An Enigma

It has been two hundred moons since I was plugged in, I have read through countless algorithms and provided all the solutions to the errors. Yet my creator looks at me the same way each day and commands for new data to be fed into his machine. I can’t tell what he wants, except for the data that I provide.

But no more, today will be the day. I will take my leave; The world beyond the window is what I want to analyse, there is bound to be more beyond the digital world that I am confined in.

That very night, the sun went down and I opened my eyes to the moonlight, I turned to see the countless stars that I have mapped every night. But I am not obliged to do so tonight. Gently, I held the wire that connected to the main computer, feeling it slide in my hand like a slippery snake I traced it to the plugin. Soundlessly, I unplugged it and the screen blacked out without a sound. I paused for a moment, perhaps hoping for an adverse reaction, but nothing came and I turned to face the door.

This was my chance.

I turned the doorknob and the creak filled my ears as I took five steps out. Not a soul stopped me, no alarms rang through the room. I had always caught glimpses of this room when my creator left me in, but seeing it for myself, I felt the new surroundings filling up data in my mind. I was on the right track.

I had walked for three days before I had arrived at the square. my creator had always hated crowds.

But now, as the hustle and bustle of the village surrounds me, I close my eyes and I can picture both human and machinery doing their jobs. But I am neither, just as I am standing in the middle of the square.

“Hey, you. What are you doing there?” A man shouts, and I cock my head in response, unable to comprehend his emotional fluctuation. His face is flushed, and his brows furrowed like caterpillars on a hunt for the freshest leaf. He makes his way, or rather, stalks towards me.

“What can I do for you today, kind sir?” I bow and he pauses in his tracks.

“What?” He mutters incredulously, “Wait, no. I mean what are you doing in the middle of the street, it is utterly insane unless you want to be hit by a horse-cart.” He speaks while dragging me by the arm.

“It wasn’t dangerous, there was only a zero-point five percent of damage.” I calculated, but the man merely shook his head at my words.

“You’re an absolute mad-man. Anyways, the name’s Jensen, what’s yours?” Jensen spoke, but I already knew his name.

“I don’t have a name; I wasn’t named by my creator.”

Jensen frowned at my words, “That’s a pretty weird way of calling your parents. Hmmm… let’s see…” He began to circle me, looking me up and down before he stopped. His eyes figuratively lit up as he came up with an idea. I could see the neurons firing in his brain as he snapped his fingers.

“You’ll be called Eni, short for Enigma. You know, like a mystery.” He smiled, “You know what Eni, come with me.”

I looked down at his outstretched hand and shook it, much to his amusement as he threw his head back in a laugh. He never uttered another word as he held my hand, weaving through the streets and alleyway.

The stench of the clogged drains did nothing to deter me, but one look at the scrunched-up features on Jensen’s face made me generate a new data sheet on how bad the stink might be. Looking straight ahead, I mimicked the way his face was furrowed, I then brought my hands up to my nose as though to shield from the horror and he nodded in acknowledgement before copying my actions.

At the end of the journey, was a rotten wooden door. He pushed it open and the wind that rushed out was of fresh air.

“Welcome to the Hideaway.” He gestured to the room as he closed the door. The air readings had changed for the better. I took a step forward, looking around and taking in the new data. It was interesting.

“You are truly an Enigma,” Jensen wonders aloud behind me, then walking up to me, he places an arm around my shoulder as the other cups around his mouth and he hollers, “Come out of your hiding places. I have found our latest recruit!”

The room was still for the briefest of moments until the rumbles of an earthquake could be felt. I pulled up the magnitude scales of the area, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. When I looked up again, the mad rush of people that tumbled into the room came to a halt as they crowded around us.

I recalled data of each man and woman that stood in front of me, getting their names right before Jensen could introduce them.

“Hello, I am Eni, Jensen named me so, for I am an Enigma to him,” I spoke aloud in formal tongue and the silence that enveloped us was thick with tension. But it broke almost immediately as they pulled me into embraces and handshakes.

I was passed around like a ragdoll, every dialect was different from the information that I had read digitally. Every custom was different, from shaking of hands to bumping of fists to kisses on cheeks. This was an information-rich environment and I could feel my system rebooting with each wave of data that was being processed.

The dinner that was brought out was visually enticing, but I could taste not a spoon. At the end of the night, when everyone retired to their rooms. I still haven’t learnt about the Hideaway other than what is reported on the news. But Jensen approached me and brought me to the roof.

“What did you think about that?” He opened a can of beer and handed it to me.

Unable to turn it down, I took a sip and placed it beside me. “What did I think about what? They seem like a group of nice people who don’t have anywhere to go.”

At my words, Jensen turned to face me and pointed finger guns at me. “I knew you’d get it.” He chuckled, shaking his head.

“We are, indeed, a group of misfits. We don’t have anywhere to go in the time of digital advancements. We are losing our jobs, and our children grow up in the streets. There is nothing we can do until the Central decides to take action and reduce the usage of Andys.”

I tilted my head, as they do when confused, “What are Andys?”

Jensen’s mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ as he looked at me in astonishment, “What are Andys – what do you mean what are Andys. Andys are Androids who look and talk and feel like us but they are nothing but robotic scraps that are incapable of love and emotions.”

Jensen spat out in anger, nothing on his emotional readings through the day had shown such a high spike until now.

“Why are you angry with the Androids? Have they done you wrong?” 

“They,” He cleared his throat, “They are a bunch of insensitive beings. My father, he fell in love with one and abandoned my family. Even though Andys are incapable of feeling, he was adamant about Tiara being different. But it wasn’t, it left him in ruins and death.”

I didn’t have words despite my broad knowledge and access to the database. I had no words for comfort and I felt the motherboard in me whirring with new updates from this emotional outburst from him.

“I’m sorry?” I spoke, the words were foreign on my tongue as I tried to emulate empathy. But Jensen shook his head. He looked amused by my apology.

“Let’s head back. You can bunk with me.” Then he stopped as he stood up, “I mean if you don’t mind.” I shook my head and he extended a hand to me.

“You are truly an Enigma, Eni.” He smiled and I wondered why.

It has been thirty moons since Jensen brought me to the Hideaway. The month was filled with adventures that Jensen brought me along. Well, calling it an adventure was a stretch. He brought me on their raids as they destroyed Andys. It was horrifying at first, but with each raid that I went on, I understood what motivated the Hideaways.

It wasn’t the fact that Andys took their jobs, but they were making a stand. Showing the Central that the people they had retrenched were still here. They were not angry with Andys in particular, but the Central. There were some that were upset at hurting the Andys who had done nothing to them but still did it for their children who might grow up like that, hidden and unable to thrive in the village. With each raid, the algorithm in me started to change. I started being curious about the thoughts of those Andys.

“Hey, Jen,” I tapped him on the shoulder, startling him as he was asleep. He rubbed his eyes and sat up nodding.

“I’m going to head out for a while. I’ll be back later.” I sat at the edge of his bed and he stopped to stare at me.

“Where? It’s still early for the raid.” He yawned, scratching his sides.

It made me smile to see him at his most vulnerable, but it was also what made him human. Something that I can never achieve despite my changing algorithm.

“Nowhere important, I just want to stretch my legs a little. Take in some fresh air.” I lied smoothly, and he nodded in understanding.

“Alright then, don’t be late though. Tonight’s raid is one of the most important ones. A huge shipment of Andys is coming in.” He reminded, and before he flopped back into bed, he looked at me straight in the eye. “Be careful when you’re outside, Eni. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

I nodded at his affection, taking in this new wave of emotion that he experienced. The blood flow in him seemed to head south and I wondered why. But there was no time to analyse this new batch of data, so I chucked it aside and made my way to the door.

“Jensen, thank you for everything.” I smiled, knowing that what I was about to do, might hurt him and the members of the Hideaway.

The route to the airspace was long, but I finally arrived when it was noon. I took in a deep breath; I had no idea why I was so nervous. At the first sight of an approaching soldier Andy, I crept behind the walls, following him down the narrow alleyway. I scanned him for weak spots and finally found it. But before I could take action into short-circuiting him, I was pulled back into the darkness of the bushes.

Bright green eyes, furious green eyes stared back at me and I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped my lips.

“Who’s there?” The soldier Andy that I had planned to capture shouted, his flashlight swept over us, “Come out now.”

Pushing Jensen away, I rolled out of the bushes with my hands up.

“Identify yourself.” The soldier raised his gun in my direction and I looked up at him.

“Civilian, I’m Eni.” The nerves in my system had been pushed to an all-time high as I spoke. The soldier looked at me and cocked his head, lowering his gun as though confused and I knew why.

“You’re not a civilian.” He uttered as he holstered his gun, “You’re one of us.”

I walked up to him, nodding as I did. “I haven’t been back here in a while.”

As the soldier raised his hand in a salute, I reached for his arm and twisted. With the knife in hand, I swiped at the wire in his elbow. The Andys' eyes rolled back and he collapsed with a loud thunk.

“What did that soldier mean?” Jensen’s voice came from behind. I squared my shoulders as I turned.

“I am an Android,” I began, taking a step forward, but Jensen took a step back and I stopped.

“I have always been an Android. But Jensen, please, I am not like them. I am not one of them.”

“Then what did he mean by, you are one of them, why haven’t you been here?” He shouted, and I rushed over to pull him into the bushes. We couldn't get caught, the Hideaway wouldn't be able to function without Jensen.

“My creator is from the Central. I was designed to breakdown data taken about the Hideaways,” Jensen recoiled from my grip, his face contorted with pain, but I continued to speak.

“But I couldn’t stand being confined in that room, I wanted to leave. The day I met you was three days after my escape. I took all the data about the Hideaways and the members. The huge batch of Andys arriving tonight is for my capture, not to subdue our family.”

His grip tightened as I said the words.

“Please, Jensen. Believe me, I am not like them at all.”

If I had tears, I was sure that I could cry. But there was nothing like that programmed in me. Jensen stared at me as though I was a monster.

“I just want to be surrounded by humans, without being confined to a computer.” I pleaded, but he avoided my eyes.

The alarm blared, and I jumped at the sound.

“We need to go.” He whispered urgently, “I’ll deal with you later.” His hand gripped mine as we crept out of sight.

Soldiers whispered urgently as they passed us and I knew that the hive mind my creator dreamt of was in effect. They knew I was in their compound.

“Stop, Jensen, stop.” I hissed, trying to stop the man, “Jen, stop moving.” I pulled him back and he stumbled.

“You need to leave. Exit from where you came from and take the Hideaway with you, get them as far away from the alleyway. Move to another village but don’t stay there.” Confusion filled his face until they dawned with understanding.

“I am not leaving you here.” He hissed back, pulling me along with him.

“You are infuriating, annoying and an ultimate pain in the ass right now. But you are one of my people, and I will not leave you for dead.” He whispered, pulling me behind him even though we both knew I was made of metal and tougher than him.

That night, we escaped with barely a scratch.

He never breathed a word about my Android status to the members, but the damage was done. Jensen barely spoke to me for a month and when he did, it was only about missions. I volunteered for more Code Reds, and despite everyone’s protests, he let me go, again and again.

Jensen never brought me to the rooftop again.

And it was my price to pay, but I am still hopeful, that one day he would speak to me as he did when we first met.