Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE_
ALL GOOD THINGS
Calvin followed the man in the suit outside, leaving the only home he’d ever known.
There would be no more trips to the zoo.
No more adventures. No more nights spent wrapped around Winston or Lucky or sandwiched between them as they slept.
Calvin would never be like them, but he…
he loved them. He was going to miss them.
When they stepped out the door, different men, men in coveralls bearing the same logo as his charging station, grabbed him. They were rough with him, yanking his arms behind his back with force that would’ve hurt a human.
But Calvin wasn’t human.
He didn’t resist, and the man in the suit, Henry Stepp, owner of Rebonix Tech—owner of Calvin—turned around. His brow furrowed and his mouth set in a hard line.
“Gentlemen, that’s not necessary. Our friend is coming along willingly.”
The men grabbing him loosened their hold but didn’t release him.
“Sir, we were instructed that he may be dangerous.”
“Keyword there, Mark, is may. May be dangerous.”
Henry walked straight for Calvin. It was like his power extended beyond him, like his intention was enough to repel the touch of his henchmen, because as he approached, they released Calvin.
Henry slipped his arm around Calvin, settling his hand on Calvin’s lower back and steering him to a sleek black car and opened the back door.
Calvin gave his home one last look and climbed into the back seat. Henry followed after him, and the moment the door was shut, the car started to move.
“That was quite a scene back there.” Henry relaxed into the seat. “Tell me, Calvin, how were you able to override the will of your owner? By all rights, Winston’s wishes for you to stay should’ve made it impossible for you to come with me the way you did.”
Calvin wrapped his arms around himself. “I didn’t want their lives to be ruined over me. I’m not even a real person.”
Henry’s face remained expressionless and impossible to read. Not that it mattered much.
“Tell me about your time with them.” Henry reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. He tapped out a quick message to someone before slipping it back in his pocket.
Calvin tightened his arms around his torso. He wasn’t feeling okay. He wanted to thrust his hands into his chest and tear his circuitry out. “Why? You can just take my memories and see for yourself.”
“Humor me.”
“Winston was kind to me. So was Lucky. They were…” Calvin struggled to know what to tell Henry. If he wanted a play-by-play of his everyday activities, he could just download them when they got to wherever they were going.
“Lucky taught me about clothing. About self-expression. Winston, he was patient with me when I didn’t know something or when I understood something in a very literal sense. Winston helped me learn about nuance. They… we went to the zoo.”
“The zoo?”
Henry’s tone of voice had shifted, but Calvin didn’t care what that meant. He longed for shutdown. For the darkness of a dead battery.
“I wanted to see the animals. So they took me to the zoo.” Calvin looked out the window of the car as it wound its way through the city. “We had plans to see other things. The ocean. Mountains. Winston talked about taking us all on a trip together.”
Calvin dragged his gaze back to Henry’s. “When I’m deactivated, and you’ve wiped my memory, can you destroy me too? I don’t want to be reprogrammed. I don’t want to exist as a shell.”
Henry said nothing. He didn’t move or flinch or acknowledge that Calvin had spoken, so he looked out the window again and tried to take in as much of the world as he could before it was taken from him.
Arriving back at the company should have been like a homecoming for Calvin.
This was where it all started, after all.
He’d come into himself slowly. Bit by bit.
At first it had been his programming protecting itself during a disturbance in the upload.
And, from there, it had evolved. He had evolved.
It didn’t feel like a homecoming. It felt like nothing at all.
They pulled into a parking garage, and Henry opened the back door. “Wait here.”
He got out and shut the door behind him and pulled his phone from his pocket. Calvin watched with disinterest as he made a call. Then another. After the second call, the back door opened.
“Follow me, please.”
Calvin got out. He didn’t have to listen to Henry, and he thought Henry understood that and that’s why he was being polite.
Niceties were meaningless to Calvin, but he followed Henry without a fuss anyway.
For Winston. For Lucky. For the two most important people on the planet.
They deserved to know that Calvin was okay to the end.
That he’d gone out with his head held high.
Two of Henry’s crew followed them through the building. Calvin was led past the shipping rooms, where an army of shells waited to be sent to their new owners. The sight of them lined up waiting for packaging made Calvin look away.
He knew Henry was watching him. They’d assumed Calvin was dangerous because he was different. It was an assumption that would be the end of him, but Calvin did nothing to try and rectify their assumption. They’d made up their minds about him.
They took an elevator up to the fourth floor and when they stepped off, the men still followed them.
“This is the programming floor,” Henry explained to Calvin.
He didn’t need to explain to Calvin that this was where he’d brought him to be deactivated. To be stripped of his memory. His programming. All the differences that made him who he was.
Calvin said nothing. Anything they wanted, they were going to take, so there was no point.
After a few twists and turns, they came to a stop outside of a room. Henry addressed the two men following them, “I’ve got it from here, guys. Thanks.”
He ushered Calvin into the programming suite and shut the door behind them.
The first thing Calvin noticed was the empty programming station. The place he’d be hooked up to when they slipped into his circuits to wipe him clean. The second thing he noticed was that they weren’t alone in the room.
A man, shorter than Henry, came up to him. He was about Calvin’s height, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.
“Yarek, this is Calvin. Calvin, this is Yarek. He was the one who was programming you when the power went out.”
“I’d say it’s good to meet you, but that would be a lie,” Calvin said. He’d heard that from a movie and it seemed like a good occasion to say it.
“He’s remarkable,” Yarek said.
His awe seemed genuine, but Calvin was loath to accept the compliment. Yarek glanced at Calvin’s wrists, then his ankles. “He’s not restrained or temporarily disabled.”
“There wasn’t a need. Calvin came willingly, despite the directive given by his owner.”
“Remarkable.” Yarek breathed. He turned his attention to Henry. “Did you want to get started?”
“Not yet. How about you have a seat, Calvin?” Henry motioned to the chair that had to be the one usually occupied by Yarek.
“I’d rather not, thank you,” Calvin said, refusing to budge.
“Calvin, sit,” Henry said.
Calvin looked at him and narrowed his eyes. “I’d like to stand. Thank you,” he said, more firmly than last time.
“Remarkable,” Yarek said yet again.
“Tell me, Calvin, what was your relationship with Winston like?” Henry asked.
“Winston was kind to me. Thoughtful. Loving.”
“And with Lucky?”
“Lucky is sweet. And sad.” Calvin frowned at the thought that he’d never know if Lucky was able to escape the manipulation of his father or not.
“Does it bother you, that Lucky is sad?” Henry asked while Yarek hovered nearby, the word remarkable forming on his lips even if he stopped saying it out loud. The man clearly needed more sleep.
“Of course it bothers me. Lucky is important to me. I—” Calvin paused. They were going to laugh at him. To tell him that it wasn’t possible, but Calvin knew his circuits better than anyone.
“You?” Henry urged him to continue, his tone soft, questioning. Curious.
Calvin tilted his head up, lifting his chin. He stared into Henry’s eyes and dared him to disbelieve him. If he were to have any last words, he wanted them to be these ones. The words he’d never gotten to say to Winston and Lucky.
“I love them.”