“Does that mean you wish to befriend me, Troy, like you have so vigorously attempted to befriend Rowan in the past?”
That seemed to be an inappropriate thing to say, given Rowan’s cringe, but Troy merely laughed, shook Milo’s hand with that same vigor, and said, “Absolutely.”
They set to work, and Milo felt himself calm the longer Troy looked him over, chatting with him the entire time, no longer as if he were a mere bot, but like a real person. While that put Milo at ease, however, it was difficult to answer some of Troy’s questions.
“Do you dream?”
“Um, I do not know. I did not charge last night, so technically, I did not sleep.”
“Can you envision mental images or do you operate like someone with aphantasia?”
“I… am uncertain of that as well. I have not tried much to visualize anything.”
“What about the first sensation you were aware of after the lightning?”
“Oh, uh…” Confusion? Disorientation?
Fear.
Pain.
The more Milo tried to think of an answer, the more he didn’t want to talk about it, because, somehow, remembering those sensations also brought phantom feelings of them, especiallythe pain of his lightning scars being touched, as if he were experiencing it anew, despite no actual sensory input.
He explained as much, which Troy seemed to find even more fascinating, yet he obeyed Milo’s wishes to not explain further. Milo liked Troy. He was vigorous, excitable even, where his passion for work was concerned, but he was also patient and very kind. Milo believed the exact word wasgenuine. Rowan was genuine too. There was no subterfuge in either of their eyes. No lies.
Milo decided then that, even if he could lie now, he would prefer not to. He wanted to be a genuine person who others would like.
Most of what they did that morning, besides asking Milo questions, was to examine the replacement surge protector Rowan had installed, as well as the fried one, which Rowan had brought along with the other burnt and nonfunctional parts of Milo that he had replaced. Milo was grateful that he did not need to undress for Troy. It was easy enough just sitting up and lifting the back of his shirt to give access to the panel, which also housed his charging port and external access port, so Troy could connect to Milo’s systems and monitor him remotely later.
Milo realized eventually that the reason he preferred to not have to undress was because he only wanted Rowan to see him like that from now on. He hadn’t really intended to get naked while making breakfast, but it hadn’t bothered him for Rowan to see him that way. The thought made him strangely warm inside, the nice kind of warm, and he contented himself with that feeling throughout his examination.
Rowan's work the night before had been primarily focused on digging deeper into his own findings to build another prototype surge protector, but he hadn't learned enough to want to alter it, so, being identical to the one currently installed in Milo,Rowan agreed to leave it with Troy until Monday, when he was scheduled to show it to Director Andreas.
“If you learn anything before then, please let me know,” Rowan told Troy when they were readying to leave, “but for now, my plan is to keep discussion with the director to only the benefits of the surge protector from power overloads, not any... side effects.”
Milo supposed what had happened to him was a side effect, and he knew that sometimes side effects were good. They could also be devastating. He was not certain yet how to process the negative aspects to his awakening. Like pain. Distraction. What the public might think of him.
Or what might become of Rowan when the truth was discovered.
“So you haven’t told anyone else yet?” Troy asked. “Not, say… your sister, Raina?” His eyes dilated ever so slightly upon saying her name. Interesting.
“Definitely not,” Rowan said, apparently not noticing that Troy’s vigor had shifted to something else—someone else. “I don’t plan on telling anyone else until we know more about what caused this, what it means, and if my surge protector could cause it to happen again to other bots.”
Could it happen again? And was that not a good thing?
Milo was the test to answer those questions, but oh, he wanted it to be a good thing.
“I understand,” Troy said. “I only ask because, should you decide to tell Raina, it could be useful to have another engineer to assist us before you’re ready to announce our findings publicly. No pressure of course! Just a thought.” As Troy’s cheeks darkened, Milo deduced it was more than just a thought.
Troy was experiencing longing, just as Milo had been feeling longing toward Rowan.
He felt even more at ease in Troy’s presence, for they had a kinship now, even if unspoken, something Milo could relate to and… empathize with. He was experiencing empathy! He too knew what it was like to have feelings for someone who seemed out of reach, and he wanted to help Troy achieve what he also wanted for himself.
It helped that he now had proof Troy was not romantically interested in Rowan but in his sister. If it had been Rowan, Milo did not know how he would be feeling, but even the mere thought of that brought with it an emotion he doubted he would enjoy experiencing fully.
“Um, sure,” Rowan said, as if he had no intention of changing his mind. “Just keep me informed, and I’ll do the same if I learn anything new. Thanks again, Troy. Really.”
“My pleasure! It was so nice to meet you, Milo.” He extended his hand again, and again, Milo shook it.
