Theo took a good look at Sizzy's face. She looked pretty and quite humane. But not enough. She was also the same height as Theo, rather slender and well dressed; blue shirt, short skirt. Her clothes didn't say R.I.
With some makeup, she'd probably blend right into the crowd. Coupled with the fact that she had reasoning capability, Theo didn't really like the situation.
'What if she thinks humans are a waste of resources?'
Theo wasn't wrong to feel like that. Something like that had happened before.
About three hundred years ago A.I soldiers were created to fight the zombie apocalypse but the soldiers had almost taken over the world instead. Humans in a desperate attempt to save themselves, mass-produced soldiers, with gene editing. This way, humanity multiplied exponentially in numbers and the age of engineered humans began. Humans eventually won after a dreadful battle of seventy years but humanity changed. And so did their values.
Robots and A.I were still used but under much more strict rules. Rules that couldn't be broken…
Theo got on the footpath escalator. Sizzy followed.
'Just what the hell am I supposed to do with her, anyway?' Theo looked back.
He was greeted with the smiling face of Sizzy.
***
Most of the stores were manned by R.I and most buyers were also R.I. Only middle class or the lower people ever shopped. Everybody above that, had no real reason to.
And most people, on this planet at least, were rich. And noon was the time of work, so the few that were supposed to be out, were busy working. Meaning, the mall was mostly empty of human life.
There were more cats and dogs than actual people.
As Theo walked down the corridors of the large mall, he spotted a lot of things, a lot of colorful things, and a lot of things he wanted. Today, the world itself was colorful and he had the money to buy almost everything he ever wanted.
He'd already checked whether he had enough money for everything or not. He had plenty.
He always thought this day would never come. And yet, here he was.
It was surreal- no, unreal. 'I'm finally here…'
Sizzy meanwhile, followed Theo, always staying two steps back. This was her first time outside of the association headquarters. But she did know about the outside world through her data inputs. Even so, she looked at everything with wonder, as though she was a child seeing a big city for the first time.
"Let's go over there."
They first got into an equipment shop. This mission wasn't sanctioned by the military, so Theo had to buy civilian equipment. And they weren't cheap.
But buying things was easy, now that he had money. And he also had his precious plasma bag.
Life was finally easy.
***
Theo went into another gear shop. Bought some things and looked rather pleased. Sizzy followed him all the way without a word. She was so quiet that it was awkward.
After buying the equipment, Theo spent some time buying snacks.
Shopping for the day ended.
Theo broke the silence as he walked back toward the facility. "What do you like to do?" He wasn't all that interested. He just wanted to break the awkward silence. 'Does she even have things to like?'
"I like singing, cooking, and sometimes knitting." She answered freely. For a machine, she sure didn't sound like one.
Her speech was too fluent. But perhaps she didn't possess enough emotion to be called human.
"Knitting? Isn't that obsolete?"
On that note, cooking was also obsolete but Theo didn't bother.
"The professor says so too," she didn't deny.
Both of them escalated on the footpath. Trails of light passed them by on the road. Not many people were out on the roads. Everyone was busy, either at home or doing a job. Or maybe just driving down the sky, screaming at just how worthless their lives were- or maybe not.
The streets were lit up as well. It was evening but everything was so well lit up that they'd put Theo's room to shame.
"I guess we all have our dreams. Can you eat?"
"I have a digestive system. So I can eat, drink and defecate. However, I won't be able to draw out energy from the food. I can, however, taste."
'Then what's the point?' "Fair enough." Theo looked around for something. "This way." 'If she can taste, then that should be good enough.'
The two of them headed to an ice cream shop. It was one of the vintage shops of the city. Quite popular at that. And definitely expensive. Luckily someone just got his paycheck today.
"I'd like a double scoop sundae and-" Theo looked at Sizzy. "What will you have?"
The R.I on the job looked a little confused but didn't create a fuss. Even machines had problems predicting human emotions it seemed.
"I will have what you're having."
'Is she really deciding or is there more to it?' "You heard her." Theo gave the orders and the R.I executed them. For some reason, the R.I seemed pleased. Perhaps just a front.
They both took their ice cream and sat at a table. Something about this R.I- about Sizzy, made Theo a little uneasy. Sizzy was a machine. Yet she didn't act like one. She even ate the ice cream like a normal girl would. Well, there weren't many normal girls in this age though.
"This is my thank you for giving me directions back then," Theo said, giving a bite to the sundae.
Cool- no, cold! And sweet. The gentle smell of milk, the soft feeling- the freshness… he'd never had such rich expensive ice cream before.
But now that he had it- 'isn't this a bit too expensive?'
The taste was vastly superior to what he was used to, but for the price, it wasn't good enough. Perhaps he wasn't aware that the quality of products didn't quite scale up with how much one was paying after a certain point.
"Thank you." Sizzy smiled.
'There's that fluttering again. Should I get my heart checked?' "No problem."
They finished and escalated straight for the facility. It was relatively close. And Theo wasn't dumb enough to waste money on transport just because he landed on some cash.
***
"Well, see ya later."
They had arrived at the facility.
"Yes. Take care, Mr. Theodore."
"Call me Theo and I can call you Sizzy, right?" Theo didn't like being called by his full name, let alone with a mister.
"Yes… Theo," Sizzy whispered. She didn't look Theo in the eye.
Theo smiled and turned around. He didn't look back. But if he had he'd have seen an innocent R.I waving her hands at him.
***
Theo reached home, got changed, and checked the contents of his mission.
The mission would last six months. A crew of 22 individuals would head for planet #777923, in Alablaster nebula of the Syntheise quadrant. This particular quadrant of the galaxy was unmapped. Long-distance telescopes could hardly give detailed information. The ship Ainmester, had three Plasma cores with two backup fusion cores. It had enough firepower to achieve warp. But that wasn't enough. Something was missing. Theo couldn't understand it but he knew something was wrong with the whole mission.
'Why would they need a specimen from a planet that far away? If there are truly intelligent life out there, then wouldn't us showing up, hamper their own development?'
But Theo didn't have the right to question. He was fit for the job but not the only one. He couldn't afford to question this at this point. He had to take it. 'The ship leaves in a week. I can't dwindle in small details! Get your shit together Theo!'