KIRA
I couldn't understand what was wrong with him, of course there's always the fact that maybe Ron being autistic was a little too hard on him. But I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more going on, I could feel that he was conflicted, and guilty.
So I watched him, and he in turn watched Ron. Ron was having one of his lock outs: at times like this, he tends to ignore everyone and everything around him while he focused on what he was doing. No amount of shouting, or shaking would bring him out of it, not unless he was done with what he had in mind.
Aaron sat behind Ron, his legs crossed and his elbow resting his thigh while his jaw rested on his clenched fist. He had this faraway look in his eyes that was all too similar with his son's. He looked really attractive with that look of concentration and loss on his face, like a drowning man searching for help.
"What's wrong with you Aaron? Something's eating you up. If it's about Ron's autism, you should stop. This isn't your fault."
I said to him with a soft voice. But why? Why should I care. Weren't we supposed to be using each other, I mean we're going to be working together soon. And he had an endgame I didn't know about, but still that didn't mean I should care. But I couldn't help myself, from a young age I've always been articulate and precise about everything in my life.
And even though right now, there's so many things wrong with it, I couldn't live around or be around someone or something that's out of place. I had an obsessive compulsive disorder, I liked to fix things, because doing so is the only way I could live with the fact that I'm unable to fix myself or my own life. At least until he came around.
He was no my radar, my senses were tingling with the need for me to get to know him. Now the sexual tension between us aside, Aaron was broken piece of shit who's very existence seems to annoy me all the time. But I wanted to fix him so bad it scared me, I had no idea what's wrong with me.
"The NPCs within lost Descendants online. Do you thing they're alive?" He asked me, as he brushed his hands through Ron's hair.
I was surprised that he actually replied without dragging it out, and then forcing me to beat a reply out of him. I expected him to say nothing was wrong, and I had to coax the answer out of him, but I guess Aaron Wade never does what is expected of him.
"I don't think they're alive Aaron, I know they're alive!" I answered him, and then he turned looking at me with shock and fear? It was almost as if he wanted what I just said to be a lie.
"You're not the first person to bring this up, especially with how advanced Lost Descendants online is, there's been quite a few petitions to have AIs recognized as fully functional and living beings. Of course the government has been dragging their feet, acknowledging that these are sentient beings capable of thought and free will, means that there would be unable to utilize and use them the way they want to. They stop being tools, but rather people that can't be exploited without their own consent. In the past seventeen years, there's been five very vocal voices regarding this issue.
Three of them wanted AIs to be recognized as living beings capable of thought, that way lost Descendants online would no longer just be an ordinary game, but a freaking world, bringing things like immigration, border laws, human rights etc. into play between the virtual world and reality.
There are too many angles to consider when it comes to AIs, so there's not been an agreement reached ever since your mom died. She was one of those voices that advocated for AI rights, along with your grandfather and her best friend Cora. Of course one of the people against it, was actually your step mother, and since she comes from a family of world renowned neurological engineers, her words had a lot of sway. She made your mother seem like a programmer who was just too sentimental about her creations. I was really young then, but I remember watching it on the news, their fight back then was really high profile and public. What brought this on?" I asked him, just to know why he was so moody and dark.
"I killed thousands of AIs in the game, not on purpose, but still because of me, and quite a few them were children. With how real the gam...…That world has been for me, it's left me feeling sick inside. I'm a soldier, a freaking member of an international special forces unit that works with and from the U.N. killing is nothing new to me, giving the orders to kill is nothing new to me either. But not children, never children. And now, now it's...…I don't know what's wrong with me." He said as his shoulders dropped down a little.
"And now that you're a father, you're a whole lot more affected than you thought you would be. Because you can't help but wonder, what if one of those kids had been Ron, or were actually his age. Right?" I asked him as I comer my head to the side.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise as he looked at me. Well that's right Aaron Wade, you're not the only person who can read people, or understand the reason for their pain.
"Yes."
I shook my head as I dropped the file in my hand with the list of candidates chosen to be his assistant. My name was already circled out, but that was besides the point. I sat beside him and realized I was sitting a little too close for comfort, ignoring the weird racing of my heart, I said to him.
"With all that you've experienced, you're finding it hard to remove fantasy from reality. You're still trying to convince yourself that it's only a game, but trust me Aaron it's not! You've been in Lost Descendants before, especially after your mother's update. The players are no longer the chosen ones, or people capable of causing change within that world. Everyone has been so preoccupied with everything happening, that they didn't notice the real secret behind the update, it gave the AIs, I'm not calling them NPCs, that's rude. As I wad saying, it gives the AIs their freedom, now they can make changes and fight for their own destiny rather than bend and suffer at the will of the players and their antics.
You can disconnect yourself from this world, rather just accept it. And you don't have to be a different person either, yes you have a secret to keep, and you have two lives to live. But that doesn't mean you have to be a different person in there, just do your thing and accept everything. And if you've messed up this bad, then make amends. Take responsibility rather than running away, just do right by the people who has been hurt. You don't have to be some cliché tortured hero or villain or anti hero. Just be a good person and keep your conci...….Mhmm!"
He was kissing me! What the hell! But that's not the shocking part, it's the fact that I was actually kissing him back. I can't lean into this kiss, no don't lean in Kira, pull back! Fuck! I leaned in. And he's a surprisingly good kisser, I wonder what else he can do with that mouth of his, maybe we should Stop!
CRASH!
I pulled back away from his so fast it was as if I had seen a ghost. And for good measure I threw my fist straight towards his nose, and heard an audible crunch, followed by a muffled yell as he fell back in pain.
I turned to look at Ron and had my eyes widen to see that he was looking at both me and his father, a couple of building blocks in his hand had fallen to the ground, and he was picking them up. I felt embarrassed, blushing from my toes all the way to the tip of my ears. Ron picked up his blocks and looked at me with a smile, before turning to his father and saying.
"Pops is hurt."
Then he turned back to building, what I now understood was a complete depiction of the wade Manor, built from a kids toy, damn! If I needed anymore proof about the drug being capable of enhancing or evolving a human being, then this was it. Ron was only three years old.
But then again, Pops? What the hell has Aaron been teaching my son. But speaking about Aaron he was sitting up, and he was glaring at me, blood seeping in between his hands from his injured nose. I hope it wasn't broken, I didn't mean to hit him, but it was just a reflex of min, I panicked.
"Don't ever touch me again! Or I'll be breaking more than just your nose you bastard!" I said to him in the angriest voice I could muster.
One of the perks of being a woman: you can be totally unreasonable about everything you do or that happens to you. And while I did enjoy kissing a younger man, much less one that's as intelligent and damaged as Aaron, he was not my type(right?) And I was embarrassed, so behaving like this was the only way I can get a little payback and dignity. I turned around and left, flipping my hair behind me as I made my way to the kitchen. As I left Ron's play room I heard Aaron curse.
"What the actual Fuck just happened!"
Indeed, he was right about that. What the hell just happened back there?