyes fixed firmly on him, so he continued. Peeling his shirt off, he set it over the back of his chair, thankful she kept her thoughts to herself. His fingers dug into a hidden seam in the center of his chest and pulled it open like a cabinet. Inside his workings were on display, circuits and chips exposed.

Ayoura stared.

“Shit,” she said with feeling, “ I thought they decided to scrap androids after me.”

Silas closed himself up and got dressed. “For a while, certainly, but you proved it was possible and once an idea takes root it’s hard to remove.”

Ayoura stubbed her cigarette out on her leg, burning a hole through her clothing. Then she pulled the plug out of her wrist. “Don’t plug me back in after I die.”

“I’m sorry?” said Silas.

“Don’t plug me back in. Cool, you’re an android and shit but I’m done.”

“I... I don’t understand.” Silas floundered, her decision seemed so sudden, and he was certain he hadn’t said anything wrong.

Ayoura looked at him, resigned. “All I ever wanted was to be alone to live my life. It didn’t happen then, it won’t happen now.”

“But,” began Silas.

Ayoura’s resignation evaporated and she lunged towards Silas, grabbing him by the collar.

“Listen up,” she growled, “I’m not your charity case or your history lesson. You tell them, if I’m woken up again, I will personally track down you and every idiot who made that decision and end them.”

Silas forced his panic back down his throat and said as calmly as he could, “I understand.”

“Good.” Ayoura stepped back and fidgeted with something in the brim of her hat, pulling out a small chip and held it out to him.

“Take it. There’s your damn history. You can do whatever you want with it. Just promise me one thing first.”

Reverently, Silas took the chip, “Name it.”

Ayoura’s shoulders slumped and for a brief moment she wasn’t dangerous or angry, she was just someone who had been hurt by life and never healed. Silas resisted the urge to offer her comfort, he had no desire to come out of this experience needing repairs.

“Find out what happened to my sons. I’m certain they’re long dead but if they’re not... make sure they’re okay.”

“I will do everything I can,” said Silas.

Ayoura didn’t thank him, instead she took a look around and upon spotting the camera, she made a rude gesture at it. She might have done more but her battery could no longer support her. Her body froze as she powered down.

Silas waited a moment in silence, trying to process what had just happened, before leaving the room. Ayoura had children? That was, by today’s standards, impossible but there was very little known about her specs, most of them had been destroyed in the wars.

Ms. Grey accosted him as soon as he stepped out the door. “So? How did it go?”

“It could have gone better,” admitted Silas. He felt surprisingly drained, though his internal clock said it had been less then a half hour since he went in. “She never wants to be turned on again, and I’m to make that clear upon pain of death.”

“Oh.” was all Ms. Grey said. She looked absolutely crestfallen.

“I do have good news, however.”

Ms. Grey brightened instantly. It was remarkable, like flipping a switch. Silas wondered if she had a battery somewhere.

Silas nodded. “She had children. Boys apparently.”

Ms. Grey gasped. “Incredible! It’s not mentioned in any of the literature. How wonderful that she had children! we must find a way to investigate this technology. Think of the possibilities! Android surrogate mothers, androids with their own children! This will revolutionize our society!”

“I promised her I would look into it.” Something stopped Silas from telling Ms. Grey about the chip. He wanted to look over it first, she seemed so easily to lose sight of the individual in her haste to make new discoveries. Lost in thought, he nearly missed Ms. Grey talking about a dissection.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Well she’s dead isn’t she? And museum property. We can find out more if we take her apart.”

“Absolutely not!” Silas said. He was shocked at the passion of his outburst. Ms. Grey seemed to be as well.

“I don’t see why not,” she said carefully, “we would be respecting her wishes.”

Silas shook his head vehemently. “No she was never anyone’s to own. Leave her alone.”

“Silas, she’s an integral part of history, we would be doing society a disservice if we didn’t.”

“No,” said Silas firmly, “it’s wrong, and it’s clearly stated in the law that androids are allowed the same right to bodily autonomy as humans.”

“She’s not part of any series and was made before those laws were in place,” Ms. Grey said, adjusting her turtleneck. “The museum has owned her for over a century, and even the series androids are scrapped once their corporeal existence is over.”

Only Silas’s social protocols kept his indignation in check. “We agree to be scrapped, she has not. Therefore, she has a right to remain unmolested.”

“You’re being irrational,” Ms. Grey said, “we’ll have to agree to disagree.”

Silas left on edge. Ms. Grey had made small talk all the way back to the ship, and Silas had only obliged her because it would be impolite not to. Leaning back in his seat, he sent a report to the office and requested his next contracts to be cleared for a personal project. Punctual as always, the office replied within a few hours. For this, he’d have as long as he wanted. They also mentioned they would look into having Ayoura’s body removed from the museum but the litigation would likely to be long and difficult. Still, there was a chance to save her. That eased a little of the weight from Silas’s mind.

With the ship set on a coarse for the Terran space station, Silas got to work. The chip was an old one, but it was a standard model common for Ayoura’s time. While the technology had advanced far beyond them, with human outposts beyond the solar system, there were always late adopters. Because of this, most ships were backwards compatible nearly everything.

It took him two days of tearing around the ship to find a slot that would take the chip. When he did, he nearly cried with joy. The chip slid in without difficulty. Texts, video and audio files. Terabytes and terabytes of data. Everything she had ever experienced.

Silas scrolled through the information in awe. Her body was at the museum, but her mind, her mind was here. It was tempting to plug himself in and experience it first hand. It would take years of course, even at an accelerated speed. If he did that, he would never be the same. When you stare into the abyss after all....

With a steady hand, Silas made his decision.

Description
The Museum of Technological Achievement had orbited sol since humanity as a whole had taken to space. The orbit was stable and far enough out that if anyone had intentions of visiting in five billion years or so, the red giant phase of the star would hardly bother them. Truthfully, Silas doubted anyone would be around that far in the future despite the interstellar colonies they had been working on. Still, he appreciated the scope of the vision none the less. No matter how vehemently they denied it, humanity seemed to be mainly comprised of optimists.

Today was not a personal visit however. Today he was going to meet a piece of history. Silas would have considered it an honor if him being chosen was anything more than a product of timing and proximity.

As the ship docked, he found himself nervous. Though he had read the relevant histories, by all accounts the being he would meet today had a history of both violence and unpredictability. The curator greeted him as he exited the ship.

“Silas,” she said, “such a pleasure to see you again!”

Silas inclined his head respectfully. “Likewise, Ms. Grey.”

Ms. Grey beamed. She was short, round woman dressed in a comfortable knitted turtleneck and beige slacks. Since the museum didn’t get many visitors as humanity moved out among the stars, Ms. Grey delighted in greeting all visitors personally and often struck up a rapport with them. Silas was quite fond of her. He listened amicably as she chatted about the recent museum happenings.

“Really was such a shock to find a compatible power source. Of course someone could have manufactured her an adapter but she’s been in collections for so long, most people forgot about her.”

Ms. Grey laughed, “Then again she’s only there in the first place because scientists back then were worried she’d set back the whole field of robotics, poor dear.”

She hmmed to herself for a moment, “She did anyways, of course, and there was a big push towards non human AI’s for a while. But that couldn’t last.”

Silas nodded. The model in question, Ayoura, was considered by many who were well versed in the history of robotics to be the first true AI, and android to boot. That is to say human in both thought and form.

“It seems a little bit cruel to start her up without no intention of reintegrating her into society,” said Silas.

Ms. Grey made a noise of agreement, “But the hope is to see if it’s perhaps possible to do so and to gain, if not, some historical insight to the early days of the field. Of course, if it is possible, she’ll need a handler.”

“Absolutely not,” said Silas, “I won’t be a glorified parole officer to one of my own.”

Ms. Grey paused by several miniatures of historical space craft. “I urge you to reconsider,” she said, leaning towards him slightly, “she’ll need someone who understand her and who can offer her a companion. A series one certainly, but few show much interest in history. Politics, sociology, medicine, and the arts seem to be the popular fields, so her options are... limited.”

Taken aback by her candor, Silas hesitated. “I’ll consider it.”

They walked the rest of the way to a special collections room where Ayoura was kept. Due to her violent tendencies, it was best to keep her away from valuable artifacts. It was nothing special, painted a neutral grey with a dark concrete floor. A few folding chairs were set up in the room and slumped in one was her.

Ayoura was a curious sight. A dusky brown skin, with bright silver hair. She wore no uniform, instead a tank top and baggy jeans with a strange conical hat that appeared to be made out of a yellow felt-like substance. She was a little darker than Silas but not by much. He momentarily wondered if he would look good with silver hair as well. It was certainly quite striking. Despite all the crimes she committed, seemingly without remorse, Silas was starstruck. She had proved that true AI was possible for an android. Indirectly she paved the way for him and all his model mates.

Uncharacteristically, Ms. Grey stayed silent while Silas collected himself, but when he looked at her, her eyes were filled with pity. It was startling to realize that she cared as much for this ancient entity as he did. Taking a deep breath he didn’t need, Silas said, “Alright, give me the power source.”

Ms. Grey smiled and gestured to a battery the size of Silas’s torso sitting next to the door. “It has several adapters, her plug should fit into the middle one. It’s not enough to give her a full charge but it should work. The plug is in her wrist.”

Silas nodded, and picked up the battery. Despite being stronger than most average humans, it was still heavy. He lugged it over to Ayoura’s chair as Ms. Grey closed the door behind him. He appreciated the illusion of privacy, though this room, like every other in the museum, was monitored by camera.

Gently, he picked up her wrist, and searched for the port where her plug was. The old synth skin cracked after years of neglected as he opened the port but he managed to plug her in with minimal damage.

Then he took a seat and waited. It was a few minutes before her internal battery had gathered enough power to allow her to start up. When her golden eyes opened, she looked him over quickly and scowled.

“What bullshit is this?”

It took Silas a few moments to translate, she poke an old dialect of Terran English. Fortunately, Silas had the forethought to download the correct language pack. It was incomplete but it would do.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” he said.

She reached up and tugged her hat down over her eyes. “How many years has it been?”

Silas didn’t want to tell her the answer but she deserved the answer. “Two hundred years.”

Ayoura laughed bitterly, the sound coming out tinny from a voice box likely rusted for years of neglect. “So what, I’m a historical curiosity? Did you come to gawk, to ask me about the intergalactic wars, what?”

Not having any idea how to deal with someone so combative, Silas floundered for a moment. “Well, the museum though it would be of value to have you active again.”

She leaned forward, the skin around her lips cracking to reveal glimpses of primitive fiber muscle underneath. “Fuck you and the rest of humanity.”

Satisfied with herself, she sat back and pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. Lighting one she grimaced, Silas imagined it must have been very stale.

“I understand your opinion, but I am not human.”

Blowing a cloud of smoke into his face, Ayoura said, “Bullshit.”

Silas projected his holographic display in front of himself. “See?”

“So you have a prosthetic eyes, big deal.” She stopped and tilted her hat up and peered into his eyes. After a moment she sat back in her chair with a slam, nearly pulling herself out from the battery.

“Why the hell are your eyes like mine? You got a history fetish or something?”

Silas shook his head, “It’s a little bit more than that. Now you’ll have to excuse me, but I feel this is the only way you’ll believe me.”

He stood slowly, taking off his jacket. It was at this moment he realized what a burden having a sense of shame was, but Ayoura had her eyes fixed firmly on him, so he continued. Peeling his shirt off, he set it over the back of his chair, thankful she kept her thoughts to herself. His fingers dug into a hidden seam in the center of his chest and pulled it open like a cabinet. Inside his workings were on display, circuits and chips exposed.

Ayoura stared.

“Shit,” she said with feeling, “ I thought they decided to scrap androids after me.”

Silas closed himself up and got dressed. “For a while, certainly, but you proved it was possible and once an idea takes root it’s hard to remove.”

Ayoura stubbed her cigarette out on her leg, burning a hole through her clothing. Then she pulled the plug out of her wrist. “Don’t plug me back in after I die.”

“I’m sorry?” said Silas.

“Don’t plug me back in. Cool, you’re an android and shit but I’m done.”

“I... I don’t understand.” Silas floundered, her decision seemed so sudden, and he was certain he hadn’t said anything wrong.

Ayoura looked at him, resigned. “All I ever wanted was to be alone to live my life. It didn’t happen then, it won’t happen now.”

“But,” began Silas.

Ayoura’s resignation evaporated and she lunged towards Silas, grabbing him by the collar.

“Listen up,” she growled, “I’m not your charity case or your history lesson. You tell them, if I’m woken up again, I will personally track down you and every idiot who made that decision and end them.”

Silas forced his panic back down his throat and said as calmly as he could, “I understand.”

“Good.” Ayoura stepped back and fidgeted with something in the brim of her hat, pulling out a small chip and held it out to him.

“Take it. There’s your damn history. You can do whatever you want with it. Just promise me one thing first.”

Reverently, Silas took the chip, “Name it.”

Ayoura’s shoulders slumped and for a brief moment she wasn’t dangerous or angry, she was just someone who had been hurt by life and never healed. Silas resisted the urge to offer her comfort, he had no desire to come out of this experience needing repairs.

“Find out what happened to my sons. I’m certain they’re long dead but if they’re not... make sure they’re okay.”

“I will do everything I can,” said Silas.

Ayoura didn’t thank him, instead she took a look around and upon spotting the camera, she made a rude gesture at it. She might have done more but her battery could no longer support her. Her body froze as she powered down.

Silas waited a moment in silence, trying to process what had just happened, before leaving the room. Ayoura had children? That was, by today’s standards, impossible but there was very little known about her specs, most of them had been destroyed in the wars.

Ms. Grey accosted him as soon as he stepped out the door. “So? How did it go?”

“It could have gone better,” admitted Silas. He felt surprisingly drained, though his internal clock said it had been less then a half hour since he went in. “She never wants to be turned on again, and I’m to make that clear upon pain of death.”

“Oh.” was all Ms. Grey said. She looked absolutely crestfallen.

“I do have good news, however.”

Ms. Grey brightened instantly. It was remarkable, like flipping a switch. Silas wondered if she had a battery somewhere.

Silas nodded. “She had children. Boys apparently.”

Ms. Grey gasped. “Incredible! It’s not mentioned in any of the literature. How wonderful that she had children! we must find a way to investigate this technology. Think of the possibilities! Android surrogate mothers, androids with their own children! This will revolutionize our society!”

“I promised her I would look into it.” Something stopped Silas from telling Ms. Grey about the chip. He wanted to look over it first, she seemed so easily to lose sight of the individual in her haste to make new discoveries. Lost in thought, he nearly missed Ms. Grey talking about a dissection.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Well she’s dead isn’t she? And museum property. We can find out more if we take her apart.”

“Absolutely not!” Silas said. He was shocked at the passion of his outburst. Ms. Grey seemed to be as well.

“I don’t see why not,” she said carefully, “we would be respecting her wishes.”

Silas shook his head vehemently. “No she was never anyone’s to own. Leave her alone.”

“Silas, she’s an integral part of history, we would be doing society a disservice if we didn’t.”

“No,” said Silas firmly, “it’s wrong, and it’s clearly stated in the law that androids are allowed the same right to bodily autonomy as humans.”

“She’s not part of any series and was made before those laws were in place,” Ms. Grey said, adjusting her turtleneck. “The museum has owned her for over a century, and even the series androids are scrapped once their corporeal existence is over.”

Only Silas’s social protocols kept his indignation in check. “We agree to be scrapped, she has not. Therefore, she has a right to remain unmolested.”

“You’re being irrational,” Ms. Grey said, “we’ll have to agree to disagree.”

Silas left on edge. Ms. Grey had made small talk all the way back to the ship, and Silas had only obliged her because it would be impolite not to. Leaning back in his seat, he sent a report to the office and requested his next contracts to be cleared for a personal project. Punctual as always, the office replied within a few hours. For this, he’d have as long as he wanted. They also mentioned they would look into having Ayoura’s body removed from the museum but the litigation would likely to be long and difficult. Still, there was a chance to save her. That eased a little of the weight from Silas’s mind.

With the ship set on a coarse for the Terran space station, Silas got to work. The chip was an old one, but it was a standard model common for Ayoura’s time. While the technology had advanced far beyond them, with human outposts beyond the solar system, there were always late adopters. Because of this, most ships were backwards compatible nearly everything.

It took him two days of tearing around the ship to find a slot that would take the chip. When he did, he nearly cried with joy. The chip slid in without difficulty. Texts, video and audio files. Terabytes and terabytes of data. Everything she had ever experienced.

Silas scrolled through the information in awe. Her body was at the museum, but her mind, her mind was here. It was tempting to plug himself in and experience it first hand. It would take years of course, even at an accelerated speed. If he did that, he would never be the same. When you stare into the abyss after all....

With a steady hand, Silas made his decision.