The Bargain

When Cassio came back, the smell of burnt metal greeted him as he opened the door. The scene before him was Sylk sitting over Amir and she was holding a small blowtorch device usually reserved for lighting candles in one hand, and a tin can in the other. They were both on the floor, but Amir was lying down on his back and shirtless.

“What’s happening?” Cassio asked slowly.

“DIY android fixing!” Sylk answered happily. She had changed into a pair of orange overalls with a cropped black shirt. Her bright pink hair was tied up into a bun, away from her face.

“You’re going to literally burn the apartment down,” Cassio said with a frown.

“Hello Cassio, how was your outing?” The android asked joyfully.

Cassio ignored the android and went to sit on the couch to watch the mess unfold. He noticed that the synthetic skin on the robot’s face had already been sewn together, courtesy of Sylk.

Sylk saw him looking at Amir’s face and explained, “The synthetic fiber tech they’re using on robots these days is super advanced. When you sew it together it’ll eventually heal back together just like a human cut would,” She turned on the torch and pointed it to the tin can, “The main problem now is with the metal parts. His stomach was stabbed into and some of the innerworkings was ruined. No idea how to fix that, but it seems that it was just connected to Amir's soul sensors, so nothing important. There’s a lot of other important technology in a robot’s stomach though, because the torso can hold the biggest portion of programming and data. It’s like stabbing into someone’s brain. Amir was lucky that only his sensors got ruined.”

“How do you know if it was just his sensors? If some of his data was wiped or messed up, then he wouldn’t be able to tell, right?”

Sylk shrugged while hot metal from the tin can dripped onto Amir’s belly.

“You’re trying to solder him close?” Cassio asked.

“Yeah, like cauterizing a wound. I feel like a doctor right now,” Sylk answered with a mischievous smile.

Amir’s face began to twitch. “I think- I think- I think-” He began to say, repeating like a broken record, one of his eyes blinking in time to his words.

Sylk pulled the tin can away from him quickly. “I think you’re melting some wiring, please be careful,” Amir breathed out a sigh. Could robots sigh? Cassio suspiciously peered at him.

She leaned back forward with the tin can, this time melting it more carefully and pausing at moments to let the metal cool down on his body before adding another layer. In the end, the hole ended up closed, but the finish was bumpy and discolored from the rest of him.

“Not too shabby,” Sylk sighed. She was sweating, and her hands were shaky from trying to be so careful.

Amir slowly sat up, and he looked at Sylk with a bright smile. “Thank you, Sylk!” She smiled back at him.

“Why go through all of this effort for an android that we’re not keeping around for long?” Cassio asked her. She huffed.

“If you wanted to sell him or kick him out, you would’ve done it by now.”

“Maybe not yesterday, but today I found out new information that might change my mind on keeping him.” Cassio opened his phone, connected it to his displayer, and then pulled up the wanted sign of Amir. It floated in the air in the middle of the apartment, a hologram of the post.

Sylk read through it quickly, and Cassio saw her face shape into surprise as she processed the information. Amir read it as well, and he seemed just as surprised..

Cassio looked down at him. “Forget the soul thing. You want to keep your secrets, Amir, fine. I’m done pestering you about it. But you’re apparently worth half a million dollars, and I want to know why. Is it the government? Politicians can’t get away with being bad anymore because their souls and intentions are open for everyone to see, but maybe some bad ones slipped through the woodworks. I don’t know. Just tell me. Tell us.”

Amir looked at Sylk, but she pursed her lips. “I’m with Cassio on this one, Amir. We need to know if you’re being looked for because the people who owned you were bad, or if you’re being looked for because you were bad.”

“I’m… I’m not bad. I mean, I’ve done bad things but that doesn’t mean I’m bad, right? I ran away because I needed to be free from the family.”

“So it’s a family?” Sylk leaned forward and reached for Amir’s hands. He groaned and pulled his hands away and leaned his head into his hands. His eyes kept flashing purple. Sylk was looking at him intensely, and Cassio knew that she was staring past his physical form and into the android’s soul.

“Yes, I think… They’re really well off. They live on the upper east side of New York. I don’t remember exactly- exactly- exactly-” His eye began twitching again, blinking mechanically.

“What do you mean you think?” Cassio asked.

“My wiring. The cut must’ve damaged my internal hardware worse than I thought. Some things are coming up blank when I try to recall it. The name Med- Medriago comes to mind. That’s all I can remember from before a week ago. I am sorry.”

Sylk winced. He remembered his past easily a few hours ago. This new development must’ve been because of her shoddy soldering job. With her soul seer abilities, she could tell that he wasn’t lying when he said he couldn't much anymore. 

“Oh my god, I think I messed you up worse. I should've just left it alone. I should've called in a professional... I'm sorry, we don't have to talk about this anymore, I think you've said enough."

Cassio put a hand up to stop them from trying to get off the subject. “Enough said? No, I think not. Not nearly enough was said. Why would some well-off family want you back this badly?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know why they’re this obsessed with me.”

Sylk looked at Cassio. “We could find out why they’re obsessed.”

Amir and Cassio both looked at Sylk now. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. “Well, you’re not gonna like it, Cassio, but we do have a connection to the upper east side.”

Cassio stood up as soon as she realized what she meant.

“No, I’m not doing it.”

“You didn’t leave on terms that bad, right? She hasn’t even blocked you. She still follows you on social media and everything.”

“You can’t ask me to rip up the past and tear myself up again over her. You expect me to ask her, what? To invite me to some uppity rich event on her side of town?”

“Well, why not?”

Cassio sucked in the breath through his teeth. He wanted to fight against this and argue with Sylk, but some part of him did actually want to see what she was up to now. Some part of him was wanted to know, even if he knew seeing her again would just break him.

Amir raised his hand. “Friends, I am admittedly lost. I feel that there is some context to this conversation that I am missing.”

“His ex, Mina, lives on that side of town,” Sylk explained.

Amir made a whirring noise, like in surprise and empathy. “I am sorry to hear that. You don’t need to do this, friend Cassio. I am content with not knowing. I just want to lay low until this family loses interest in me.”

Cassio looked at Amir. He really was trying his best to be nice. It was sickening. “There must be some part of your programming that makes you too kind for your own good. Some feature that makes people feel more inclined to help you.”

The robot’s face lit up. “Does this mean you will help me?”

“No, absolutely not.”

Sylk interjected. “Why not, Cassio? It’s not like he eats. Plus, he could help out with household chores and stuff. Honestly, not the worst third roommate.”

“There’s no room in this cramped city apartment.”

“I can sleep standing up,” Amir suggested.

Cassio began pacing around the living room. 

“Well it's my apartment too, and I vote that we keep him. Least I could do after fucking up his wiring,” Sylk said with a smile.

“The vote has to be unanimous for this kind of thing,” Cassio said.

“If it’s not too much trouble, can I also vote to stay here?”

“Your vote doesn’t count, Amir.”

“I will go above and beyond my duties to serve you and help you in return for the help you’ve given me. Please let me stay.”

Cassio groaned and leaned down to grab Sylk’s hand and lead her into the hallway. “Sylk, what do you think? I mean, what’s the verdict?”

“He’s just scared. He doesn’t understand why you’re helping him one minute and threatening him the next. He wants to understand us. Not us, us. But as in, all of humanity. There’s a darkness lurking in him, and whatever that family was doing to him wasn’t good for him.”

“You got all that from a soul read? A soul read from someone that wasn’t supposed to have a soul in the first place?” Cassio forgot just how scary soul seers were. They were more akin to mind and emotion readers if they were good enough at interpreting souls.

Sylk nodded.

“I feel bad for him, Cassio. Plus, I was the one who messed him up. I don't think I can send him back to the streets in good conscience.”

“Well, if that’s what you think, I guess we can help him out. I trust your judgment.”

“But what do you think we should do? Your common sense tells you to kick him out, but there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to, right? Don’t just make me decide this for us and then later say that we only took him in because I wanted to do it. I know you want to as well.”

“I only want to because I need to know how he got that soul. That’s it. If he never tells me, or if we never figure it out, then I’m going to steadily decline in interest.”

Sylk bit her lip, like she wanted to say more, but she just shook her head. “Sure, okay. Is that the deal? He can stay, but only if we find out how he got the soul?”

“And he needs to help us do it. This secret isn’t going to get buried under broken wiring. I need to know for my own sanity.”

“Okay, I think those are fair terms,” Sylk said.

“I agree to the terms,” Amir said at the frame of the hallway. It really was a small, shitty New York apartment. He could hear them even if they tried to lower their voices. Or maybe he was extra-sensory from being a robot.

“You won’t regret helping me, my friend Cassio. I could tell you were a good person from the moment I laid eyes on you!"

Cassio rolled his eyes. 

"And Sylk, thank you for fixing me. I know you think you broke me, but I think this is a better outcome. I feel a bit lighter. I don't think I wanted to remember my old family anyways."

Sylk began to chew on her fingernail. "You think that's a good thing for now, Amir, but it's not. Our memories and experience shape who we are, and I don't want you to lose a part of yourself."