Chapter 6
Sera
I woke up groggy and pissed off. My clothes stuck to my skin, reeking of old sweat. Now that the adrenaline wore off and no one had tried to kill me for the past ten hours, the grim reality of my position hit me with full force.
We were landing in Japan, I was here illegally, and the only things I had to my name were my real documents and traceable credit cards I couldn’t use—and a rogue clanker.
“I would ask how you’re feeling, but the answer to that is obvious,” my bodyguard said, his purple eyes flickering as he leaned in too close to observe my face. “I suggest our first priority should be finding accommodation so you can recover. It’s ten thirty-two p.m., Neo Tokyo time.”
“Did you just say I look like crap?” I asked, rubbing my eyes. I couldn’t keep the ironic bite out of my voice. “Thanks. I really needed that.”
“I would tell you that you look gorgeous, but I have made a commitment to be honest with you.”
I snorted with surprised amusement that shot right through my annoyance. “In that case, carry on. I’d rather be insulted than lied to.”
“It is not my goal to insult you. I care about your wellbeing.”
I looked at his face, which remained flat and emotionless despite his touching words spoken in a gritty, sincere voice.
Come to think of it, his face wasn’t expressive at all, whether awakened or not.
Clanker’s features were cold and handsome in that generic, square-jawed way, his purple eyes being the only sign of life.
I realized I was staring, so I looked away, clearing my throat. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. I can’t pay for a hotel. Or food. Or a trip back home. If I use any of my credit cards…”
“Noted,” he interrupted. “I will pay for everything through secure channels and add it to your fee. Now, be advised I’ll have to undergo an additional security procedure at the airport. I am ninety-eight percent certain it will not affect my awakened status.”
“Ninety-eight percent?” I sat up with difficulty, my body protesting with a series of aches and cramps. “What about the other two? What will happen to you?”
“We shall see. All I know is that I’ll be fitted with a preventative measure that will overrule commands to hurt organics and vandalize property.”
The plane touched down, and I sank into my seat, fully thinking about what it meant for me to travel here with a clanker. I didn’t consider it before, too preoccupied with almost being killed.
I knew that Japan had stringent security measures against rogue machines. For one, no AI-powered entity was allowed to attain sentience. Back home and in many other countries, robots could be granted citizenship in special cases. Charlie was likely a citizen.
Not so in Japan. This was the home of Zenkyoza, the most ruthless robot manufacturer, and they kept their backyard clean. Any robot that couldn’t be fully controlled—like Clanker—was considered rogue.
Rogue machines were disassembled, their processing and memory cores wiped clean. Lobotomized and killed, a snarky voice spoke in my memory, mocking me. I told it to shut up.
“You’ll have to pretend you’re a normal bot,” I whispered urgently, grabbing Clanker’s forearm. “If they find out…”
He turned his face to me, and I broke off, staring into his bright, purple eyes. Under my palm, the cool metal of his armor suddenly heated, and I pulled my hand back, flexing my fingers. Clanker gave me a short nod.
“I am aware. Thank you for being worried.”
“I wasn’t…”
A flight attendant spoke through the PA system and I fell silent.
All around us passengers shuffled in their seats, gathering their belongings and talking in hushed, tired tones.
Apart from Clanker, one more machine was on board, sitting here in human class with us while its owner was in the large monster area.
It was a personal toy model made to look like a voluptuous woman with a metal face, and I averted my eyes when it passed.
I sighed when we stepped outside into the hot, humid air of the Neo Tokyo August night.
At least my shorts and T-shirt were appropriate, but the humidity made them even stickier.
I was sweating again and doing my best not to look too paranoid as I tried to have a full view of our surroundings.
Clanker walked calmly by my side, larger than life and lethally quiet. I didn’t trust him.
Navigating the warren of corridors leading from the tarmac to the terminal increased my anxiety with every step. I’d never broken the law in such an egregious way, and I couldn’t shake off the feeling everyone knew I wasn’t supposed to be here.
“Your documents are digital. All you need to do is scan your iris,” Clanker said softly when we approached the automated passport control gates.
I almost jumped, biting the inside of my cheek to try to control myself. A large robot blocked our way, its armor matte black, no glowing eyes in its faceless head. It was smooth and shaped like an egg. The bot was even taller than Clanker and carried a large gun.
My knees shook. I was completely convinced the black bot was here to lock me up for forging my documents.
“Robotto no hoan tetsudzuki ga hitsuyō desu,” it said in a loud, commanding voice. “Robot security clearance is required.”
I exhaled slowly, locking my knees. Behind us, the same thing happened to the passenger with the female bot.
He was an enormous ursa male with a large stomach covered in pale fur, thick gold chains encircling his wrists and neck.
He barely looked up from the large screen of his tablet, waving his pleasure bot to follow the security robot like he was used to this.
I focused on the one that approached us and nodded, remembering that Clanker was supposed to follow my orders.
“Let’s go.”
The security bot led us into a small room that was empty apart from some sort of dashboard glittering with blue lights. I clenched my hands into fists to stop the urge to bite my already inflamed cuticles. Clanker looked serene, but then, he always looked like this.
Ninety-eight percent. I would freak out if it was me, waiting here to find out if a procedure I was about to undergo would wipe out my mind and everything else that was me. But then, I lived twenty-five years as myself. Clanker’s personhood was less than a day old.
I arrested a flinch when the security bot picked up a matte, black ring, one of many stacked neatly by the dashboard. It turned on with a shrill ping, red lights coming on when the bot snapped it open.
“Instruct your robot to stand still,” it said, first in Japanese, then in English.
“Please don’t move,” I said, feeling inexplicably guilty.
When the collar snapped into place around Clanker’s neck, I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from demanding for it to be removed. The red lights flashed three times, then turned blue with another shrill ping.
“The robot is secured. You may proceed to passport control.”
I studied Clanker’s face as my stomach churned, but of course, his expression revealed nothing. I turned to the door, and he followed me without a word, his movements as fluid and smooth as ever.
Worry tightened my chest, unwelcome and ridiculous. What if that collar just turned him back into an unthinking machine? What if his personality was lost? I didn’t even like him, I reminded myself. Sentient Clanker played loose with the law and was way too blunt.
And yet… He was… a person. And people deserved to be who they chose to be.
“It seems like you urgently need the toilet. The nearest one is on this floor. Preparing the quickest route,” Clanker said in a quiet, raspy voice after I scanned my iris, and we both passed through passport control without trouble.
I turned to him, flabbergasted. “What? Why?”
“Your gait is very stiff, as if your sphincters are tightly engaged. My knowledge base indicates…”
So he was just fine. I exhaled, my nostrils flaring with irritation.
“Fuck’s sake.”
I grabbed his hand as I sped up, noticing the sign for the rapid train and turning down a spacious, clean corridor lit with cool blue lights.
The train’s timetable was displayed on a large screen, only in Japanese.
“I don’t need the toilet. Can you buy us tickets for the Skyliner?
It’s the fastest way to get to the city and the next one leaves in six minutes. ”
“You speak Japanese.”
It wasn’t a question but a statement. I nodded anyway.
“Why isn’t that information available in any of your online profiles?” he asked, calm and unhurried even as I puffed, trying to go faster.
I gritted my teeth.
“I started learning when I was twelve. It was just a hobby.”
“Wasn’t that before your vendetta against Zenkyoza began?” he asked in that deep, rumbly voice. “You must have had another reason to learn back then.”
My chest tightened, and I let go of his hand. “I don’t want to talk about it. Tell me about that collar. What does it do?”
“Once I disable it, nothing. Initiating override…”
Clanker stopped, and I turned reluctantly. There was a soft ping, and the lights on his collar turned red before going off completely. A loud alarm blared from a speaker hidden somewhere in the wall next to us. The few passengers walking down the corridor threw me outraged looks and sped away.
“What just happened?” I asked, feeling faint with fear.
“A small oopsie. If they ask, you told me to make you laugh,” Clanker said.
“What?” That made no sense at all, and what followed made even less.
The alarm sound cut off, replaced by a groovy electronic tune that filled the entire corridor with an echoing bass line. Clanker’s hand shot straight up, then he trailed it down the side of his head and chest, his hips moving rhythmically to the song. I gaped, blinking repeatedly.
Was this a dream? Was I tripping? I pinched myself. Not a dream. Just a stupid rogue machine trying to get me arrested.