The Non-Standard Man Ch. 11

My stomach grumbled, and I wondered why the limo hadn't arrived. I looked out the window once more.

"You should sit and rest, Evaline. You are not getting the right nutrition, or water. A lack of rest could only hurt."

"I'm fine," I said. "It's not the first time I've been hungry."

"Yes, but your baby has not been hungry."

I laughed. "I don't have a baby."

"You do now."

I turned and looked at Andrew.

"No."

"That time with Roger?"

A chill through me as I flashed on our ménage a troi.

Oh god.

"I haven't even missed my period yet."

"There are subtle changes even now. A change in your heat signature, a slight rise in temperature, more blood flow to your pelvis."

"Oh, shit."

"Are you not happy? This is very good news. Cicily was extremely happy when she became pregnant with Jason. I didn't understand it then, but I do now."

I sunk back in the cushions of the couch.

"How can I be happy? My life is an intolerable mess."

He put his arm around me. "I trust you will fix things, Evaline. You are very intelligent."

Suddenly, with a loud bang, the front window blew apart spraying shards of glass. Andrew pulled down my head and covered my body the best he could, but the room filled with smoke.

"We have to get out of here," I yelled.

"What is happening?"

"Someone didn't I'd turn myself in. Is there a way out of here?"

"Yes, follow me."

Andrew took my hand and led through the smoke to a door in another room.

"Come out with your hands up!"

My eyes stung from the smoke. "I can't see," I said.

Andrew lifted me into his arms.

"Hold on, Evaline," he said.

I threw my arms around his neck as we descended a flight of stairs. The smoke cleared and I could breathe better.

Andrew moved through the dark basement, stopping short at a wall.

There was a creak, and cold air rushed to greet us.

Andrew walked sure-footed though through the darkness. Neither one of us spoke.

As I clung to Andrew, he climbed a ladder hand over hand.

"Tuck your head against my shoulder, Evaline," he said.

With the creak of hinges, a faint light hit my eyes. Andrew pushed me to land my bottom. Glancing around, I found we were in small shed.

"Where are we?" I said.

Andrew pushed his head and then his body onto the floor.

"A small building. I spent my first night here after I got out. When I looked for a place to hide, I found this door, and then the house. It was a good place to stay until you returned."

I stared at him.

"How could you be so sure that I'd return," I said.

"Evaline, you do enjoy your routines. Since you visited here once, you'd naturally come here again. I only had to wait."

Tears fell on my cheeks again. Damn those pregnancy hormones. He lived with me two weeks and had me down stone cold.

"Evaline, why are you crying?"

"I'm tired, and hungry and having an affair with a robot."

He patted my back. "If it makes you feel any better, I love you."

I stared at Andrew in shock.

"We'll have to talk later. I'm sure whoever was out there's figured out I'm not in that house anymore."

"You lead the way," Andrew said.

"Look at the windows. See if any people are out there."

Andrew went to each of the windows of the little shed and looked out.

"I don't see any humans."

"Good." Cautiously I opened the door to the shed and peered out. The sun glowed faintly behind a thick bank of clouds. I shivered.

"Snow is in the air." I said.

As if I said the magic word, snow tumbled to the ground in thick, wet clumps.

Andrew stood behind me in the doorway.

"This is snow?" said Andrew.

"Yes."

"I've never seen snow fall," he said. Awe filled his voice.

"You haven't?"

"No. I've always stayed inside the lab, or the house."

I shook my head. We didn't allow robots of any kind to walk the streets, except rare occasions. It made me angry that Cicily, Jason and Amanda treated Andrew as if he had no rights.

Only, as property, he didn't have any rights.

They made a sentient robot, and they intended to keep him as a thing to be bought, sold and owned. My outrage took root.

"Let's go," I said.

Andrew followed me, without a word, even though I had no clue as to what to do.

"Andrew, which way to where you found me."

"This way," he said, taking the lead again. I figured that we'd follow the road of the cemetery, find a place to hide, and call Betty with the new location to send the car.

Our feet crunched through the snow, but the falling flakes rapidly covered our tracks. Andrew led me through a stand of trees, and when we came out I saw we were north of Andrew's grave marker. And we stopped short. A man stood at the marker with his back to us.

"It's Jason!" said Andrew. He moved toward him.

"Wait!" I said. But Andrew didn't stop.

Wells turned looked up from his phone, his face a strange mixture of shock and joy. He ran toward to Andrew.

My feet sliding in snow I pushed to join them.

"Andy! Thank god you are okay," he said grabbing the robot's arms.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. Why are you here?"

"I followed your GPS signal. The newscast announced that she was going to turn you in. They said you were holding her hostage at that house."

"No," I said. "He saved me from two agents with guns on me."

Wells looked at me coldly.

"Let's go, Andrew. Let's get you out of here."

"Come, Evaline," Andrew said. "Jason will give us a ride."

"No," said Wells. "She stays here."

Andrew's expression darkened.

"I can't leave her. I love her."

Wells shook his head. "Something wrong with your programming, buddy? Look, I'll fix it later. Come with me."

"No," said Andrew more firmly.

"What the," said Wells.

"Apparently," I said, "design parameters changed."

"We don't have time for this," Jason said. "Come then, both of you. Agents are just above that shed, and there's more covering the road."

"How do we get out of here?"

"I found a service road that gets close to the main road. With a few bumps over the pasture we'll be on the highway. Come on."

As the snow swirled around us, Jason led us to the left and down the hill. The snow covered our tracks and our exit. Jason cursed when he couldn't find the service road, but Andrew took his arm and pointed him to a depression that ran through a stand of trees.

"Is that it?" he asked Jason. "I see the heat signature of your car engine."

"Infrared. Best thing we installed in you."

We walked, stumbled and slipped on the snow-slicked path until we came to snow covered jeep.

"Andrew, clear the windows," Jason ordered.

The robot swept the snow away with his hands without question.

"Is that okay for him to do. His skin is just recovering," I said.

"What do you mean?" said Jason.

"Evaline means I damaged my hands getting out of the ground. She helped me get the ejaculate out to facilitate healing."

"She did, did she?" Jason said He nearly growled the words.

"Yes, I did."

"Yes, she taught me what it meant to feel good," he said. "I've learned many things from Evaline."

"I'm sure you did." Jason got into the jeep and turned over the engine.

"People, let's go."

Andrew and I climbed into the back seat of the jeep. A couple blankets sat on the back seat.

"Scoot to the floor boards," I said. "We're going to hide under these blankets.

It was a very tight fit. I had my back to one door while Andrew has he back to the other. With one hand, I drew one blanket over Andrew's head, and another over mine.

"I'm glad the calorie control worked for you so you could fit in this small space," said Andrew.

"What the-?" I said and gaped at him. He smiled back at me. "Andrew did you just make a joke?"

"Yes, Evaline. I hope you find it funny."

"Well."

"I thought it funny."

"We'll work on your sense of humor.

The jeep bounced several times. Jason shifted and hit the gas propelling the vehicle up and then we hit the road.

"Hang on, people."

Jason accelerated and we sped down a smooth road, though I had no idea where we headed.

#

After an hour sitting in that cramped position, Jason stopped at the side of the road and helped us both to the seats. Then he started the car again, and drove on. It stopped snowing by now, and I watched as the bare trees that lined the road slide by us mile after mile.

I didn't recognize where we were.

"Where are we going?"

Jason said nothing.

"Andrew?"

"Jason, Evaline wants to know where you are taking us."

"A safe place," growled Jason.

Andrew looked at me and shrugged. "A safe place."

"Enlightening," I replied.

We traveled for several more hours. I lay my head on Andrew's shoulder. He held me and I fell asleep.

"Wake up, Evaline," Andrew said. Groggily, I raised my head, my neck stiff. My feet were cold. My stomach complained at the lack of food.

The jeep was parked. The gloom of early evening lay around us.

"Where are we?" I said.

"Get out of the jeep," said Jason opening the door. He didn't sound like he was in the mood to converse, so we got out and followed him up a hill and through a stand of trees. Andrew made sure I didn't stumble on any sticks or rocks in my path.

We walked out onto a clearing, and ahead of us was a house. Jason opened the door like he did it a thousand times before.

"Jason, is that you? Did you get Andrew?"

"Cicily?" Andrew said.

Cicily?

Into the hallway walked Cicily Wells, hardly looking worse for wear for being dead.

"Mom," said Jason, "This is,"

"Yes, Evaline Shipley. Nice to meet you at last, Ms. Shipley."

Andrew just stood there staring at her.

"Andrew! How are you?"

"You are not dead," he said flatly. I tensed. Andrew's voice turning robotic was not a good sign.

"No, Andrew."

"It is true what Evaline said. You lied to me."

"Yes, Andrew. It was necessary."

"Necessary! You died in my arms! Do you know how I felt about that?"

"Felt?" said Cicily, perplexed.

"Yes," I said caustically. "Not only did you shock him to sentience. You shocked him into experiencing emotions as well."

"Did we?" She looked and sounded delighted.

"How did-?" said Andrew.

"She tricked you, Andrew. She staged that fight with Sinta."

"You did WHAT?"

Shocked, Cicily backed away.

I grabbed Andrew's arm. "Andrew, right here, right now, concentrate on my voice. It's going to be okay. You know the truth now. That's good. These are the type of people they are. Yes, you are angry, but you have to keep it together, Andrew. Stand right here and do nothing.

Andrew's body shook. "Yes, Evaline," he said.

"Andrew," said Cicily. "We were only trying to help you."

"Help him!" I snapped. "Do you have any idea what shit you put him through?"

"We were following standard protocols," said Jason.

"What? That's how sentience is created? By inducing trauma?"

"I tried to avoid it for many years," said Cicily.

"Oh, but when your friend Amanda Connors started to pressure you for a return on her investment you abandoned that?"

"I had to do was show her one sentient robot. Otherwise-"

"Yeah, otherwise she'd pull all her stock out of Androdyne," I yelled. "And leave you in the middle of a panic sell-off."

Cicily and Jason crossed their arms and stared at me.

"Evaline," said Andrew. "You don't have to get angry for me. Think of the baby, Evaline."

"Oh, a little righteous rage won't hurt her."

"Evaline. Please. You are right. Anger does not help."

I took a deep breath and stared at the older and younger Wells.

"Do you have any idea how deep in shit you are? Not only did you illegally created a sentient robot, you sold him knowing of his sentience. You committed fraud for representing you had a product you did not have, and that's just the legal stuff."

"You are forgetting harboring fugitives," said Andrew.

"Oh, I'm a fugitive, all right, a kidnapped fugitive."

"Cicily," said Andrew, " Evaline has had a difficult day. And she is newly pregnant. She needs food, liquids and rest. The rest of this discussion can wait until tomorrow."

#

When I read about women before the plague going to work six weeks after having a baby I marveled. When I read about more ancient civilizations of women who went back to the fields the same day as giving birth, I didn't believe it. In the time I live, when a woman is pregnant, because each child is precious, she is treated like a queen. Nothing is allowed to get in the way of a successful birth.

Cicily responded quickly, despite her glares, and insisted I go right to bed. Jason led me to a bedroom, and Andrew brought a tray of food. He watched as I ate it, and did not leave my side, until sleep claimed me.

I needed the rest, and I slept later than I normally would. After a shower and a change of clothes, I felt much better. But I still had the problems I did yesterday. The television made that perfectly clear.

Evaline Shipley, former manager partner of Shipley, Shou and Connors, is missing along with an Androdyne robot from the Andrew line that is purported to be sentient. A RIB operation failed to turn up Ms. Shipley. A warrant is issued for her arrest for harboring a sentient robot.

Roger Shipley, Ms. Shipley's husband had this to say:

The next scene showed Roger, accompanied by Betty, ambushed outside the Washington Court house by a gang of reporters.

They screamed at him various questions, the theme being did he know where I was, when he last saw me and if he was concerned, etc, etc. He tried to ignore them but it was impossible. He stood up straight then, his near six-foot frame towering over the women, making a motion for them to be quiet.

"Of course I'm concerned. The coverage of the raid on that abandoned house was frightening. If this is the treatment a law-abiding citizen receives then we all should be frightened. We've just filed a writ of habeas corpus for the government to produce Evaline in open court. It's ludicrous to think Evaline has done anything wrong. Now if you excuse me-"

Roger pushed past the reporters, Betty walking behind him. The camera's shot him going into one of my services' town cars.

So Roger and Betty were going after the government as I told them, only I wasn't in place for the whole scheme to work.

"I have to leave here and get back to Washington."

I was sitting at a dining room table, where Andrew served a breakfast he cooked. Jason and Cicily stared at me.

"You are welcome to leave," said Cicily, "But Andrew stays."

Andrew, who was clearing the breakfast dishes, stopped mid-motion.

"No, Cicily. I go where Evaline does."

Cicily swore and stood. "Damn it, Andrew! We have too much invested in you to go and get destroyed."

"That," said Andrew, "is a consequence you should have considered before you sold me to Peck's. I belong to Evaline now."

"You don't! The sale was illegal."

"Is that what you think, Cicily?" I said. "You think your fraud will protect you from the result of your actions? That's not how the law works. The sale can only be unmade if I want it, and I do not."

"If he goes back with you the RIB will take him and he'll be destroyed."

"No, Cicily," said Andrew. "Evaline has a plan. She will not let me the government destroy me. Act as smart as you are, Cicily, and let Evaline implement it. Because, if you don't, the authorities will catch me one day, and I will be destroyed."

"And your company will be in ruins. Amanda Connor will see to it."

"It's your only chance, Cicily," said Andrew. "To save your work."

#

I couldn't risk a phone call to Roger, or Betty or Tersa. That left Suki or Kiki. Calling Suki could have adverse effects on her career, and I needed where she was right now to shepherd that document to the Secretary of the Interior.

Andrew sat in the bedroom and placed the call through his satellite uplink.

"Kiki, this is Evie,"

"Where are you? Are you okay? Is it true what they said about And-?"

"Kiki, I don't have time for a million questions. I need you to visit Roger and tell him, in person, that I'll be in Washington tomorrow afternoon and proceed according to plan. He'll know what I mean."

"But you are okay?"

"We'll have a good old party at my house when this is over and I'll tell you all about it. Talk to Roger. Not over the phone."

"Okay."

"Bye, Kiki."

I motioned for Andrew to cut the call. I sighed.

"Then we are ready for tomorrow?" said Andrew.

"As ready as we can be."

"Good." He stood and shut the bedroom door.

"Come, rest, Evaline. Jason said we would leave at nightfall."

I put my head on the pillow, but I was too jacked to nap.

"Andrew, come hold me."

He gave a little smile, and sat at the edge of the bed.

"How do you want me to hold you?"

"Lay next to me?"

I moved sideways to give him room, and Andrew stretched out next to me.

Now, turn on your side, and put your arms around me.

When he did, I moved closer and put my free arm at his waist.

"Is this what humans do?" he said.

"Yes."

He stroked my hair.

"It is strange to have my feet off the floor."

"Come to think of it, we never made love vertical, have we?"

"There was that time at the house where I hid."

"Not quite the same. This way I can snuggle with you."

"Snuggle. Is that we are doing?"

"Yes."

"Strange word."

"Don't you like this?"

"If it makes you happy, I am satisfied, Evaline." He hesitated. "I'm still sorting through emotions, trying to figure out how everything relates. It is very complicated. The logic does not fit."

"Well, I don't know how it works for you, but for humans it a set of chemical reactions, mostly. Electrical impulses fire in the brain, and chemicals are released, and emotions floods our thoughts."

"It sounds like you have no control over your emotions."

"Many times we don't. But we have control over how we react to our emotions. We might be angry, but we choose to act calmly. We might be sad, but we put a smile on our face."

"Why? That seems like lying. And lying is wrong."

"Humans have what we call social lies. Other humans might get distressed at the intensity of our emotions. Since we don't think it good to distress other people, we don't tell people the truth. When we find someone we can tell the truth about how we feel, we call this intimacy."

"I thought intimacy was another word for sex."

"It is, and it isn't. Sharing who we are, dropping the social mask, that is intimacy. Sex is part of that sharing. But not all people who are intimate with their feelings have sex, and not all people who have sex are intimate with their feelings."

"Humans are enormously complicated. No wonder you have a hard time reproducing."

"Where did you get that idea?"

"When you were at work I would watch television shows on the public stations. I'd watch the nature shows. They'd show animals having sex."

I chuckled. "Yes."

"And it seemed to me that animals reproduced much easier."

"Most animals weren't affected by the plague."

"There isn't much information on that."

"Well, the government doesn't allow it."

"Why?"

"Because if people knew the truth they would be angry. It would cause more war, and we had enough of those."

"And you possess this truth?"

"There are rumors, of course. But you don't get to be one of the Washington's hottest lawyers without knowing powerful people."

"Which people?"

"Roger's family. They are extremely rich, and very well connected. They knew people in the defense industry. As it turns out it was our fault. We weaponized a dangerous virus. It was supposed to be targeted, used only in combat areas. It was supposed to make male soldiers too ill to fight. But viruses can mutate easily. Instead of making the soldiers ill, it killed them. And then it spread around the world. The males that are left have a natural immunity. But even now it plagues us because the virus still exists. If a male is born without the immunity, he will die too."