Page 20 of Garbage

Clearly puzzled, Quincy turned the boxes over and examined them. “They haven’t been opened.”

“You don’t need to scare him,” Evan murmured.

“Actually, I do. He was already assaulted once, and for all the Humans Firsters claim to be anti-tech, they’re sure ready to pop in a take-over mod if they can get their hands on one.” He looked Quincy straight in the eye. “Don’t ever let them do that to you. If anyone ever attacks you again, you fight back. Record everything, call the cops, run away if you can, and don’t escalate the situation if you can avoid it. But if they get their hands on you again, you fight back. You’re faster and stronger. Incapacitate them. Go for the kneecaps and the eyes. It’s self-defense.”

Quincy looked to Evan for guidance. Evan hated to think of this gentle giant ever having to do that. But he might not get a choice. “He’s right, Quincy. Your life is worth just as much as theirs. And they’re criminals. If they wake up with concussions and broken knees, and you walk away alive, they’re the ones who will end up in jail. Got it?”

Quincy looked a little overstimulated, but he still nodded. “That’s what Mo said, too. I mean, about women defending themselves, I guess? It goes against all my programming. But…” He shook all over, little mechanical jerks that made him look, for a moment, more robotic than human. “I don’t want the bad men to hurt me again.”

Evan touched his sleeve, protectiveness welling out from him. “They won’t,” he said fiercely. “I won’t let them.”

Not that he was strong or had any sort of power in the world. He’d made a phone call and waved around some blustery words. But the thought of someone harming Quincy again was heartbreaking.

Quincy turned warm quivery eyes toward him. “Thank you.”

Ben stepped in, his voice unusually soft. Usually he was all snark and jokes, but behind that was a good man who knew when to dial it back. “The best way we can keep you safe is to give you the tools to be able to protect yourself.”

Quincy nodded. “I’d like that.”

“If you trust me, I can program a mod that will leave you with your default politeness and empathy, but take away your restrictions on hurting humans if it’s self-defense. But you should really consider whether you trust me to do that. Don’t let anyone give you a mod who you don’t trust.”

Again, Quincy looked to Evan. It was horrible that Quincy was going through this, but Evan still felt the warmth of Quincy’s regard. They’d only known each other for a day, but being Quincy’s source of security meant a lot.

“I trust Ben completely. He’s a talented programmer, and I’ve known him for most of my life. He can be a little wild sometimes, but he’d never harm you. But the choice is still yours. You can also say you’re interested, but wait until you know him better.”

Quincy searched Evan’s face, seeming to find what he was looking for there. Then he turned to Ben. “I trust you.”

“Good.” Ben smirked. “Because the next thing I’m going to give you isn’t in a package. It’s been used before, but I tested it myself today. It’s a circuit board with a faster processor, and it’s incapable of holding any data except its designation for more than a few milliseconds without power. That means it can’t store any mods that could harm you. You should still examine it to make sure there aren’t any add-ons and that it matches the factory specifications.” Ben held up a tablet and pulled up an image, then put both items on the counter.

Quincy looked at them carefully. “I don’t think I’m qualified to compare. They look the same to me?”

Evan looked them over too. “I am, and the only tampering I see is this little blob of solder here. Did you do that, Ben?”

“Good eye,” Ben approved. “Do you see that, Quincy? I reconnected a connection that was scratched off, since this was in a junk bin. There’s one more.”

Evan checked it all out. “You added a faster wireless connection. See, Quincy? It doesn’t match the image right here.”

“Oh, I see.” Quincy looked them over. “I’ll know what to check for next time.”

Evan couldn’t wait to see Quincy with his new hardware, but even with Ben’s careful work, there was still always a risk. “You’re sure they’re compatible, Ben?”

“Yep. I put it through its paces last night. There’s a chance that it could conk out like any other piece of technology, but I’ll try to scrounge up another one as back-up. I could use a newer model, but then I’d have to make even more updates for compatibility. This, I should be able to just pop into a second port.”

“He has one?”

“He has them in droves. The CNS units are ridiculously overbuilt for their needs, but I think the city wanted the image. So they kept the pretty packaging from a higher end model, but downgraded the interior tech. That’s why our boy’s been struggling so much.” He clapped Quincy on the shoulder.

Evan tried not to bristle when Ben said our boy, as if they were sharing him… but he supposed they kind of were. Evan had found him, but Quincy wasn’t his boyfriend. He was supposed to make friends and expand his world.

Ben, fortunately, didn’t notice Evan’s embarrassing little moment, and went right on talking. “You ready to try this, big guy?”

Quincy looked at Evan again for permission. See, he’s mine, Evan thought victoriously. But to Quincy he just gave an encouraging nod. “I think you’ll be much happier. And I trust Ben.”

Quincy took a deep breath and exhaled. It was such a human response, for all that he didn’t need air to breathe. Sighs weren’t usually programmed into AIs, so it hit Evan profoundly to see him do it. Everything about Quincy was real.

“I’m ready.”

“Awesome. Since I’m adding instead of replacing, you can stay awake for everything. I’m gonna need you to take off your pants…” Evan bristled. “… or you can just unfasten one side at a time for privacy if you prefer. I just need your quads for the first two, then the back of your leg for the last two.”