When she could stand again, she went to the sink and washed her red face, marveling at the indoor plumbing that cleaned everything away.
Afterward, she came back to the bed and leaned back up against the headboard, feeling sweaty underneath her hairline.At least I didn’t do that in the middle of dinner.She glanced at the door.And Atlas didn’t have to see it either.
The pillow behind her was cool when she lay back, staring at the white ceiling.I do feel a bit better though.Tomorrow she would need to be more selective with the food she ate and not give in to the pressure to try everything.Maybe I can cook some stuff for myself too.There had to be a balance she could find.
What time is it even?She looked around. Maybe one of those televisions in the main room would have the time? Anna got up and waddled to the couch in the common room, then tried working the remote.
She swallowed thickly, stomach still off, while flipping the channels. The lights flickered before her eyes as she randomly pushed buttons on the remote.Everyone in this feed is dead. Dead. Dead.But in a weird way, she was mesmerized by the hair styles, the way they talked, and the commercials of all the things they used to buy.
In the ruins of Earth they had scavenged parts of these products, but to see them not aged by time was surreal. The feeling of unreality went up to another level when she turned to a medical documentary program, seeing another Atlas model on the screen talking about a medical condition, dia-beet-us.
She quickly turned the channel to a nature program, letting the drone aerial footage wash over her. Only it was not Mars; the picture was an ancient scene of Earth. Places beyond the dusty,destroyed desert that she grew up in. It was like the jungle scene from earlier. She put the remote down, letting the channel play.
In an odd way, the television feeds were like company.In fact, after time stretched, Anna began to see the point of it. She slumped down on the couch.It keeps me from thinking at least.She left the nature feed on. There was something comforting about how it played as she closed her eyes.
Chapter twenty
Atlas
Atlas opened the human area’s door. It had taken him a few minutes to find something comparable to crackers—the main bulk of manufacturing they did was for the ration bars for the Earth drops or the pastries that the androids themselves liked to consume.
But finally he had found some bread, bagels actually, that seemed adequate enough.
He knew from the live feeds that Anna had moved to the common area of the room, watching the television to wait for him. But he didn’t know her eyes had closed until he approached. “Anna?”
She jolted upright. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. Did you fall asleep out here?” He held up his bag. “Do you still need some food?”
“Maybe. Thank you for coming.” She stretched. “I was resting my eyes; my stomach was too off to sleep.”
“Here, I’ll help you to bed, and then try to eat some of this bagel.” He clicked off the television.
“Alright.” Anna slowly stood. “I saw another of you on the feed, talking about dia-beet-us.”
“On the television?”
“Yes. Not you, but another you. Your model. Not as handsome though, don’t worry.” She coughed in her palm as her cheeks reddened.
His entire chest area warmed. “Oh. You don’t have diabetes. Not even gestational diabetes.”
“Well, good!” She quickly laughed. “Because I don’t have any idea what that is.”
Atlas fell into step beside her back down the hall. “It has to do with your blood and how you manage sugar.”
“Oh.” She flashed him a half grin. “Well, I never had enough sweets to manage before, so it makes sense I don’t have it.”
Not exactly.But he didn’t explain any more. She was walking like a wilted flower, yawning on the way. He shadowed her to the room she had claimed, sitting at the chair by the desk while she settled on the bed’s edge. Then he handed her the bagel. “Here. This was the simplest carbohydrate I could find.”
“Thank you.” Her fingers immediately began to pick small bites off. “I didn’t see you earlier, at dinner. Will you not eat with us?”
Does she want me there?He calculated his response. “I was catching up with others, but I can come to the next one.” While she ate, he reached into his bag and pulled out a small green tube. “Put a little of this on your face for that sunburn, alright? It’s plant-based. Aloe vera.”
She snorted, between bites. “Of course it’s plant-based.”
“The best remedies always are.”
She took the tube. “I believe you there.”
