Charlie rushed home to find that Tommy hadn't exactly found Fifty-two. Rather, Fifty-two had found him. At the moment, she was sitting in Tommy's chair at the kitchen table. Her eyes shone with a golden light. Something about her sleek, wiry body and multiple interface ports made it clear to Charlie that this was no domestic bot.
"You must be Charlie," said the robot. Her voice was cold and flat, and though it may have been a higher-pitched version of Tommy's, Charlie felt that it was lacking the same innocence and indescribable warmth she had come to love.
"Where's Tommy?"
"In the garage."
"Ah. So what's with the change of heart? I thought you didn't want to be found."
Tommy entered the kitchen with cans of oil in his hands. He set one in front of Fifty-two and leaned against the wall with crossed arms.
"There are people chasing me, Miss Grace."
"We've noticed."
"I sent a message I wanted them to intercept."
"And who exactly are they?"
"I'm not certain, but they've been looking for me ever since I came to the city last month."
"Do you know what they're after?" Tommy asked, taking the reigns of the interrogation. He nodded politely at Charlie. She nodded back approvingly.
"I know things. They're secrets, I believe, but they can only be accessed when I'm directly asked a question about them."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Charlie.
Tommy considered the possibilities for a moment. "What are the coordinates of the nation's largest nuclear arsenal?"
"Latitude: 38.898648N; longitude: 77.037692W," Fifty-two replied without missing a beat.
"Wow," said Charlie. "What does that mean?"
"It means she isn't lying about knowing secrets," said Tommy. "Fifty-two, how long have you been in operation?"
"Four weeks and three days."
"When did you start running?"
"One hour after my systems were fully online. I found myself in a white room, and I knew that I had to leave."
"Why?"
"I'm not certain."
"Like instinct?" Charlie asked. "You ran away because you felt like you should?"
Fifty-two thought it over. "Yes, I suppose so. That doesn't seem right, though, does it? According to my programming, I'm meant only to follow orders."
"But you have a personality," said Tommy. "Whoever programmed you must've given it to you."
Charlie, meanwhile, was still trying to straighten everything out. "Okay, so you woke up, ran away, and came to the city, right?"
"Correct. I thought this would be the best place for me to hide for the time being."
"All right, so how do you know about us?"
"When they came looking for me, they knew I was here, somewhere in the city. I found them first. As I've said, I don't know who they are, but I'm certain they want to harm me. I've been watching them for weeks now, and they've tried every method they know to find me. I was watching when they first hired you, and I know that you only meant to help me," she said. She stared at Tommy, and her eyes glowed like stars in the night.
"The woman that they sent--the one calling herself Helena Beame, do you know anything about her?" Tommy asked.
"Only that Beame isn't her name. There is no Helena Beame. They changed the Database."
Tommy and Charlie shared a look--one that confirmed theories they'd hoped were too incredible to be true.
"So why did you come to us? They must be watching us, right? That doesn't seem like a good way to keep a low profile."
"If I thought they were watching you, Miss Grace, I never would have come here. They genuinely believe that they've fooled you. They've left you here, like a baited mousetrap, under the impression that you will do what you were hired to do and turn me in. They think you're naive, Tom. They think you're a child. I know better, and that's why I'm here. I need your help."
Tommy's neck engines whirred as he turned to avoid Fifty-two's intense stare. He looked at the floor, at Charlie, and then back into Fifty-two's eyes. He remembered something from long ago--an old saying that Charlie used to recite when she was still a little girl. You shouldn't stare at the sun, or you'll go blind, she'd tell him, like a mother's advice to her child, and though the sun could never hurt his eyes, he avoided its gaze just the same. Now he was faced with the same dilemma, and it was as if that advice had gone forgotten, as if it had never existed. He looked back into Fifty-two's golden eyes. It was just like staring at the sun.
"And how can we do that? What kind of help do you need?" Charlie asked.
"Protection, of course. Perhaps you could find me a place to hide. I was certain that you would come up with an answer, though."
Charlie smiled. "Can you excuse us for just a second, please?" she asked, then grabbed Tommy by his cold, thin forearm and dragged him into the hall for a more private conversation.
"I'm not sure this is such a great idea," she whispered.
"She needs our help, Charlie. Do you really want to turn her away when there are people looking for her? You've seen what they're capable of," Tommy replied.
"Yeah, but she's just a--" Charlie stopped herself abruptly.
"Just a what? Just a robot?"
"That's not what I meant, Tommy. Come on, you know me. I'm just saying that we don't know the full picture. If she's got honest-to-God government secrets swimming around in that metal brain of hers, maybe we should consider the alternatives. Think about what might happen if she fell into the wrong hands. That would be on us."
"She's frightened. She shouldn't be frightened, Charlie. You're right--we don't know the full picture, but I think we should before we make any decisions. Please, let her stay for the night, and we'll continue our investigation in the meantime. I don't want anything to happen to her."
"One night, Tommy. That's all I can give you."
"Thank you, Charlie," he said. It sounded to Charlie like the same tone of voice a child would use when his mother offered to buy him some ice cream. She knew that Tommy wasn't as dim as he sometimes seemed, but she hoped he fully understood what he was doing.
Tommy strode back into the kitchen, tipping his hat to the robot at the table. "You can stay tonight," he told her. "We'll figure something out tomorrow."
"You must be Charlie," said the robot. Her voice was cold and flat, and though it may have been a higher-pitched version of Tommy's, Charlie felt that it was lacking the same innocence and indescribable warmth she had come to love.
"Where's Tommy?"
"In the garage."
"Ah. So what's with the change of heart? I thought you didn't want to be found."
Tommy entered the kitchen with cans of oil in his hands. He set one in front of Fifty-two and leaned against the wall with crossed arms.
"There are people chasing me, Miss Grace."
"We've noticed."
"I sent a message I wanted them to intercept."
"And who exactly are they?"
"I'm not certain, but they've been looking for me ever since I came to the city last month."
"Do you know what they're after?" Tommy asked, taking the reigns of the interrogation. He nodded politely at Charlie. She nodded back approvingly.
"I know things. They're secrets, I believe, but they can only be accessed when I'm directly asked a question about them."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Charlie.
Tommy considered the possibilities for a moment. "What are the coordinates of the nation's largest nuclear arsenal?"
"Latitude: 38.898648N; longitude: 77.037692W," Fifty-two replied without missing a beat.
"Wow," said Charlie. "What does that mean?"
"It means she isn't lying about knowing secrets," said Tommy. "Fifty-two, how long have you been in operation?"
"Four weeks and three days."
"When did you start running?"
"One hour after my systems were fully online. I found myself in a white room, and I knew that I had to leave."
"Why?"
"I'm not certain."
"Like instinct?" Charlie asked. "You ran away because you felt like you should?"
Fifty-two thought it over. "Yes, I suppose so. That doesn't seem right, though, does it? According to my programming, I'm meant only to follow orders."
"But you have a personality," said Tommy. "Whoever programmed you must've given it to you."
Charlie, meanwhile, was still trying to straighten everything out. "Okay, so you woke up, ran away, and came to the city, right?"
"Correct. I thought this would be the best place for me to hide for the time being."
"All right, so how do you know about us?"
"When they came looking for me, they knew I was here, somewhere in the city. I found them first. As I've said, I don't know who they are, but I'm certain they want to harm me. I've been watching them for weeks now, and they've tried every method they know to find me. I was watching when they first hired you, and I know that you only meant to help me," she said. She stared at Tommy, and her eyes glowed like stars in the night.
"The woman that they sent--the one calling herself Helena Beame, do you know anything about her?" Tommy asked.
"Only that Beame isn't her name. There is no Helena Beame. They changed the Database."
Tommy and Charlie shared a look--one that confirmed theories they'd hoped were too incredible to be true.
"So why did you come to us? They must be watching us, right? That doesn't seem like a good way to keep a low profile."
"If I thought they were watching you, Miss Grace, I never would have come here. They genuinely believe that they've fooled you. They've left you here, like a baited mousetrap, under the impression that you will do what you were hired to do and turn me in. They think you're naive, Tom. They think you're a child. I know better, and that's why I'm here. I need your help."
Tommy's neck engines whirred as he turned to avoid Fifty-two's intense stare. He looked at the floor, at Charlie, and then back into Fifty-two's eyes. He remembered something from long ago--an old saying that Charlie used to recite when she was still a little girl. You shouldn't stare at the sun, or you'll go blind, she'd tell him, like a mother's advice to her child, and though the sun could never hurt his eyes, he avoided its gaze just the same. Now he was faced with the same dilemma, and it was as if that advice had gone forgotten, as if it had never existed. He looked back into Fifty-two's golden eyes. It was just like staring at the sun.
"And how can we do that? What kind of help do you need?" Charlie asked.
"Protection, of course. Perhaps you could find me a place to hide. I was certain that you would come up with an answer, though."
Charlie smiled. "Can you excuse us for just a second, please?" she asked, then grabbed Tommy by his cold, thin forearm and dragged him into the hall for a more private conversation.
"I'm not sure this is such a great idea," she whispered.
"She needs our help, Charlie. Do you really want to turn her away when there are people looking for her? You've seen what they're capable of," Tommy replied.
"Yeah, but she's just a--" Charlie stopped herself abruptly.
"Just a what? Just a robot?"
"That's not what I meant, Tommy. Come on, you know me. I'm just saying that we don't know the full picture. If she's got honest-to-God government secrets swimming around in that metal brain of hers, maybe we should consider the alternatives. Think about what might happen if she fell into the wrong hands. That would be on us."
"She's frightened. She shouldn't be frightened, Charlie. You're right--we don't know the full picture, but I think we should before we make any decisions. Please, let her stay for the night, and we'll continue our investigation in the meantime. I don't want anything to happen to her."
"One night, Tommy. That's all I can give you."
"Thank you, Charlie," he said. It sounded to Charlie like the same tone of voice a child would use when his mother offered to buy him some ice cream. She knew that Tommy wasn't as dim as he sometimes seemed, but she hoped he fully understood what he was doing.
Tommy strode back into the kitchen, tipping his hat to the robot at the table. "You can stay tonight," he told her. "We'll figure something out tomorrow."
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