The metallic stench of solder filled the lab, thick and sharp like burnt coins. Tools clattered across the cluttered bench as Davis, a teenage boy with white hair, hunched over his creation, eyebrows furrowed, tongue poking out in concentration. His fingers moved with practiced ease, dancing between a nest of wires and scorched metal. The overhead light buzzed softly, flickering in rhythm with the hum of the generator below.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6ZET8X3TX
“I just have to... there!” he whispered, tightening a screw with a shaky but satisfied twist. “Perfect.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvKP0cvmzG
He leaned back, breath caught in his throat as he admired the thing on the table. A lump of metal to most, a half-formed mess of jagged plates and exposed wiring—but to Davis, it was possibility. Purpose. Something of his own.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskZnhEwLnq
He didn’t know what it would become yet. A drone? A repair assistant? Or even something crazy like a machine that could feel?444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy8PmUMTDg
That last one made him laugh under his breath.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqxjC3gWrM
Impossible, he thought.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcbwvjXqEs
No one’s ever pulled it off—true emotion in artificial intelligence. Machines were tools. Nothing more. At least, that's what his father always said.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowCtDAgeFp
But what if they weren’t? He knew it wasn’t possible, but it was nice to think about.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgrk26VNaQ
“I don’t know what you’ll be,” he murmured, brushing his hand gently over its crude faceplate, “but I know you’ll be useful.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbQHq0ApCq
“Stop talking to that mess,” a voice barked from behind, sharp enough to snap his focus in half. “Come give me a hand with my creations.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZet3tKs4W
Davis flinched. The smile fell from his face like a snapped gear.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zvJsvz7DU
“Sorry, Doc,” he said without turning, his voice dry. “But your machine already has a hand.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKhNVybgop
He heard the shuffle of boots on concrete.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAC4jK9TAdQ
“Shut up,” came the curt reply. “I need someone to accompany me. One of the drones needs recalibration.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgUr2Atymu
Davis stood slowly, wiping his hands on his oil-streaked pants. His eyes met his father’s across the room. Dr. Fredrick Berithman stood tall.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopKzdJ5hzs
Davis hated how much he still looked up to the man. Not admired—but literally looked up. Towering intellect. Towering disappointment.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7oFe1Wtqp
“I said no,” Davis replied.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbChBiuQMFU
Dr. Berithman tilted his head slightly. “Excuse me?”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGPWBa5DdG
“You heard me. I’m not leaving my project just to help you fix your handy-dandy, super-powerful, metal slave.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFFeSAtyBa
His father laughed—cold and mechanical. “You think they’re slaves? That’s funny.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefWBsIflXo
Davis’s stomach turned, but he held his ground. “You don’t see anything beyond code and steel. You used to care what things meant, remember?”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qLDPT2Ijg
Dr. Berithman’s expression darkened. “Don't speak to me about care. I gave everything for this world. And what did I get? Rejection. Hatred. They burned my name from the walls of institutions I built.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHY5zTTIB0
He took a step forward. “I lost everything. My reputation. My family. Your mother—”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8VXDOwJMc
“Left us,” Davis interrupted. “Left me, too, in a way.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHLUYCmRBU
The air tightened.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaOvdroQya
His father didn’t respond—just stared at him with hollow eyes.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1Glw0C8Ci
“She took Darius,” Davis continued, almost spitting the name, “but left me here. And what did you do? Throw me into your lab like another screw in your machine. I was just another project to you.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjmM1koz19
“You were brilliant,” Berithman snapped. “I trained you. You should thank me.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3bP6y2s4g
“Thank you?” Davis laughed bitterly. “You made me your assistant before I could even read properly. I don’t know how to be a kid. I only know how to build.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsetHEAhWo
A silence passed between them, jagged as broken glass.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtTWKuvwwf
Then: “Why don’t you call Darius?” Davis said suddenly, too sharp. “The favorite son. The real son. You brought him back, remember?”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfCZpqklYS
Dr. Berithman’s eyes flashed. “Don’t speak of your brother like that. You have no idea what he’s been through.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBPGXpIJjw
“Oh, I have some idea,” Davis snapped. “Abusive stepdad. Neglected mom. Yeah, tragic. Doesn’t change the fact that you treat him like a prince and treat me like a wrench.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhU9dHPh7m
“He survived, Davis. He fought his way through hell. He earned my respect.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPGhsYHRsY
“And I didn’t?” Davis’s voice cracked. “I stayed here. I followed your footsteps. I built everything you asked. But he walks in from nowhere, and he’s the one that earned your respect?”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1ggm6TspQ
The tension crackled like static. Neither of them moved.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpPqbvhFdn
Then Dr. Berithman flicked his wrist—and with a loud clang, Davis’s workbench jolted sideways. His creation skidded across the table, pieces scattering.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUE42p3Ts7B
“HEY!”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTUTh19qPD
“SHUT UP!” his father roared. “I finally got my son back and you will not speak of your brother as if he knows nothing!”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfA777bASty
Davis stared at his crumpled invention. One of the limbs had snapped. The faceplate had fallen off.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKE7Pax5QXb
His hands curled into fists.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynnkCNVuiE
“Forget it,” he muttered. “I’m not helping you.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKQUcVg0BH
“Fine.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbhnYJ47WM
“I’m going out.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwkSJJStNB
“Where?”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8A79OFquji
“Friend’s house.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3mdG5sdGC
“Oh?” Dr. Berithman raised a brow. “So you’re walking off now?”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVNkRGBPtW
Davis turned toward the door. “Please, Dad, not now. My friends are coming over later.”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDuF6NrLO6
“WHAT? NO!” his father shouted, slamming his hand on the table. “They cannot come here!”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIVkfBqgtA
“I didn’t ask your permission,” Davis snapped. “I was just warning you. What? You got something to hide?”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSiAutsCYt
He reached for the door, but his father’s voice boomed one last time.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5yx0XciIy
“Fine! Just don’t go into the basement!”444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0U4ieD1zJW
Davis paused, hand on the handle. He glanced back, narrowing his eyes.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4dx152Oog
“Whatevah you say, Doc,” he mumbled, pushing the door open and stepping out.
444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFTlDHXorz
