Their first shower together is the only one Shantal will ever remember. Alex doesn’t have a problem with being without clothes and he steps into the bath tub first, urging Shantal to join him.
Bathing for Alex is like eating: he doesn’t need to do it but he enjoys doing it nonetheless, if only to be with Shantal. Shantal feels a little silly telling Alex to close his eyes as he strips to his boxers but he feels even sillier trying to sit in between Alex’s legs in the tub because he takes up so much room.
“Is Shantal really dirty?” Alex asks, hands resting on top of Shantal’s thighs.
“I just showered this morning so not really.”
“Can I wash you anyway? I want to see what it’s like.”
Still a little hesitant, and perhaps a bit self-conscious, Shantal passes Alex the soap and wash-cloth. H
One day, almost in a trance, Shantal found herself browsing on the internet and without her knowledge, she was redirected to bunch of articles related to the study of human and its philosophical views. It was as though her fingers gained consciousness of their own and they started typing 'humanity' on the search bar.Shantal understands very little about what scientists consider a “human” and he wishes to understand a bit more so he can compare it to Alex and everything Alex is.The task itself sounds complicated but it’s only after collecting twenty different psychology, sociology, anthropology and literature books that it dawns on him how unreal the task he has given himself is. Right away, he discards all the books having to deal with human evolution since Alex is already modeled after a Homo sapien.“I think therefore I am,” says Descartes.“Our world is not the ‘real’ one,” says
One day, Jodi came visiting to Shantal's place, bearing some big news.“I sent him back.”She dropped the bomb just like that and Alex stops fidgeting in his chair the moment he heard her said that. Jodi did not have to name who she was referring with that 'him'; both Alex and Shantal already have an inkling of who he was.Almost at the same time, Shantal and Alex's head suddenly turned to Jodi's direction. Shantal pulled her eyes away from Alex and asked, “Sent who back?”“Arvin,” Jodi sips his coffee, staring into his cup.Next to Shantal, Alex frowns. “Why would you do that?”Jodi avoids Alex's eyes and meets Shantal's instead. “I had to. I realized…I realized I didn’t want him anymore. I don’t want a fake boyfriend. I want someone real.”“But he was real—“Jo
That night in bed, Alex suddenly turns to him. “You…you won’t send me back, right?”Shantal groans, “Alex, don’t you know what time it is—““Please,” Alex takes a deep breath. The whirl of his processor is loud in the silence of the night.Shantal opens his eyes, “No. I won’t send you back—““Good, because I know Arvin …I know he suffered. You don’t know what it’s like being one of us. We don’t remember how we’re born. One moment we’re just a pile of nuts and bolts and the next we look like a human and have a human’s heart. Arvin wanted to be human, I know he did. Does. We all do. Sending him back means…it means he failed as a human. There isn’t a worse thing you could do to my kind, please don’t ever—“Shantal sits u
Alex doesn’t have any problems with Jodi either and Shantal is grateful. Jodi is very careful with his speech and mentions nothing of what Alex is or isn’t; most of their conversations revolve around, interestingly enough, Shantal. “You should see him when he’s trying to sleep,” Alex says one time, eyes excited. “He makes these little noises when he’s trying to sleep, they’re really too cute.”“Hey, I do not!” Shantal interjects.When Jodi looks him over, right eyebrow raised, Shantal flushes unnecessarily. “What?”“You two…sleep together?”“Of course!” Alex bounces in his seat. “I keep Shantal warm at night.” “Shantal” Jodi repeats, enunciating the name.Alex, bless his soul, doesn't sense the sudden tense air around Jodi and continues to talk and talk, picking out more of Shantal’s bad habits. In
Alex’s first glitch happens a few days after their second month anniversary (not that Shantal’s been keeping count for ~sentimental~ reasons or anything).Shantal’s typing up his History paper when Alex drops to the floor. A few seconds after the fall, Shantal stares, unable to move. Alex lies on the floor not too far from him, on his side with his eyes closed.When Shantal’s adrenaline kicks in, he shoves his laptop away, sending it crashing to the floor, and rushes to Alex’s side. “Alex! Alex!” he yells, trying to shake him awake. Alex is cold to touch and doesn’t stir, not even when Shantal screams in his ear.With a cold feeling tightening in his gut, Shantal runs to his bedroom and looks for Alex’s manual, finding it finally after tearing his room apart with his shaking hands. His hands tremble with such ferocity he has trouble reading the Troubleshoot section an
After some time, Shantal was pulled out of her increasingly morbid thoughts by a voice that suddenly cut through her line of thought. He jumps up and opens the door to see Alex there with arms open wide and his ever present smile glowing on his face.“Look, I have a band-aid!” he says brightly, pointing to the blue tape on his forehead.Shantal feels something build up in his chest and he laughs to alleviate the pressure, eyes stinging.“What’s wrong, Shantal? Don’t you like my band-aid?”Shantal launches himself at Alex, muffling a sobbing sound he will deny to the ends of the Earth. Alex catches him and laughs, wrapping his arms tight around Shantal’s smaller body. Alex is also the one who sees the “medics” out, thanking them happily, all while holding Shantal tightly against him.Shantal buries his face in Alex’
The days pass slowly and Shantal makes sure of it. She does most of her homework immediately after coming from university and spends the rest of the days dragging Alex all around the city. She made it sure to make the most of her every minute with Alex, knowing that the the days that she could spend with her robot were numbered.Their first stop is an ice cream shop and Shantal buys Alex the most possible scoops, much to the disbelief of the cashier. When Alex downs it all in the same time one would normally take for one scoop, the cashier lady is stunned.“I can’t taste it, not really,” Alex says as they walk hand in hand down the street. “But it feels good in my mouth! Wah, Shantal, you have some of your cheek. Let me get that for you!”Shantal expects a sleeve to start rubbing at his face or a hand, not soft lips and a curious tongue. Alex licks Shantal until the other party'
Their first shower together is the only one Shantal will ever remember. Alex doesn’t have a problem with being without clothes and he steps into the bath tub first, urging Shantal to join him.Bathing for Alex is like eating: he doesn’t need to do it but he enjoys doing it nonetheless, if only to be with Shantal. Shantal feels a little silly telling Alex to close his eyes as he strips to his boxers but he feels even sillier trying to sit in between Alex’s legs in the tub because he takes up so much room.“Is Shantal really dirty?” Alex asks, hands resting on top of Shantal’s thighs.“I just showered this morning so not really.”“Can I wash you anyway? I want to see what it’s like.”Still a little hesitant, and perhaps a bit self-conscious, Shantal passes Alex the soap and