He could still smell her sillage around the house. Meeting her was a numinous serendipity because he had no plans to attend that party last night. 26 minutes... 26 minutes is what it took for his mind to develop a hankering for her company. Was his loneliness this bad that he wanted to connect with a bot? Where will these emotions lead to? He was already contemplating sneaking into his parents' bedroom to try and find something that will help him locate her whereabouts.
"Damn it!" He cursed.
He was incensed because he is supposed to execrate her instead of being on the verge of deifying her; for her kind are just a representation of modern decadence. Another attempt for humans to feel as close as they can to be gods.
But he cannot stop brooding over his need to see her again. After just one night, she became the protagonist of his dreams. Last night he dreamed that he was playing a lyre, and that her painted pink lips were playing a requiem; lamenting over all the dead possibilities that could have happened to them had she been a human.
Her entity has possessed the depths of his sanity without permission. Their love has commenced a via dolorosa before it even began. Whatever they had, was like a flower bud that cannot wait to bloom. Shall he also wait seasons for his inamorata to become real? If that's the case, then he shall count every raindrop that the winter brings until spring finally comes and make that flower blossom.
Love? He chortled at his own thoughts. The alcohol must still be present in his system because this uncontrollable idiocy refused to vanish. Yet, no matter how hard he tried to impede his curiosity by drinking more booze, he surrendered and went to search for the bill.
Although his parents were not home, he walked stealthily to their bedroom in fear of being caught by one of the Robutlers. He tried to search in the drawers first, but the handle scanner kept beeping every time he would touch it. After two tries, he stopped because he knew that a third attempt will trigger the security system and send a notification to his parents' phone.
He ran his fingers back and forth through his hair, then rubbed his face while pondering about a plan B.
But just as he was about to leave, he noticed a green envelope near his mother's fragrance atomizers from the Northridge Hospital Medical Center. He smirked. The Northridge is famous for their behavioral center— and she did inform him that she was paid to monitor his alcohol consumption.
He quickly opened the envelope and took all the papers that were inside and sprinted back to his bedroom once he heard metallic footsteps approaching. With paper edges poking out against his chest, he leaned against the wall and implored Jehovah for the second time that week to help him reach her.
He slowly unfolded the paper and his colorless face was dyed by solace once he read the following:
Invoice no. 187598
Invoice date: July 15th, 2056
Name of the rented Automaton: Éloa
Model: XS
Automaton rented by: Rachel Cohen
Automaton rented for: Yoel Cohen
Amount due: $1439.11
Address: Dignity Health Northridge Hospital Medical Center
18300 Roscoe Boulevard
Northridge, CA 91325
Before his pride could stop him, Yoel grabbed a jacket and climbed down the stairs to the garage. He placed his hand over the hand genetics scanner and his car door opened. He got inside and impatiently typed the address of the hospital on his windshield.
''Your destination is 20.5 miles away.'' Said his in-car voice assistant.
He started driving as the clouds slowly began to part, revealing a blissful sunshine. The winds of heaven made his sparkling amber hair dance around his face, which made him wonder how the brocade of her hair would feel against his cheeks.
His anticipation grew as he drove to the hospital's parking lot.
"Welcome to Northridge's medical center. If you are here to visit someone, please press 1. If you are here to register for one of our services, please press 2. For general inquiries, press 3." Said the Automaton at the entrance door.
Yoel pressed number 3 on his silver chest.
"You have selected the third option. Please follow me, I will escort you to the reception."
Yoel followed the Automaton to the reception while trying to find her distinctive scent amidst the hospital's antiseptic smell. But alas, even tantalizing aromas can easily be masked by the fetor.
"Good afternoon sir, how may I help you?" The receptionist greeted.
"My parents rented an Automaton from your rehab center, and I was just wondering if I could talk to her again regarding my condition."
"Do you have the name and the model of that Automaton?"
"Yes, it is Éloa and I believe her model was XS." He replied as she started typing on her computer's transparent display.
"We do have an Éloa who works at the rehab center, and I do have access to her memory card. But in order for me to pull up your file I need your first and last name, the date she monitored you, and then I will send it to the most available doctor who can answer all of your questions." The receptionist smiled.
"Oh no, I don't need to see a doctor I would just like to quickly hear some feedback from Éloa. It would be easier, since I am sure all of your doctors are busy right now." He tried to convince her.
"Unfortunately, sir, Automatons only monitor people, so they are not qualified to give any medical feedback. In addition, Automatons who work for public sectors have their memory erased every night at midnight... So Éloa does not remember you nor your case." The receptionist calmly explained.
"What do you mean they have their memory erased? What happens to all the data that they gather? How do they interact with the patients here?" His heart was shattered by this news.
"Well, unlike privately owned Automatons, the government makes us reset our Automatons every night at 12:00 am, for privacy purposes, and all the data that they gather is restored in systems that only we, humans, have access to. The patients admitted here understand that our Automatons are not like their Robutlers at home, they are unable to remember them the next day and that they exist only to serve and not to be bonded with."
His eyes widened, "what if I rent her for multiple days? Will it prolong her memory settings or will she automatically be rested?"
"It would be extremely expensive to rent an Automaton for more than one day, however, since she will be used for private purposes her memory will not be deleted until the end of the contract. We do have monthly options if you are interested!" She beamed.
"Yes, sure, whatever! I need to rent her today, my drinking habits have increased dramatically lately."
"Unfortunately, she cannot be rented right away. You need to send us the official request letter first and our response time depends on how extreme your addiction is."
"Goddammit woman, I just told you that my addiction has been bad lately, so I need her now!" He cursed before he hit the reception desk with a closed fist.
"Sir, if you do not calm down and talk civilly I will call security." She placed her index finger on the emergency security button under her desk. "I cannot possibly grant you rental without an official request letter."
"Fine, I apologize. How do I get started with this official letter?" He sighed.
"I can print one for you now and once you are done filling it out, you can head to our rehab department and hand it to the secretary there." She faked a smile.
"Okay." He agreed.
The receptionist left the desk, leaving a distressed Yoel trying to calm himself by breathing deeply and evenly. But instantaneously his anger subsided once he heard that sweet familiar voice.
"Good afternoon mister Rogers, my name is Éloa and I will be your Auto-assistant for today. What would you like to vent about?" Her voice tickled his ears. He turned around and as if it was possible, she looked more radiant in her scrubs.