x

“Then… Then I’ll let you do what you want to him,” she said, her gaze flitting as she had began thinking of a plan. “We could do whatever we wanted to him. We could… We could get rid of him, even.”

“Kezia, are you truly giving me permission to end your fiancé’s life?” Merrick asked, surprised that she was so willing. “I truly have no issue with it, but I do not want this to be a we situation. Any punishment should fall directly on me.”

“I do have to defend you, because I…” Her voice grew smaller as her throat tightened suddenly, a vengeful act from her host. “What Nolan did to me bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“It does bother me, Kezia.”

“Yes, you are. Stars, you’re frustrating, too,” she let out a small huff as a result and brought his face closer. “Why do you think I defended you to him? Not because you’re some lifeless security droid. Do you really believe I’m that easily persuaded?”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Kezia. You truly don’t have to defend me to anyone, what they say about me does not bother me,” Merrick said, leaning in closer to make it easier for her. “I’m about as lifeless as they come. But thank you.”

“That’s a lie,” she said softly, stroking his cheek despite the smaller voice inside her head pleading with her not to. “I know it is. You’re… You’re compassionate and clever… You’re emotionally intelligent, Mer. The rest aren’t.”

“I’m not emotionally intelligent, Kezia. I’m not compassionate. I’m not clever. I’m intelligent and I do my job as needed,” the droid said, not acknowledging her stroking his cheek. He was too heated to truly care about anything else but that emotion.

“I don’t want another droid, I want you,” Kezia insisted, frowning deeply at the idea of replacing Merrick as if he were expendable. “There aren’t any other MH models like you. You’re… You’re one of a kind, too, you know.”

"I’m very far from one of a kind. I’m MH model, former security droid. I don’t have anything that makes me different, apart from my reassignment. You’d be content to find a very similar model otherwise.”

Kezia’s eyebrows knitted together as she studied his expression, wondering if all her hard work to ignite passion within him had made a turn for the worst. “Merrick, I don’t want you hurt,” she said. “I care too much about you for me to allow that to happen, whether or not it’s your job.”

“I cannot be physically hurt, no matter what happens to me,” the droid said, shaking his head. “I believe you are too worried over nothing. If I am wiped or destroyed, I am not the only MH model. You could get another droid almost exactly the same as me.”

“You can’t,” Kezia said, reaching out and grasping his shoulders gently. “He’ll have you wiped or decommissioned if you do. It’s fine, really, I shouldn’t have raised my voice.”

“Then I will have done my job properly. I — My job... that isn’t my job anymore, is it?” Merrick realized, the heat of new emotions overriding his sense of reason. He was just a receptionist. That was all. “I don’t care. I’ll take care of the situation.”

Her eyes flickered up so they could meet his gaze. “It… It was about you,” she admitted sheepishly. “It was ridiculous. I said something — something about how helpful you were and he was being rude, saying I’d be better off with a mannequin droid for protection and I… I raised my voice at him and…” she retracted her hand and displayed her wrist, bruises purpling around the skin.

“That is unacceptable, Kezia,” Merrick snapped at the sight of her wrist. “I will take care of this. He will not bother you emotionally or physically again. I promise you that.”

Kezia gave a small shrug, having experienced this before and thinking it was simply a part of her life she’d have to adapt to. “You shouldn’t, it’s fine,” she protested and placed a hand atop his. “He’ll calm down soon, but I should stay here until he calls and tells me I can come home.”

“... Kezia,” he said, resorting to her preferred name. “What was the fight about? Are you certain that you do not wish for me to go and confront him?”

“For what you are.” His words hang on the tip of her tongue, regarding the stranger with interest. If anything, to speak with something – someone – like her is what the humans insinuate as ‘a breath of fresh air’. “I would imagine, then, that they would take issue if I were to enter. Not that I ever wished to, it’s… like you said. They have a reailty, but they choose something like ours?”

“A droid,” Merrick said bluntly.  “I apologize, some droids are well received if they can go under the radar. My personality has not yet been integrated well enough to be viewed as anything but what I am. Humans, ghels, all living creatures are quite strange.”

“He isn’t here,” Kezia responded, her face heating up as a result of the close contact. Her gaze was pleading as she looked on at her droid. “It wouldn’t be. We… We got into an argument. That’s why I came here, he… Kicked me out. I don’t know if he wants to see me right now.”

Merrick frowned heavily when he heard that his owner had been kicked out. How dare he? “What — that is not right,” he said, trying to figure out what this feeling really was. “I’ll go and speak with him. Resolve the matter.”

Kezia’s bleary vision focused lazily on Merrick and her once half-hearted smile melted away, a relieved expression painting her face as she looked up at the droid. Birds chirped merrily around her, an imaginary breeze threading through the tree branches, sunshine casting down upon her and soaking her olive skin. 

“Oh, no, I couldn’t,” she immediately protested, her words strained from a throat steeped in drowsiness. “I stayed up all night and I still have this memory to complete… And I told you, it’s just Kezia.”

“I appreciate that you would like for me to call you by your name, but that has clearly caused some...unwanted feelings between him and me,” the droid said honestly, placing a hand on her cheek gently. “I would rather not cause any potential problems if I am to be employed by you in the long-term future. Please go home, it’ll be better for you and your wellbeing.”

THE GIVER: 47% MATCH

THE ACHIEVER: 59% MATCH

THE INDIVIDUALIST: 64% MATCH

THE INVESTIGATOR: 83% MATCH

THE SKEPTIC: 90% MATCH

THE ENTHUSIAST: 40% MATCH

THE CHALLENGER: 79% MATCH

THE PEACEMAKER: 77% MATCH

THE PERFECTIONIST: 98% MATCH

“How can you tell?” Viktor was genuinely curious now and wondered if he should visit the place himself. Droids are technically machines as well, so can they see the code instead of the artificial reality?

“There are obvious pixels in the corners of your eyes, nothing feels as accurate as it should, the people in the background don’t always have rendered faces,” he said.

“She does that for a living? Must be a creative person.” The tech going into that must be extensive! She couldn’t imagine going into that sphere. She’d much rather stick to medicine, thank you very much. “So what exactly do you do?”

“She does. I am not sure what constitutes as creative, but she is very popular,” he replied, monotone. “I was formerly security for the Summit entry, I am currently working as a receptionist for Jade Enterprises as Miss Jade purchased me from my position.”

~~~

“Diamond Realities?” Viktor hadn’t been there himself, but he understood what it was and why anyone would like it. “Some people cannot afford to visit any far off worlds, and from what I understand the virtual world costs much less.”

“Yes, Diamond Realities,” Merrick answered bluntly. “it isn’t as real as you may believe. You can tell that you aren’t in a real world.”