"Are you unable to speak?"
T1N reached his hands under the bonnet and pulled with all his strength. He had been wrestling with the engine of the hovercar for fifteen minutes. His silvery hands came away holding a cube that he placed delicately onto the floor.
"If nothing else, luck is on your side. The battery is intact and I am an android, so nothing important was damaged." He offered her a smile.
Dotty didn't return it, pretending instead to examine the wrecked hovercar. The impact with his metal body had buckled the bumper and caved in the roof. What had she been thinking? She could have been crushed to death… or worse. She looked at the cuts on her hands. She had only avoided that shower of broken glass by diving under the dashboard at the last moment. The android was right. She had been very lucky. She had acted impulsively, without thinking. That was always her problem. Now it was her fault that the hovercar was ruined.
"The battery doesn't have much charge, but we should be able to install it in any of these vehicles. Take your pick." T1N waved a hand over all the abandoned cars in the tunnel.
Dotty looked straight at the android, this time without looking away. His eyes now shone with the subtlest white glow. It was strange. Everything about him was strange, as if he had come from somewhere more alien than Earth. She had never seen a robot that looked so… human.
It was as if they had taken a man from the street and submerged him in liquid chrome. His head was a shining ball and his profile, especially his nose, seemed borrowed from an ancient Greek sculpture. His arms and his athletic body, why did an android need muscles?
He must weigh several tonnes, Dotty thought.
"You're really not going to help me at all?" T1N asked.
Dotty hung her head.
"I'm not asking you to apologise for hitting me with the car or anything. It would be enough if you could help to clear a path for whichever car we choose. With four hands we'll finish sooner."
Dotty agreed and followed the android over to one of the many piles of sheet metal, cables, and concrete that scattered the road.
"Do you like the colour red?" he asked. "That car appears to be in good condition."
This time the android didn't wait for her response. He crouched down and started to clear around the wheels of the vehicle. Dotty helped him and, even though some things weighed too much for her, she didn't ask for help. When they were finished, T1N raised the bonnet and changed the batteries.
"I think you should play the lottery. I doubt there's another battery in the entire length of this tunnel with any charge. Lucky us!"
The passenger door hung to one side. One of the hinges had snapped. T1N grabbed the door and effortlessly pulled it off by the screws. He tossed it to one side.
"Ready! All we need now is a destination."
The android studied the girl once more. Probably the sole survivor from the Hermes, although her face showed no signs of fear, he knew she had to be terrified. Her face was still pale and her white cheeks were marked with dirt and tiny scratches. Her fringe covered her forehead and hid part of her face. She had cuts on her fists, and her jumpsuit was torn at the sleeves and at the cuffs. She was barefoot and her feet were ashen from walking through the dust and the ruins of the city.
"We'll have to clean you up," he said, without saying more.
Dotty looked at him with confusion. T1N sat in the passenger seat and connected himself to the onboard computer. The screen switched on, filling the inside of the vehicle with throbbing light. Dotty crouched down beside him to see what he was doing.
He pointed his finger towards the ignition slot, the same one she had put the card into in the previous car. At that moment the android's digit began to transform, growing longer, searching for the edges of that opening. The computer beeped and the small screen on the dashboard began to flash with diagrams at great speed. It was impossible for Dotty to process everything that passed before her eyes. After a few moments, it stopped.
"I think I've got it," said the Android. "It's clear that the priority here is to keep you safe and sound. I've located, from more than half a million possibilities, a building that should still hold supplies. It's not an exact calculation but the probability of finding something useful there is encouraging. I based my analysis on its location, the quality of its surroundings, and the security measures that protect it. Look here." T1N pointed to a diagram of a circle with various red lines inside.
Dotty came closer for a better look.
"This is the shopping centre in sector R12. There's a guard outpost there with emergency supply compartments that claim to be unopened still. With the battery you found, we should have enough power to get there. Do you want to try?"
Dotty nodded.
"Well then, let's get going."
T1N tried to get out of the passenger seat but Dotty stopped him with her hand.
"I'm driving."