Anna watched him go before turning and slinking away.Only if extra care is needed. And who decides that?She pressed in on her belly.After the chip talk earlier, what should I trust?Her mind spun, and for once it wasn’t with thoughts of Paul.Are they going to be deciding things for my baby?
The little crib, in line with dying humans, was pushed to the side like the ultrasound machine from the ship. She slowly walked back along the picture-lined hallway to Nora.They wouldn’t keep my baby in there—would they? Away from me?Simon had said more than once that androids couldn’t lie. But her gut was spinning. The nausea roared back. And every footstep down that hallway with the photos of the babies echoed in the emptiness.
No work. Only hobbies. We’ll take care of you. A crib in a glass room for extra care, surrounded by aged humans who had androids invasively keeping every single cell of them alive.
No one had the resources or will to keep anyone alive indefinitely. Was this normal? The walkways were hushed, adding to her unease. The entire human area in this facility was set up with an efficiency that made Anna’s eyes twitch.
Glass walls. Neurochips.She thought back again to Atlas.He did say he didn’t think there was anything wrong with us.Despite everything, Atlas had been the one person helping them the most.He told us about the chip after that human woman brought it up. And he disagreed. Right? I gotta ask him about it again.She wanted someone to trust here. She needed someonebesides just Nora and Simon. Someone on the inside of whatever this facility was. She looked down at her palm, at the perfect scar where the stitches had been placed.Atlas isn’t bad.
Or was she trying to convince herself to trust him because something in her felt warm when thinking about him?
She walked back to the main room where Nora was still sitting with Tilly, watching the feeds. The room felt even bigger and emptier now knowing that the multitudes of desks in here must have also been used by the now-dead residents.
“Hey Nora.” Anna sank back on the sofa, stone-faced. Even the silly pictures dancing on the feed that made Tilly laugh didn’t fully penetrate. She tapped on Nora’s arm, pointing back down the hallway. “Walk down the hall all the way. You gotta see something. I’ll sit here with Tilly.”
“. . . What’s up?”
“Just go and look.”
Nora left and then came back a half hour later with a matching frown to Anna’s on her face. “That’s . . . something else.”
Anna settled back into the sofa. Nausea tugged at her, stronger than ever. And this time it wasn’t just from the pregnancy. “Yeah.”
Her throat was tight.More is wrong here than that chip.She leaned over to whisper in Nora’s ear, up close so the cameras couldn’t hear. Her voice was rough. “I think this entire place is a cage.”
Chapter sixteen
Atlas
Tatertot meowed from the carrier at Atlas’s side. The cat was almost howling, pacing as he walked.
“We’re almost there, little kitty,” He whispered down to him. “I know it’s been a long trip.”
Atlas opened the door to the humans’ area to see the television playing. All three humans were staring at the screen, slack-jawed.
Simon, back from his upgrades, watched with amusement from the side, his eyes trained on Nora’s reactions.
Tilly ran to Atlas a second later, her movements frantic. “Tatertot!”
“Yes.” He unzipped the carrier and lifted the white and orange cat into Tilly’s hands. “I think he missed you.”
Anna was sitting with pillows propping both her and her stomach up. Her eyes only flitted up to Atlas as he entered. There was a furrow on her brow as she watched the feed. Shereached a hand out to idly scratch at Tater when Tilly put him down.
Is she upset about something?Quickly his sensors reached out, mapping the vitals he could see from a distance.No fever, but her position suggests discomfort.But Anna was eight months pregnant, after all. Her eyes were tired. Lack of sleep from insomnia? Or the walk earlier?
A daytime soap opera was on the screen, complete with dramatic lighting and perfectly combed hair. Scenes that Atlas had seen many times before. He grimaced.They’re watching this? Why?
Anna’s mood lightened the longer it played. She soon pointed at the screen, laughing. “This is what humans acted like back then? Simon? No wonder you were so confused by us now.”
Simon waved at the screen. “I don’t miss them.”
Atlas glanced between the screen and Anna’s face that was slowly relaxing, distracted by the show.Well. I’m confused now too.
Anna’s lips parted. “In this show. I think . . . her identical twin ran off? With the neighbor? This is hard to follow.”
“Yes.” Atlas chuckled at her confused expression. “That happens a lot.”
Simon gave him a conspiratorial grin. “I tried to explain what soap operas are, but had to give up. I’m going to show them reality TV next.”
