The Unspoken Lie or Lies? (Part 3)

(Hey Guys! Make sure you’ve read part 1 and part 2 of this: The Green Darkness and The Dark Secret before this. Happy reading!)

“We’re heading towards the institute?” Ad asked unable to believe what he just heard. It was as if his tongue rolled out these words that the brain had no idea about.

“Yes. Boss is calling. He wants a physical proof that you are alive. Marissa is playing the audio recording of what happened when you went to Joker’s Lab but I don’t think that’ll saturate him.”

The sky was a sapphire blue here, most of the times.

They passed through knots of drab streets. After a long walk and tired legs, in front of them was a store, aloof from the rest. Maria went in, Ad followed. As soon as they entered in, There was another door, bolted. 

Maria took out a device that seemed like a sensor and aimed it towards the lock. The door got unlocked. Again there was a door but this one was more like a virtual blockage. In the chest of it was a screen that was encrypted. 

“Will you do the honors or shall I?” Ad’s reverie of comfortable thoughts had broken.

“You proceed Maria.” He said with charm.

They went straight in, through the hallway and into the last room of the line. They pushed open the door to meet two people whose mouths hung open. One was a curly hair female that looked similar to Mr.Heckles. The other was a mid-aged adult whose dressing seemed professional, like a Boss.

“See I told you’ll that George is alive!” Maria bubbled. “Boss are you convinced now? And Marissa?”

Boss towards Ad. It was more humorous of an action than intimidating. Boss pinched himself. And when he felt the pain, he touched Ad’s face as if he won a war. He shred fake tears and then stepped back.

“George, the environment feels more mature in your presence thanks.” Marissa said to Ad. 

“It feels great to see you too.” Ad said. 

“How about we all pull a chair and George you tell us all about yesterday?” Boss said.

“That works.” Marissa said. 

“Sure.” Ad said hesitantly.

Ad’s insides were wearing out by fear of not knowing what to say.

They all sat closely and there was pin drop silence.

“So,” He started off and then became blank.

“Go on, go on.” Boss said, catching Maria’s vibe of excitement.

“This is too much of data unorganized. Tell me what exactly you want to know and I’ll say that .”

“So, I heard the audio that happened in the room and inputs of Maria, which I support and appreciate. Tell me, how did it feel to be ‘Joker’. I am talking about ‘Joker’ specifically, not Mr.Cleft.”

Boss sounded stern and authoritative, somehow.

This was an easy go for Ad considering that he was with that man for 3 years and 5 months.

“Honestly, it felt the same. He was as dominating then as much he was in his true version. And it was a very horrific moment when reality twisted and ‘Joker’ appeared.” Ad felt like the last sentence was not said by him.

“How did you escape from death?” Marissa asked, emphasizing ‘death’. This was tricky, a very convoluted one.

He thought about a believable idea. 

“Um, so after he told me to play doctor-doctor,” Ad reminisced that memory with sympathetic pain and guilt as he was forced to contaminate it, “he flung a needle, it’s his weapon, towards me. But-“ they all waited for the climax to rise. “I dodged it. It was all very dark. But working in coordination with the incidence of light, I threw myself towards the window, scooped through it and, and,” he was looped into his own lie, “and,” he continued…

And suddenly boss’s phone rang. Looking at the number, he quickly picked it up. Ad was spared, he had more time to think.

Maria was tensed as she looked at Boss, and so was Ad. But not Marissa . Her eyes were glued to Ad. Ad noticed that, and swallowed guiltily.

Boss kept the phone, his face now a wilted sunflower. 

“There’s news.” He said dead seriously. Ad was happy he didn’t have to complete the reasoning; it showed on his face. Marissa looked at him and raised her left brow.

“We were right when we thought ‘Joker’ is an international criminal in the world of robotism, but there’s much more to it. It has been proved that he is involved in illegal activity that involves providing confidential information of Earth to aliens, in return for destroying Adaeae.” A part of Ad’s heart just broke hearing that. “These are the maximum details we have. But from this we know that we have to have Adaeae in our custody not his. Joker was emotionally connected to Adaeae.” Ad was breaking down mentally, like humans. “ Where emotion is present, it turns into a weak point. But where betrayal is present, it could be turned into either his vulnerability or our.”

“Not only that, Ad is a victim on which unethical actions are to be implemented, which is non-empathetical and a sin. Plus, having an institute of robotism, we have to safeguard him, as per as laws.”

Maria said.

“Yes.” Ad spoke. “Definitely.” He didn’t know what else to say, especially with an intimidating fake sister eyeing him suspiciously. But deep down in his heart, his respect for Maria had augmented.

“And George,” Boss examined him, “be careful and vigilant. Once it hits Joker’s heart, he will do anything for revenge. Anything.”

“Yes Boss, I will.”

-  -   -   -

“Please excuse me, I have to a visit to make right now.” Maria said.

“Yes, and excuse me too, it’s time I head into my cabinet now.” Boss said.

Maria kissed her husband and left. Ad had forgotten that responsibility.

Now Marisa and Ad were both left alone.

To brush away the awkwardness Ad said, “So sis, how is it going?”

She didn’t acknowledge the question, and instead said “Why are you doing this to Maria, Adaeae?

She could die if she gets to know that her husband is dead and you replaced him!”

This was the worst ice-breaker; it was actually a game-breaker. He could lie, try lying but Marissa would not believe. She just knew it from the beginning.

“It’s not like I’m doing it purposely. It is not oblivious that Joker won’t be coming for Maria next. The only reason why I came is to protect her from Joker, so as to clear debt of Mr. Heckles for saving my life and in turn loosing his.” 

‘And to discover the reason between the weird connect between Maria and me.’

She was stunned after Ad told her the whole story of what happened yesterday. 

They promised not to tell this to anyone.

The sky was sapphire with a whirl of black, which means it was nighttime.

 Ad and Maria slept in the same room, of course. Ad released that the institute was pretty dense. There were 3 well inter-distanced floors and multiple rooms and pathways.

As Ad cascaded to sleep, he thought how his life had turned in just one day. He was, out of nowhere, indulged in a series of dilemma. But to begin with, the whole matter started off by him becoming self-aware. But that was not in his hands, So was he the one to blame? He thought.

The sky is sapphire with puffs of white.

Ad goes out at the entrance. He wasn’t sure whether he was thinking about re-changing himself or it was just to take in fresh air, now that he was partly human.

He saw 2 figures walking up to him. It was Alfred and the girl. 

“Hey! Buddy, I have news.” Alfred said.

“Hi. What a pleasant surprise you guys!”

“Yesterday, when I told you, to become a robot your heart will be taken out, I was wrong about everyone but you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Juliana, she works in the change machine’s backstage and has records of everyone and every action. So she told me that it was very unusual but true that your heart, only and only your heart was not taken out.”

A sign of relief washed Ad. 

“Oh thank god! Thank you, thank you guys. Is this connected to feeling a connect with Maria. Oh sorry. Sorry guys this is way offbeat for you’ll right now . Actually there’s a lot to tell you’ll in a short time. Including some confessions.” He looked at Alfred. “I wished there were some guest rooms here, so that we could talk properly and you both get a roof.”

Abruptly, Marissa appeared in front of him, “Guest-rooms could be provided.”

“Marissa, thank you!”

“Take the first left after you open the door, climb the staircase and then pounce in the first room. Physical and virtual locks are open, so you can go in without inconvenience.”

“Thank you.” They said. She smiled.

“I’ll steal your buddy for a while.” They proceeded inside.

Left alone were Marissa and Ad. It felt like déjà vu.

“What did you say, ‘feel a connect with Maria’?” 

“I didn’t mean it in that sense. I don’t know why, but I just feel a connection between both of us. I am not lying. But why are you following me?”

She didn’t speak for a while.

“C’mon with me.”

“Where?”

“To the lab.”

“Why?”

“There’s something I have to check.”

They went upstairs to the small laboratory. As they both entered, Marissa locked it. 

“What are you doing.” Ad asked.

“Lay on this bed.” She simply said.

“What?”

“Just lay down.”

He did lay down but feeling terribly awkward. 

“Relax. I won’t harm you. Let me just do what I’m doing.”

She pulled his t-shirt up till the belly ended. Ad didn’t get a good feeling about what was happening.

Marissa grabbed a wine shaped bottle from the ‘tool cupboard’, took out some transparent liquid and rubbed it on his belly.

“Ouch, it’s cold, what is it?”

“Yeah a bit. Nothing, just a transparency gel.”

That sounded wrong to him. The transparency part.

“Excuse me?” He said.

She didn’t have to answer him, he found the answer himself. His skin diffused in the air; Marissa caught it in a jar. All that was remaining in his belly was machinery. 

“Marissa this is becoming too much now. I need to know why are you dissecting me.”

“To analyze the purity of your heart. And, technically its diffusion not dissection.”

“But why do you want to check how pure my heart is. Oh that is still far, why are you opening my belly to take out my heart and not my chest?”

“Because you’re not my real brother and I’m otherwise uninterested.” She answered wittily.

He understood her indirect sense of saying it.

Through some stainless steel tools, that he couldn’t see, he felt them making way through his abdomen. Finally it stopped at the chest. A tweezer, he guessed, was put in to take out his precious heart.

She took out the gem heart and placed it in a beaker.

“Yes, you may leave.” She looked at Ad and said.

“Excuse me, what is this? You call me for a reason I do not know, take out my heart and tell me to leave!”

“Trust me, for once. I need the heart for medically examining purposes. Come back here after 12 hours, I’ll put it back in. You can last without a heart for 24 hours, relax.”

“Okay okay.”

Ad left the room only to bump into Maria. 

“What are you doing George, I’ve been searching you since morning.”

“Just moving here and there. My friends came here, and are now living in the guest-room till I’m here. I mean for a couple of days. Is that ok with you?”

“Oh yes, they seem pretty nice. I already met them.”

“Oh you did?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I think, I have to meet them too.”

“Yes come, we ll go.” Ad didn’t expect a we, but how could he deny her wife.

The 4 of them talked. First they got introduced and then Maria told Alfred and Juliana about the people of this institute and their connection to Mr.George Heckles and her.

It was fun, but Ad couldn’t convey the important talks to his friends, not in front of Maria. She would shatter.

After 12 hours

“On time.” Marissa had changed her clothes.

“Yes. So what did you find in your medical examination?”

“Close the door, I’ll tell you.”

“Not again. Tell me directly, just tell me.” Ad got excessively annoyed, again a humane human emotion.

“Fine. So as I partially suspected, the reason why you look like George and not your friend is because you have a pint of my brother’s DNA in your blood. This is why this unpredicted result was produced. The DNA is the reason why you look like George, can think like him at some rare times and also why you feel a connect towards Maria.”

“Oh god, who knew one small action can carve such complex days?” He though about how he preserved the blood-stained shoelaces of Mr.Heckles on his heart and actions that had followed.

“By the way, are you done with the examination?”

“Yes totally. Thank you for your patience.” Ad coughed on that. 

Then Ad lied down again and Marissa inserted his heart.

It was 7 pm when Boss had called the three of them for a meetup.

“News is that Adaeae, the self-aware robot is not in the custody of Joker. He has escaped.” Boss said. “We have to find him before he does, for all reasons that we have discussed before.”

“No need Boss, we have already found him, since 2 days.” It was Maria who spoke, unexpectedly.

“He’s right here, with us.” She pointed towards Ad. “There.”

Ad and Marissa both were shocked. Marissa softly swore to Ad, gesturing she didn’t give it away.

“What are you saying?” Boss said.

“Yes it is true. He is not George. He is the self- aware robot who changed himself into an Android.”

Boss was also shocked, but differently.

“Wow, he found him without even searching.” He said extra happily. After looking at Maria’s morose face, he changed his wordings and expressions. “How dare you do this self aware cheater robot?”

“No don’t blame, he’s already been unnecessarily blamed enough; it’s not his fault.” Maria said. “He is here to help us not hurt. He gave me many hints, but I was the one who though George couldn’t die, and didn’t observe them.”

She looked at Ad’s puzzled face and said, “I could feel a personality change in you a couple of hours ago. And of course that was because your heart, that had DNA of George was taken out for sometime.” His face became more puzzled. 

She said, “Yes, I heard the conversation when you put back your heart. I was dubious but that talk confirmed it.”

“I’m sorry for all that you had to go through because of me.” Ad said.

“It’s alright Ad!” She said with the same amount of love and trust.

“Now whatever we’ll do, we’ll do it together. Ad will play the role of George and the self-aware robot both together.” Boss said.

“Yes, he will and so will we all annihilate the Joker.” Marissa said.

“Can I be a part of this too?” Alfred said, emerging suddenly. “The Joker has troubled me too.”

“Yes you definitely can.” Marissa said.

Juliana tagged in with Alfred. 

Ad was shocked hearing that by Alfred.

‘You might be doing this for revenge, ex-master, but I will do this for sake of true friendship.’ Ad promised.