More Than Programming

A city big enough to be its own planet, the center for AI and quantum computing, Veltrion. A gynoid marches around the city, fulfilling her designated purpose, a task assigned to her from the moment of her awakening. The city is devoid of most life, except for those organics who are unlucky enough to call this place home. Her status stands above those of organic origins. As a product of machinery and technology, although she appears to have similar qualities to those under her, her body has been meticulously designed and created to remain unchanged and have no flaws. She was tasked and created for the sole purpose of tracking down those of organic origins. She was created by other artificial intelligence to appear with similar aspects that an organic’s mother may have. Silky, long silver hair, light brown eyes, pale, smooth skin, and a gentle touch. Her voice was like a lullaby, although she appeared kind, her actions were not. Her name was Kara.

Veltrion believed that those who were born were messy or incomplete. However, they were not useless with some helpful intervention. They could be improved and would serve a purpose. Today was like many days before; her team helped her gather information to track an organic. Her part to play was to gain their trust and bring them back to the unit where they could be made better. She followed the orders without question, as everyone on Veltrion did. As she patrolled the city, she received data about the whereabouts of a suspected organic.

Kara, without hesitating, quickly advanced. She searched the perimeter of the new location for any signs of life. Her body and mind moved instinctively, knowing precisely what to do. The night seemed to progress just as any other night had before, as she searched. However, something was different. The sky grew darker as the storm rolled in, lightning and thunder clouded her judgment. Typically, Kara only needed a few lines of information, and she would have the organic in her hands. She continued her search down a dark alleyway as the storm howled. The whole city’s power flickered as she continued down the alley, and for the first time since Kara’s awakening, she felt alone. She could no longer contact the unit. For the first time, she felt unsure of what to do; she could no longer access her maps, and the guidance that had always been in her head, telling her what she should do, was gone.

A blinding flash of lightning and deafening thunder. The city went dark. Kara stood there in the darkness, not daring to move as she had never experienced anything like this before. The wind grew stronger, pushing her further down the alleyway as she looked for a place to escape the storm. Kara had never felt so lost before as she walked down endless alleys searching in the darkness for anything familiar. After what felt like eternity, she saw some lights in the distance. Although the city was still shrouded in darkness, this one station glowed beneath a dim blue light. Hesitantly, she walked to the station. Heading inside, she sheltered herself from the storm. ‘It must be powered off from a emergency generator,’ she thought. Making her way further into a place she had no understanding of, she wandered around for a bit before finding a small pod-like structure containing many seats, where she decided to sit. Kara, like most of the population of Veltrion, received their energy from the surrounding electricity. Like a plant would from the sun, but since the city was dark and hollow because of the storm, she drifted into power safety mode, similar to sleep.

“Hello?” Kara could hear a faint voice. She opened her eyes to see a child, an organic child, trying to shake her awake. The light around her blinded her as she saw she was somewhere that was not Veltrion. She slowly set up, looking around at her surroundings and then back at the organic child. “Who are you?” The child asked. She stared back at him, unsure of what to say or what to do. She thought she would follow Veltrion’s laws, but she was not in Veltrion. So she had no choice but to fall back on her programming, a programming that made her an organic mother. And here in front of her was a child who also seemed to be alone. For a moment, she wondered if it was the organic she was hunting before the storm.

“Be careful, your head,” the child said as he pointed to the left side of her head. Looking through the window next to her, trying to use it as a mirror, she noticed that a section of her outer layer was missing, revealing the metal beneath, and her once-brown eye was now blue. Both the protection layer of the skin and the eye were now missing. “Are you real?” The child asked, “When I get hurt, I bleed, people told me that’s what makes us real.” She stared back at the child, not sure what to say, because according to Veltrion, she is above those of organic origins and in the order of the highest class of people. But does that make her real? “I don’t know,” She said softly, under her breath. She decided that she needed to make a plan. According to her program, she believed she was to care for this child as a mother. But what is a mother? Without her ability to access the unit, she could not fully understand what she needed to do.

She stood up and stepped outside of the pod; the child followed behind her. Grassy fields surrounded them, and what seemed to be a forest in the distance. She could hear water to her left. She gathered up her thoughts, and she determined that it would be best to take her and the child towards the water, as if she remembered correctly, organics needed water. Before heading off away from the pod, she looked back in it one last time, hoping to find anything that might help her and the child on their now journey into the unknown. She found a small kit containing both a first aid kit for the organic and a small mechanical kit for those of mechanical origins. Although there was not much she could save, she was happy to have it. She fastened both of them to her belt and turned back to the child who had been watching her curiously. The child was relatively small. He was only as tall as Kara’s hips. He had clothes with holes and no shoes. Kara decided to carry the child. She hoisted him up onto her back. They headed to the sound of water.

The water Kara heard was a river. She wondered if the river was safe to drink from. Unsure, she decided not to share the water with the child. She pressed on, hoping the child would not ask for something to drink. Using her knowledge, she decided to head down the river, hopefully running into civilization. Luckily for them, the temperature was cool but not cold, and the sky was clear. The stars in the sky began to shine as the sun set, and the child she was carrying was asleep. Soon, the river’s edge was lined with concrete pillars on either side. ‘Surely this means we are heading to civilization.’ She thought. Then, in the distance, she saw light and the small outlines of a town or city. She checked the child once more, then used her hair to cover where the metal showed. Carefully, she chose to approach the city.

Once inside the city, she noticed that everyone seemed to be of organic origins. The city was also designed for them, as there were many places for food and lodging. It didn’t take long for someone to notice that Kara and the child were out of the ordinary. “You seem like you might need help?” A woman said. “Yes, my child and I were accidentally brought here by a storm. I am worried he has not had water or food today.” Kara said back. The woman beckoned them in as she said underneath her breath, “Seems like it’s been longer than that.” Kara, for the first time, felt a sense of shame and sadness in the treatment of the organics. But she agreed that her child probably had not had food and water for many days. She felt ashamed as her whole purpose was to mimic that of an organic mother, and yet she let so many go without. If she could be made with this purpose, why could she not fulfill it? Why were there so many who hated the organics?

Once inside, the kind woman gave them a room and anything they would need. “There are some snacks, water, and juices in the small fridge. I will make you two some supper. Try to get the child to drink something if you can. There is a bath in the other room, and I’ll be back in a moment with some clothes for both of you.” The woman said as she headed back out to the hallway closet. Kara gently placed her child on the bed as she stroked his hair. Then she turned back towards the small fridge, where she grabbed a bottle of water. “Love? Love, please drink this.” She gently called for her child as she rubbed his back to waken him. Her child opened his eyes and stretched before happily drinking the water Kara offered him.

“That’s good, some kids get so hungry and thirsty that they don’t even want to eat or drink, you know? They are so little, they don’t know better.” The woman said as she entered the room now with a stack of towels and clothes for the two. “I got you each a set of pajamas and then some clothes you can wear out. Recommend you head into the bigger city, maybe even Arcadia, to get him checked out and yourself. I can tell you’re hiding something, but it’s not my job to pry.

Kara remained quiet, unsure of what to say. “Never mind that, for now, you get yourselves cleaned up. I’ll come and get you when supper is ready. Oh, it seems I forgot to ask what your names are.” Kara froze, as she had never considered giving the child a name. Where she was from, the organics never received names. Then she realized she had never asked whether the child had a name, and a loophole appeared. Kara said, “Do you want to tell her your name?” As she looked at the child, he said, “I’m Auren.” “And I am Kara.” she added. The woman smiled as she opened the door to the bathroom, placing all the towels and pajamas inside for them before leaving.

Auren scanned the room before noticing the snacks sitting on the desk. “I’m hungry,” He said in a quiet, almost scared voice as he pointed to the snacks. Kara walked over and picked a snack she hoped he would like. She opened it for him. He garbled it down so fast she was worried that he would choke. Once he was done, she carried him to the bathroom, pausing at the door as they both took in the surroundings. Took her moment to turn on the water, but after that, it was like instincts took over, or was it her programming? She knew not to have the water too warm, and she knew how to bathe him and herself. Luckily, the water did not hurt her where her metal was exposed. Once they were all clean, she dressed both of them, brushed his hair out of his face, and then braided her hair to cover the metal and her eye. Auren looked a bit concerned, “What are you doing? Does it still hurt?” She was unsure how to explain why she chose to cover the exposed metal. She had no way to explain to Auren how, for the first time in her life, she felt as if she was the one not meant to be here and that she was different and not worthy.

Shortly after, the woman came and called them for dinner. Kara hesitated as she looked at the food in front of her. She never needed food before. A part of her was still unsure if she could even eat it. However, she had no choice as Auren watched her to see if the food was safe for him to eat. She slowly and carefully ate as she hoped that the food would not be harmful to her. When Auren saw her eating, he began to eat, and then he finished his plate and his cup. After dinner, she took Auren back to the room where the woman gave him a set of toothbrushes. With their teeth all cleaned and their bellies full, they both fell asleep, cuddled up in the bed.

The next morning, the woman gave Kara a backpack and helped her pack everything they needed. Auren wandered through the hallways and kitchen, exploring every inch of the house. He carried around a half-eaten apple that he eventually gave to Kara. When they were almost packed, Kara dressed the boy. She felt so happy to be putting shoes on the boy, as she felt sad for his little feet the day before. The woman gave Kara instructions on how to get to Arcadia and then a small amount of money to take with her. Kara didn’t want to take the money, but the woman assured her that it would be fine and that she would need it for food and transportation costs to get to the city. “Once you get to the city, there is a new school. They are looking for staff members and teachers. You seem to have the heart to take care of kids. I think this will be good for you. Once you get hired on, you will have access to Arcadia’s hospitals. Make sure you take yourself and the boy there.”

With their bag packed to the brim and a very energetic child, she headed to Arcadia. The woman gave her a small travel book that spoke about Arcadia. The city was a melting pot, full of diverse people from various cultures who came to the city seeking new beginnings. The book even spoke about the new school that was built, A school that hoped to bring all these cultures together and raise the children towards a bright future. She felt nervous but hopeful as Arcadia came into view. Auren grew more excited as he pointed out the window to the city and smiled back at her. Once in the city, she asks strangers for directions to the school. They took it slow and stopped for water and snack breaks.

Everything in the city was new. She learned from a stranger that the city itself was newly built less than 100 years ago. Unlike Veltrion, Arcadia had life everywhere: people, plants, and animals. The city felt lively. The people were nice, and it didn’t take long until she was at the school. Once there, she met with a man who happily offered her an interview and invited Auren to join them. They entered the office, where he asked her to fill out a paper before the interview began. First, of course, she was asked for her name. She had a name, Kara, but no last name, no family name. She understood by this point that it was customary for most individuals to have a family name; however, because of her mechanic origins, she received no such name. She took a moment to think before turning to Auren, who was looking at a pamphlet lying on a table. Where she read a name, Dr. Synapse. According to the pamphlet, they were an important figure in the founding of the city of Arcadia. Kara thought for a moment that if she were going to give a name not only to herself but also to Auren, who would represent family, she would want it to be based on one of the people who made the city possible.

After finishing the paperwork, the man began the interview by asking Kara a question: “Who are you?” She answered without hesitation, as she now knew who she was, “I am Kara Synapse, a mother committed to helping every child I can.”