Ironically, Anna almost felt relief. Of course there was something the androids wanted. There’s always a catch.Everything made more sense if there was. They wouldn’t just give them all these things. Safety didn’t come for free.
But to Nora she just said, “Let’s go pick out our rooms I guess. Explore this whole damn area.”
Chapter fourteen
Atlas
Atlas sighed entering his room. Not even thirty minutes back and everything was on edge. It was funny how his office remained unchanged, but this trip to Earth had changed everything.
Sterling had his office directly in the human area, but Atlas chose to live on the opposite side of the facility. His office was attached to his personal quarters, sparse and utilitarian. The office was designed to care for medical patients up front back in times when there were more humans than Sterling could handle, with his personal quarters for him in the back. The medical equipment had long ago been pushed to the side.
Atlas began to clean the surfaces of the Martian dust. He had been away from his quarters for four months due to this rotation to Earth. The trip was cut short, actually. Once the decision was made to bring Anna and the others back, they’d shifted the timeline to return to Mars sooner.
Despite being unable to feel fatigue, his processors were weary. He paused, mid swipe. It was a long day.
Atlas’s office looked barren without his usual plants when he finally lifted his head. The window where his cherry tree usually stood was empty. Now that he was here and not going to go on rotation for a while, he would need to collect them from the ship.
He leaned over one plant that remained, touching the leaves gently. The plant still looked healthy enough. He checked its moisture levels.Not bad actually. But there was a lot of growth he would need to shape. “How did you fare with me gone? No drama from you?”
There was a marked lower level of interest in this task than was normal. Coming back and seeing the growth over his absence usually interested him more. The plant leaves slipped out of his fingers.Dammit.He clenched his jaw.I can’t focus.
Atlas ran a hand down the side of his face and sat back in the chair. “What is wrong with me?”
The plant, of course, didn’t answer.
But it didn’t need to.He was frustrated.That was part of it. Frustrated at both the reception they were getting and that he was unable to do anything about it. After being insulted like they were earlier, Clara would have yelled back. Thrown things even. Not just stand there, looking dejected, saying she wasn’t dangerous. He had one hundred years to think about Clara’s anger. He had never expected a human to be quiet.
No.He began cleaning again. The feeling related to how conflicted he felt. He finished cleaning his main desk and sat down at his desk, resting his head in his hands. Less than ten minutes in their new quarters, and already the other humans were making drama. He really didn’t miss that aspect of humanity. How did Sterling handle it?
Immediately, as if his processors were split, the image of Anna with the rose played. The laugh and larger-than-life smile.Atlas moistened his lips.She really is not like them.He’d meant that earlier, with everything in him. Anna wasn’t like any other humans he had known before. In fact, maybe things would be better if he started to categorize her differently. The same species, but not. Maybe more like the old, old videos he watched?
“It’s Anna, isn’t it?”He rubbed his chin slowly. Even away from her, his neural mind kept returning to all the interactions he had with her on the few weeks’ voyage. It really was by chance she was here right now.He might have not met her at all.
He remembered the first time he saw her. Back on Earth, her husband Paul attacked Simon. And in the aftermath, Anna had been a pale figure with bloodied hands, running out of the bakery she owned. He registered her as a sidekick of Nora’s at first, so focused on rescuing Simon.
But within moments of watching a part of him knew, even then, that she was different. He leaned back in his chair, legs loose and arms dangling.She was so brave, still helping, even though herworld was ending.
And now she was here, crowding his mind that had only been filled with greenery for so long. Involuntarily, the memory of her smile in the sunlight played. A flush ran through him. He frowned at the plant. “What a complication.”
It really was. And yet. . .
He leaned closer, delicately lifting the greenery. “Nevermind all of that. You had some seedlings. You’ll need to be replanted.” The experiments he set up before the trip still needed tending to, and all the results of his careful grafting and transplanting needed measuring.
Soon he focused, letting his hands run automatically. He itched to do more, but there would be time tonight to put things to right. Time when Anna slept. Especially as he kept making small mistakes from distraction.
Zero sent him a private message. Atlas shrugged before accepting. “I’m almost done unloading the ship. I have the human’s cat. Should I wait until Simon’s hardware upgrades are done to bring him?”
“He’s probably scared. I can come down to get him.”
“No need, I’ll bring him up.”
Zero walked in a few minutes later with the orange and white cat, Tatertot, in a carrier by his side. In his hand was also a fistful of drawings that Tilly had made for Atlas from his desk in the medical quarters. “Why are you still ignoring the general feeds? We are waiting for you to join our talks. Others are as well. But here you are instead, ignoring everyone.”
Atlas’s jaw clenched. “You knew where to find me, though.”
“Of course.” Zero leaned against the table, then slid closer. “You are rather predictable.”
“. . . I don’t feel like it lately.”
