Ch5

Lucian woke to knocking, not the soft, polite chime of the apartment system he had destroyed the night before, actual, insistent knocking on the front door. His body throbbed between the light incident and his rampage, dried blood crusted in small stripes on his hands. The apartment was dark and silent, every smart device smashed and gutted.

He opened the door and a well-dressed woman in her thirties stood in the hallway, smiling with professional warmth. Her uniform bore the not so subtle insignia of the city’s wellness division. “Good morning, Lucian.” She said gently. “We noticed several disconnections in your residence overnight. Perfectly understandable response after witnessing a beloved continuation sustain such traumatic damage, these events can be very distressing.”

Lucian’s stomach twisted into knots. They knew, of course they knew. “He has a name.” Lucian said hoarsely. “It’s Kai.”

The woman’s smile didn’t waver. “Of course. It’s perfectly normal to feel upset when a beloved friend like Kai gets hurt. The restoration team has already completed the majority of the repairs. He should be back to full function very soon, everything will be running as usual again shortly.”

“I don’t want it to run as usual.” Lucian snapped before his expression softened, relizing she was just doing her job. “I don’t want any of this.”

He stepped back, letting her see the destruction. The woman stepped inside without hesitation, her shoes carefully avoiding the debris. She glanced at the old film posters and physical reels that had survived his rampage. “You have quite the collection of vintage media, how charming. The past had its appeal, certainly, but it was also a great deal more violent. People killed each other over nothing, they froze to death in their homes or died from heat without air conditioning. They slowly destroyed their bodies through poor habits, not eating properly, not sleeping, refusing to move. Life was… scary.”

Lucian laughed bitterly, tears stinging his eyes as he heard the same words the city feeds them day in and day out. “And this is better? Why does being safe have to mean people stopped caring about actually living? Famous actors are selling their corpses as statues while their replacements keep performing forever. People clap and bid on dead bodies like they’re buying new furniture. No one’s afraid of death anymore, so no one cherishes life. They just… consume it.”

The wellness nurse tilted her head, looking genuinely confused. “But life is cherished more than ever. No one has to fear an ending, everyone gets to pursue their dreams without the terror of running out of time. Continuations ensure talent and love never truly leave us, just like your friend Kai will be back, better than ever.”

Lucian went silent. He had never known the original human Kai, only this replica. This version built from data and memories up to the moment of death and what was made after. The realization hit him like another falling light, he had been forming his closest friendship with a copy, even though he hadn’t even realized it until recently. He couldn’t just stop being friends with Kai, there was a moment when he wanted to but the plea to help him disconnect went right to his heart. He couldn’t leave a friend in need, robot or not. The emotion, the bond was already there.

His stomach twisted violently and he sank to the floor, head between his knees, surrounded by the wreckage of his small rebellion. Was he just a hypocrite? Denouncing all of this tech and human replacements when his best friend was a replacement of a person? Even if he acted on a real persons memories did it even count? It had to. Lucian insists to himself that because there are real human memories, that had to make Kai more human, there’s no way he could be emotionally attached to an AI programmed to befriend…Right?

The woman crouched beside him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You’re in shock, that’s all. These reactions are common when people confront the realities of preservation. You’ll get the help you need, everything will feel right again soon.” The words were meant to be a comfort but it only scared Lucian more. What were they going to do to him to make things ‘right’ again?

The door opened once more and Kai stood there, looking like he hadn't been in pieces hours ago. Perfect skin, everything attached, ‘breathing’ softly. The confidence in his posture was back in full force, though his eyes held deep worry as he took in the destroyed apartment and Lucian curled on the floor.

“Luci…” Kai murmured, full of concern for his friend.

The wellness nurse stood. “He’s very unstable right now, but your presence might help stabilize him. He doesn’t want me here so you might do better at consoling him.” She gave Kai a meaningful look, then left, closing the door quietly behind her.

Kai crossed the room in two strides and knelt in front of Lucian.

“Are you okay?” Lucian asked as he looked up at his friend with tired eyes.

“I’m fine. They restored the link during repairs, assumed the crash damaged it. But I should be the one asking, are you okay?”

Lucian stood up with a sigh, nodding. “Yeah I’m… I’m fine. Let’s remove the link again.”

They moved quickly, this time they were ready. Kai sat on the floor and let Lucian bind him tightly to the refrigerator.

“I’m sorry ahead of time.” Kai said quietly. “I know it’s going to fight against it again.”

It did. The moment Lucian pulled the cable, Kai’s body reacted. His limbs thrashed against the restraints, eyes apologetic. “Luci I’m sor-”

“I know, just shut up and let me focus.” Lucian grumbled as worked faster this time, hands steady despite everything. He pulls it free and once more Kai’s body goes rigid, then limp.

When his eyes opened, the perfect polish was gone. His shoulders weren’t squared confidently, they were slumped and he looked exhausted, more himself, his proper self. They sat together amid the wreckage for a moment as Lucian caught breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“What do we do now?” Kai asked eventually. “How do we live in a world like this?”

Lucian stared at the ceiling. “I don’t know, acting feels pointless when the audience doesn’t seem to care how it’s made. They don’t care for new actors when the dead ones are all still around.”

Kai flexed his fingers, testing to make sure he had full control back. “The old films mattered because people knew every performance could be their last. Every night was unique and that made it beautiful. I kind of wish I had that still.”

Lucian nodded slowly. “We’re the only ones who seem to see it, everyone else is happy being comfortably blind. So I guess we just… keep trying anyway. Hope that others will see it our way.”

They sat in the destroyed apartment, two flawed beings in a world that had lost sight of what made life worth living.