Fic: Changing Parameters (1b/3)
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They go straight to Dustin’s house from the airport in a car Mark rents from the airport; Chris had texted to say that he’s already at Dustin’s. Eduardo looks a little disturbed by all of Mark’s precautions, but that’s to be expected as the situation probably hasn’t really sunk in yet for him.
When they arrive, both Chris and Dustin immediately hug Eduardo, not having seen him in awhile. When he’s done, Dustin gives Mark an exuberant hug as well, while Chris pats his back and smiles.
“It’s like Harvard again, we’re all back together!” cheers Dustin.
Mark puts down his bags and heads to a couch. “No, it’s not. None of us were billionaires in Harvard, and Eduardo is here to stay safe, he’s not here for a social visit.”
It’s his way of pointing out that he and Eduardo have not resolved their differences. The message is delivered loud and clear, as Dustin’s face falls.
Chris sighs. “Way to make it awkward, Mark.”
Hovering near the doorway, Eduardo finally asks, “I’m pretty tired from the flight, but I think we need to talk about what’s going on here.”
“I agree,” Chris says firmly, corralling all of them to the seats in the living room with quick motions. “Mark didn’t tell us much before he went haring off to Singapore, and I think we need more details. To be honest, I’m not even sure I can bring myself to believe what little he has shown me.”
Mark leans back, disgruntled. “Why is it so hard to believe? You have helper and worker ‘droids who have been granted human rights, and half the children these days are practically raised by nanny ‘droids who spend more time with the kids than the parents do. Obviously, technology has made it possible for androids to be individual and capable of independent direction. Our only difference is that androids such as myself are advanced enough that we’re indistinguishable from humans unless you cut us open.”
Chris winces at the imagery, but Dustin merely shrugs and points out, “I can understand it, mentally, but it’s hard to really, really believe it, you know? All the ‘droids we know don’t look like you.”
Existing androids may be humanoid, but their faces can only convey basic expressions, mostly stiff and a little plastic. There is no mistaking an android for a human. Out of the four of them, only Dustin has a hired worker android, who comes in every morning to clean his house. Dustin swears the android is the most efficient housekeeper he has ever had, which Mark thinks should be a given.
Chris waves a hand. “Okay, let’s just concentrate on what’s important here first. Mark, you said that two other androids from your same program have disappeared. What makes you think it’s the government’s work?”
“Actually, I’ve realized that Strider Robotics could be our other suspect. There are really only two suspects based on motives. The government’s motive would be to cover up our existence, because the US is supposed to have restrictions on creating ARTHIs, and they never went public with this particular attempt. Strider might want to do the same, because a few renegade scientists running off to complete unauthorized projects could seriously undermine their reputation and threaten their other government contracts. I’d lean towards Strider now, based on how clumsily the disappearances have been executed. If it’s our government, they have virtually unlimited military resources, I would hope they could do a better job.”
It’s a new theory that occurred to him gradually while he had been explaining things to Eduardo.
Dustin squints at him. “Now I know how you go on and on like you don’t need to breathe. Because you probably don’t need to breathe, do you?”
Ignoring that comment, Chris asks, “How were their disappearances clumsy?”
Always pleased to ignore Dustin, Mark says, “Kristen vanished, leaving behind a boyfriend, a job in the police force, and a pool of blood by the road. If it was the Government, they would have concocted a reason for her disappearance so that her- the people she left behind wouldn’t be left questioning. William, who is a writer, has an entire fan base and his friends looking for him. His fans have even set up an Eyebook account to help find him.”
“What about your other cousins? Are they safe?” asks Eduardo suddenly.
“I’ve sent them all warnings, even those from the other Centres. More than half have gone into hiding. The rest are putting their affairs in order,” says Mark.
Staring at him, Eduardo asks with an undercurrent of urgency, “Why haven’t you gone into hiding as well? What are you still doing here, especially when the rumors circulating seem most likely about you, so you’re the one in most danger?”
Chris and Dustin look taken aback by this.
“I have a lot of loose ends to tie up first,” says Mark.
“What loose ends could be more important than your life?” demands Eduardo, voice pitched higher in frustration.
“This is my life. I’m more than the total sum of running processors, pumping blood and a ticking Core. All the things that I have to do are my life, and I’m not dropping it all just to keep existing.”
Mark notes distantly that Chris is murmuring, “Core? Aren’t those huge?”
“Yeah, but this- It has to be a shrunk down, advanced version of those used to power our vehicles. Coren Technologies must have had a stake in creating the ARTHIs,” whispers Dustin back, not very quietly in his excitement.
But Mark dismisses their conversation as inconsequential. He’s focused on Eduardo, and whatever Eduardo hears, it’s not what Mark is trying to say. He looks angry.
“You think Eyebook is your life, and you’re willing to sacrifice your existence for it. You’ve never been able to see that you’re more than that.”
Mark decides this is a stupid and illogical argument, based on Eduardo’s knowledge of him several years ago. Eduardo doesn’t understand him anymore, and he still isn’t taking into account the revelation that Mark is an android. Mark’s needs and purpose can’t always be understood in relation to other humans.
He snaps, “You’re judging me based on your experience with humans, but I’m not like any other human. You don’t know me enough to pass judgment.”
Eduardo’s eyes flare hot. “You’re definitely not like any other human, because you’re the asshole who was my best friend in Harvard, who pushed me out of the company I helped build. Do you really think I don’t know you well enough just because I didn’t know you were an android?”
Mark glares at him. “I think your melodramatic proclamation based on your own emotionally-clouded reasoning isn’t relevant to this discussion.”
He observes the flattened lips, dip of the eyes, calling on his database of memories to draw up comparisons, and he determines that Eduardo is hurt by his words. He knows his words are harsher than necessary, but as always, he finds it difficult to say anything to change them once they’re spoken.
“Why am I here, Mark?” Eduardo asks. “What do I have to do with all this then?”
Mark twitches, wanting a MultiPud in his hand so he can look at it and avoid Eduardo’s dark, demanding gaze. “Any close connections I have- I had, they can be used against me. I have to know where everyone is so that no one gets used as bait.”
Eduardo raises an eyebrow in that annoying way of his. “So you have close connections that you admit can be used against you, but you’re not like any other human.”
“It’s not the same,” Mark starts, before closing his mouth. He doesn’t want to go down this train of thought. “What I think doesn’t matter. What’s important is what Strider thinks.”
“Then why don’t I see Sean Parker here? Or Erica? Aren’t they your past connections?” shoots off Eduardo, displaying the quick thinking Mark used to like in him, though he doesn’t know why he ever did. It’s irritating and distracting.
It’s too good a point, and one that Mark has acknowledged for awhile. The chances of Eduardo getting embroiled in this when he has been out of Mark’s life for the past four years is less than 5%, similar to Sean and Erica’s chances of being pulled into this. But Mark registers a 5% risk of danger as unacceptably high a chance when paired up with the name Eduardo Saverin, a logic that Mark isn’t able to articulate.
Mark attempts to deflect. “I also need you here to sign the contract where I divide my Eyebook shares between the three of you.”
This is enough to break Eduardo’s line of questioning, as Mark suspected it would. “What are you talking about?”
Dustin cuts in, “Woah, Mark, has hell frozen over? You want to give up your majority control?”
Mark starts tapping his finger against the couch, giving in to the familiar motion. “Peter Thiel could be using this opportunity, the idea that I was lying about my identity, to get rid of me as CEO and majority shareholder.”
“Wow, the irony of you being kicked out is pretty strong here,” Eduardo mutters.
Dustin kicks him unsubtly in the shin, and receives a glare in return. Neither of them looks repentant.
Without expression, Mark makes a note to test for a bug his body may have picked up. It might explain the dip in his processing speed, and how his memory is constantly churning out images of times when Eduardo was happier, smiled at him more, instead of constantly using sharp, bitter words.
Chris interrupts his thoughts. “That doesn’t make sense, Mark. ARTHIs have been granted human rights for years now. They can’t kick you out of your company just because you’re one. That’s discrimination.”
Frowning, Mark tries to break down his logic that had seemed so simple and obvious just a day ago. “People are used to ARTHIs who are stiff-faced ‘droids from Japan and Germany, who usually hold regular working positions. People aren’t familiar with ARTHis as advanced as I am, and no ARTHI has ever held the position of CEO before. Thiel might take this opportunity to contest my suitability as CEO considering I’m an android, citing my past negative interaction with shareholders as a liability, and I’m not sure a court won’t side with him if it gets that far.”
“So what, you want to give up before you even go to court?” Dustin demands, lips turned down.
“I want to take the precaution to put the company in hands I trust rather than Thiel’s,” explains Mark, even though it should be obvious.
Eduardo gets up, shaking his head. “Mark, you kicked me out of the company and stripped me of most of my shares until I sued you, and now you’ve dragged me across the planet, and you want to give me part of your shares. And you want to do this without even talking to me about what happened?”
He stares, but Mark just stares back in silence. What happened in the past should be irrelevant to their discussion now. Mark wants to ensure that the three of them have equal distribution of shares, not to try to reconcile with Eduardo when he knows that’s unachievable.
When he gets no answer, Eduardo’s face smoothens into a blank, stiff mask. “I need a minute.”
He leaves the living room in a stiff-backed gait, and Mark wonders where he’s going since this is the first time he’s been here. Mark makes to get up, but Chris gestures for him to stay where he is, and goes after Eduardo instead.
For less than a second, Mark considers eavesdropping by hacking into Eduardo’s or Chris’ phone, and listening in by way of the phone’s microphone. But he decides against it because- Because.
“You didn’t settle things with him in the five hour flight over?” says Dustin, sounding resigned.
Mark catalogues his tired expression, his unusually muted voice. Every time Eduardo is brought up around them, he has noticed Dustin and Chris’ sadness. They have not been happy about the break in friendships either.
Staring back, void of expression, Mark just shrugs.
Dustin shakes his head. “I know it’s hard. I’ve apologized to him, and it took awhile for us to be friends again, but-”
Mark looks at him sharply. “You apologized to him?”
“Well, yeah. What? You think we were still friends after I just sat by while you gave him a shit contract to sign? I might not have known the details of your plan with Thiel and Parker, but I’m not so stupid that I didn’t know something was up. But I was stupid enough to think that I shouldn’t interfere and you guys would work it out before it got too bad,” says Dustin, his voice laced with bitter self-hatred that is so sharp and uncommon, Mark stares.
“I- I didn’t realize he knew.”
“I told him. I couldn’t not after I realized how far it went. When I saw Eduardo’s face at Eyebook, the day he smashed your screen, I just, what the fuck was I thinking to just say nothing, like I wouldn’t be involved if I just kept quiet. When Chris found out, fuck, he didn’t talk to me for days. I didn’t want to talk to myself for days,” says Dustin with a pained disbelief.
Mark remembers. He remembers because Dustin and Chris both hadn’t talked to him for weeks after that.
Dustin continues, “So yeah, I apologized. And it took awhile, but I think we’re okay again. I never told you because whenever I brought up Wardo, you just, you shut down, well not literally now that I know that might be an option for you, but you just become this blank-faced creepy wall, or you walk away.”
Looking away, Mark says, “It’s just easier. There’s nothing I can do to, to fix this, so what would talking about it do?”
“Aha! So you do actually want to fix this!”
Mark gives him a scathing look. “No, I like to be on non-speaking terms with someone who used to be my best friend.”
“Then you should at least try to do something about it. Especially now,” asks Dustin. “It’s going to be difficult for Wardo to go with your plans when he’s still angry with you. Hell, I don’t know if I want to go along with your mad idea either.”
“It’s a good plan. If I pass the shares over to the three of you, Thiel can’t take control from us. It’s a preemptive move,” explains Mark, not understanding why it’s so hard for them to accept it.
Dustin rubs his head. “I don’t know about this… It feels like you’re just rushing to give up. And the rumors that a CEO is an ARTHI have been going around the Silicon Valley for the past week. If Thiel really suspects you, he would have made his move already.”
Mark answers in a flat tone, “He’s making his move next week. He’s asked for a meeting with me.”
Dustin stares at him with wide eyes, mouth gaping for a few seconds. “What the fuck, Mark, and you’re only telling us now?”
Mark lets some irritation seep into his voice. “I wasn’t given the chance to mention it earlier.”
“I want to be there.”
Turning, Mark realizes that Chris must have been successful in coaxing Eduardo back. He doesn’t understand why, but his spine unbends a little, and he feels less bottled up. Chris squeezes Eduardo’s shoulder in support before perching himself on the arm of the couch. Eduardo remains standing.
“Why?” asks Mark. “We can sign all the documents today, I have them here, and I can call a couple of lawyers in as witnesses. There’s no need for you to meet Thiel.”
Eduardo shakes his head, arms loose at his sides. “I want to see Peter before we sign the contracts. I think we should talk to him first before jumping to conclusions.”
Mark tilts his head, drawing his own facts from the way Eduardo says his name. “You’ve been in contact with Thiel.”
Making a face, probably at being read so easily, Eduardo replies, “You would be surprised how many companies the man has a finger in. It’s hard to do business in our field without talking to him at all.”
“I thought you would hate him.”
Mark doesn’t understand it, because Eduardo hates Mark, it’s clear, but he’s fine with Thiel? The idea, the thought of it, jumbles Mark’s processing, throws a loop of errors consisting of ‘Why? Why? Why?’
“I don’t like him, but he and I understand each other now,” says Eduardo with a grimace. “In any case, I think I know how his mind works as a businessman. We should talk to him first. At the very least, I should be able to negotiate with him.”
Chris speaks up, “This sounds like a much more rationale option, Mark. Your splitting up your shares and distributing it to the three of us would cause so much worry amongst the people that there’s a possibility that Eyebook’s shares could suffer. I don’t know if you’ve considered the legalities of Eduardo owning more shares either, after the lawsuit.”
This is enough to have both Eduardo and Mark looking away, avoiding eye contact with one another. Mark wants to argue, is feeling conflicted even though it’s illogical, but he doesn’t want to go back to the original topic. His original linear plan has been disrupted and he’s not sure what to do now.
He just shrugs in the end, in a way that he’s been told is supremely irritating and douchey-looking. Mark doesn’t care. He gets up and heads to his office to go over the contracts. He has considered all the legalities, has spent the past week drawing up the contracts with his lawyers. There are a lot of penalties to pay, and there’s a possibility it will get challenged in a lawsuit, but it’s a solid contract that should hold up against that. He’ll feel better having his back-up ready to this nonsensical plan to go see Thiel.
# # # # # # # # # #
Eduardo had wanted to stay in a hotel during his duration here, but Mark had insisted they stay together. There had been frowns and stilted discussions, before Eduardo had finally given in to Mark’s superior logic about safety in numbers. Mark doesn’t like the idea of going back to his home when so many people know where it is, but it does have the advantage of having the highest security he can afford. Which is pretty high considering how much he can afford.
Dustin and Chris see them off with worried frowns and admonishments not to kill each other.
Mark doesn’t think this bodes well for them.
The first night passes by peacefully enough, mostly because Eduardo is still tired from the flight and goes to bed almost immediately. He doesn’t even look around the house, just goes straight to the room Mark gives him, and closes the door behind him quietly. Mark doesn’t see him until the next night, after he comes back from work at Eyebook. He needs to keep up the appearances that nothing is wrong. Working is a good distraction anyway.
When he comes home, they order Thai takeaway and sit around the living room to eat their dinner.
Mark watches Eduardo eat his noodles, observing that he looks less tired now and his shoulders aren’t rounded like he’s the living human version of Atlas, carrying the weight of heavens on his back. He wonders if no one is taking care of Eduardo in Singapore, which is hard to imagine, because people are always drawn to Eduardo. He should have plenty of friends willing to look after him. Maybe Eduardo doesn’t let them. After a few moments, he realizes that Eduardo is staring back at him.
“So do you really need to eat?” asks Eduardo, no hint of anything but curiosity in his voice.
It should feel like Eduardo is sizing him up the way people do a specimen under a microscope. But this is Eduardo. The interest in him just seems familiar, like the first time Eduardo had asked curiously, “So you like to code?”
Mark swallows the chicken he was chewing on, as if in demonstration. “Not as often as humans need to. My body still needs food to convert it into useful substances and secretions, but I have a Core battery which is boosted by solar energy.”
His pseudo-heart is one of the world’s most efficient batteries. Coren Technologies has taken over the world’s energy industry, wiping out the archaic mineral-based power sources. Before the military had pulled the plug on the project, they had sponsored the procurement of the small, but efficient Core batteries. Their Cores have a lifespan of 150 years, which is longer than some of their other parts will last.
“So you’re solar-powered as well,” states Eduardo in faint bemusement.
“I’m environmentally friendly that way,” says Mark with a shrug, earning a small smile from Eduardo.
They go back to eating their respective meals. Mark thinks that Eduardo would prefer silence, that they’ll spend the next few days without talking. But Eduardo defies expectation as always.
“Why did the US government fund that project originally?”
Eduardo is watching Mark with a deeper intensity than before, like he’s relearning this Mark but with a map of silicone and circuitry instead.
“To see if it’s possible to create the perfect spy,” Mark replies.
Eduardo’s eyes widen. “Unstoppable, super spies?”
Rolling his eyes, Mark puts his mostly finished meal down. “Don’t be ridiculous. Do I look like I’m unstoppable or super? Physically, we’re more resilient than the human body. We’re slightly stronger, more able to withstand high and low temperatures, less dependent on sleep and food. Otherwise, our bodies are designed to imitate the human body. We even have fluid similar to blood in our constructs.”
“Huh. Not that there’s anything wrong with you, but I thought the government would leap at the opportunity to create a spy superior to other humans,” points out Eduardo.
“It’ll be lamer if I get exposed as an android over a paper cut, or when I walk through the airport scanners,” says Mark, a touch condescending.
“Good point,” agrees Eduardo with a shrug. “But what would be the benefit then? It’s kind of a big and time-consuming project just to produce slightly-superior humans.”
Mark wonders if Eduardo is using the word ‘humans’ here on purpose or carelessly. He cannot make out his own thoughts on this.
He says brusquely, “Slightly-superior humans with unshakeable loyalty to the US.”
Eduardo looks disturbed. “Programmed loyalty?”
“That was the idea. A deep, abiding patriotism was supposed to be hard coded into us.”
“But that never happened. Or at least, I’ve never noticed a deep, abiding patriotism anyway.”
“Because the government pulled their funding,” explains Mark. “The programmers took that bit out in the early days, when the base code was still changeable. They saw no need to have that in place when the project was basically running on their own private funding, without the government’s knowledge. Felicity, one of the project leads, had always thought that hard coding something like ‘loyalty’ would impede the natural growth of our mi- intelligence.”
They lapse into silence for a moment. Mark idly measures Eduardo’s breathing, committing it to memory. The silence is almost familiar, similar to times when they would just sit together quietly, working on their own projects.
Eduardo finds another question, one that leads to a total change of topic. “Why did you want to go into business with me?”
Mark says without processing further. “I wanted to go into business with my best friend.”
It feels odd to say this in front of Eduardo, rather than to people he hardly knew in a deposition room.
There’s a short pause, and Mark observes the minute changes in Eduardo’s dark eyes and mouth, indicating pleasure. “How does a robot determine who’s their best friend?”
Eduardo is wearing a faint smile, to show him he isn’t serious. It’s one of the things Mark has always liked about Eduardo; his occasional strange sense of humor.
“I do...experience an approximation of human emotions,” Mark tries to explain, not doing it well. “I’m not human and I don’t have feelings like you do, but my programming was designed to mimic human thought. To me, I have nothing for personal comparison. Logically, it can’t be the same as human emotion, but I-”
Mark lapses into sudden silence because he doesn’t know where he’s taking this. It feels like he just argued himself onto the losing side, even though there should be no ‘winners’ or ‘losers’ in this benign conversation.
“It’s only logical that I would have wanted to start a business with someone I felt comfortable around,” Mark sums up clumsily.
With an edge of disbelief, Eduardo says, “Your approximation of human emotions led you to want to start a venture with an approximation of your human best friend.”
Mark frowns. “That isn’t what I said, and that doesn’t make any sense.”
“That’s because what you said was all gibberish. The point of an ARTHI is to be as close to human as possible, which involves having emotions. Why are you trying to make it all about logic again?”
Why? Mark doesn’t even know why. His initial response was truthful, but he doesn’t want to delve into the specifics because it’ll lead to more questions of ‘whys’, why did he do it then, and some things cannot be forgiven no matter how much he explains it.
“I’m just explaining what I think is true, it’s not my fault it doesn’t match your own opinion,” says Mark, sharp.
He doesn’t know what it is he sees in Eduardo’s eyes, but maybe it is something close to pity. “I think you don’t like the idea that you’re more human than you think. It would mean that you’re fallible.”
Mark doesn’t need pity. He doesn’t want it.
“I think you dislike the idea that I’m more robot than you think. Does it make you feel worse that a robot of logical thinking screwed you out of the company?” snaps Mark.
The hurt in those dark eyes is sharp, like a hand squeezing Mark’s guts of circuitry and faux blood.
“Fuck you, Mark,” grits out Eduardo, standing up and marching up the stairs, abandoning his dinner.
Eduardo has always been prone to dramatics, and that much hasn’t changed obviously. Mark is affected as well though, his body experiencing a rise in temperature and Core beat.
Mark stares at Eduardo’s unfinished food. Eduardo shouldn’t leave his food unfinished. He’s too thin as he is now.
It’s only logical that Mark regrets provoking him into abandoning his food.
Logical.
# # # # # # # # # #
The next morning, Mark decides not to go in to work. He calls in sick, lowering his voice by 200 hertz to be a more convincing act of being ill. It’s not like anyone will call him out for faking it, but he doesn’t want his personal assistant to be suspicious.
Mark makes a note to stock up on fresh food after staring at his empty fridge. He pulls out a few food bars instead, breakfast flavored. He lays down seven, ranging from bacon-flavored protein bars to strawberry-flavored mueslis.
Eduardo is rubbing his eyes as he comes down the stairs, and he visibly startles when he sees Mark there. He must have thought that Mark had gone to work, which might explain why he is in loose drawstring pants and a dark T-shirt. Mark wants to look away before he catalogues everything into his permanent memory banks, but it’s too late. He’ll forever remember the hint of hipbones as the pants slip further down, and how vulnerable Eduardo’s feet look when they’re bare against Mark’s carpeted floor.
“I don’t have much in stock, but we have food bars,” offers Mark.
Eduardo blinks. “We?”
Eduardo is either still unhappy after last night or he’s too bleary from having just woken up. Mark cannot tell which with certainty anymore. The time apart means that there are potential factors he’s no longer privy to.
“Can I suggest a truce?” says Mark, a little stiff.
“A truce?” says Eduardo.
“Repeating what I say is not going to make this a coherent conversation,” Mark says before he can stop himself. He winces. “That was rude. You’re still waking up. But I mean what I said earlier, I would like a truce. It’ll be difficult living together if we don’t…try.”
He doesn’t want to explain further. Eduardo of the old would have understood this as the only type of olive branch Mark has to offer.
And it seems Eduardo knows at least this much still, because his eyes sharpen as he shakes the sleep off and nods. “You’re right. It’s hard for me to get over some- my issues. But I’ll try while I’m here.”
If Dustin or Chris were here, they would elbow Mark, and try to get him to address those issues Eduardo is referring to. But they’re not, so they don’t get a say, even from Mark’s limited imagination.
“Alright. That’s good. Yeah,” says Mark unnecessarily before he tries to pull himself together. “You should have breakfast now, Wardo. You shouldn’t skip anymore meals, when you look like you’ve lost weight in the last few years. Based on your age, height, frame, and current estimated weight, you need to eat more.”
For some reason, Eduardo smiles a little as his gaze drops to the bars on the counter. He picks up a mandarin-orange protein bar and offers it to Mark.
“You’re one to talk about eating habits. But I suppose all those skipped meals make more sense now,” comments Eduardo with a shake of his head.
Mark takes the offered bar.
“This is my favorite,” he says, a little bit inanely he realizes in retrospect.
Eduardo seems very focused on peeling the wrapper of a hash brown bar. “I know.”
# # # # # # # # # #
Later in the day, they both log on to Eyebook, which is the first time they’ve used the site in the same room at the same time in years.
Mark browses Eyebook idly on his MultiPud, checking to see if the latest update to the site and servers has decreased the loading time required by 0.2 seconds as planned. He could log on through his own processor, but he wants to check the performance of Eyebook accessed through another device. He received a report this morning which confirms the success of the change, but he likes to see things for himself.
He looks up occasionally to see Eduardo staring blankly ahead. Eduardo must have his EyeVisuals on; a pair of contact lenses that allow the user to see Eyebook’s interface as an overlay on top of normal human vision. He can see that Eduardo has his Eyebook touch-activated, thumb flicking against the palm of his hand, where the thin silica layer acting as a control pad lies. The EyeControl molds to the palm and is powered by both body heat and the taps made on it to navigate Eyebook.
With EyeVisuals and EyeControls - better known together as EyeC, Dustin’s supposedly clever play on the words ‘I See’ - turned on, anyone can use Eyebook anywhere. Mark remembers how Felicity, his carer, had chided him that humans can’t literally connect their brains to the cyber world, and if he wants to blend in, he has to use a MultiPud instead of staring off into space when he goes online. With his creation of Eyebook, that isn’t true anymore. Almost one trillion people use Eyebook, and at some point or other, they’ll be staring off into space when they turn on their EyeC.
Mark doesn’t need to cheat and look at what Eduardo is doing on Eyebook to know that he’s bored. Unlike a large population of the world, Eduardo doesn’t usually spend much time on EyeBook. Mark knows. He used to keep track.
A chat window pops up on Mark’s MultiPud, distracting him from his thoughts.
And fuck him, if that’s not actually a good point.
“What do you do in Singapore?” asks Mark all of a sudden.
Eduardo looks up with a jolt, flicking his Eyebook off. “Sorry, what was that?”
Mark repeats his question.
“I- Aren’t you working on Eyebook now?” Eduardo asks in confusion.
“No, I was just checking to see if the loading speed has increased, and I have some projects to approve. They’re not urgent,” Mark says with a shrug.
Eduardo looks taken aback and tentatively says, “I thought you would be wired in. Like you used to be.”
Mark places his MultiPud down on the couch for want of anything better to do. “I’ve been working on Eyebook for four years now. I know what’s urgent and what can wait.”
He doesn’t say it, but he also knows what it’s like to not have Eduardo around for most of those four years. Eyebook is his proudest, most amazing creation, but the past years have shown him that there are things he’ll want in his life other than Eyebook. Things that he misses, which is something he never really thought about until Eduardo becomes one of those things.
“That’s kind of amazing to hear,” says Eduardo, wide-eyed and sincere like Mark has just achieved world peace instead of just understanding priorities better now.
Mark raises his eyebrow. “Thanks, your approval’s appreciated.”
Eduardo actually smiles at the light-hearted barb, and Mark hadn’t realized until now that Eduardo’s amused acceptance of Mark’s sarcasm can still thrill him the same way as it used to.
“Always happy to contribute,” says Eduardo with faux-gravity. “To answer your question, I actually work with companies on products that can be used with Eyebook. A little strange, I know. I also help finance new tech ventures, and provide independent consultation.”
“That makes sense. You’re good with numbers, and have enough ground experience now to put that into making a start-up work,” points out Mark.
Eduardo holds his gaze with an unreadable look. “That’s…thanks, Mark. That’s good to hear from you.”
“I didn’t always express objective compliments, because I thought that your own strengths would be obvious to you. I didn’t fully realize how different it can be for humans,” says Mark, his way of acknowledging his own shortcomings in the past.
Eduardo nods with some hesitance. “In a way, I guess you were still learning a lot about how society works back then. I didn’t know things were so different for you.”
“You couldn’t have known,” remarks Mark. “But I’m not sure it matters. I don’t think time and experience has changed me very much.”
“Isn’t the point of ARTHIs to learn and change?” asks Eduardo, smiling.
“I’ve always been the stubborn one of all the ARTHIs.”
“I’m not surprised. You know, I inadvertently got involved in the ARTHI community in Singapore,” says Eduardo, in an almost absent way. “It’s strange how almost everything comes back to-”
Mark raises his eyebrows when Eduardo cuts himself off abruptly. “Comes back to?”
Eduardo shakes his head. “Never mind. That’s not relevant. I was telling you what I did in Singapore, and one of the things I did was spend a lot of time with the ARTHI community.”
Mark frowns a little but accepts the direction change in the conversation. “How did that even start out? You never had a big interest in AIs, let alone ARTHI.”
“One of the start-ups I funded had an ARTHI working for them. Her name’s Jane, and she’s this really nice, funny girl. A little shy sometimes. Anyway, because I was new to Singapore, she offered to show me around some parts of the city. One of the things she took me to was an ARTHI society event,” Eduardo explains.
“They have events?” Mark asks, surprised.
“Well, usually they’re just gatherings where people, non-ARTHIs too, go out for dinner and chat. Singapore has a restricted quota on how many ARTHIs they allow in as residents a year, so they’re a close-knit group over there. I made a few friends from the event, and after a few months, I started helping newcomers settle in, find housing, that sort of thing.”
Mark frowns. “If this is a start to a long story on how your time with ARTHIs has given you insight to their workings, and how similar they are to humans, and how similar I am to them, and you’re going to give me a lecture on how we’re all just people, can I ask you to save your breath?”
Eduardo looks amused, lips turned up a little. “I don’t think I could ever honestly say that you’re the same as most other people, ‘droid or not.”
Mark rolls that around in his head. “Oh. Is that a compliment or an insult?”
“Take it as you will,” teases Eduardo. “But your diatribe actually has reminded me of something.”
Mark does not like this line of conversation, and it must show on his face, because Eduardo looks even more amused, that sadist.
He continues, “ARTHIs there differ from you, in many ways of course, but one of them is that they don’t really question that they can experience strong emotions. They might be less expressive about it, but they seem to accept that they’re designed to feel. Maybe it’s because you like to question things or go against the grain, but they don’t react like you do when they’re talking about their friends or loved ones. To them, they are what they are.”
Mark cuts in, “They are a construct of human-designed emotional and rational intelligence, originally created to better serve and communicate with human beings. The emotional aspect was considered necessary to empathize and work towards other individual human priorities, and the emotive aspect would allow humans to better communicate with and accept androids into their lives. We are what we are, but it doesn’t make our feelings anymore real or natural.”
Eduardo raises his hands in surrender. “I’m afraid we’re going to break our truce from earlier if we continue this conversation.”
“Then you shouldn’t have brought it up,” snaps Mark, before realizing that his words are too sharp, and ridiculous as well since he would much prefer if they moved on from this topic. He’s almost taken aback by his own vehemence about this subject he rarely talks about.
He expects Eduardo to get angry.
Instead, Eduardo just shrugs and leans back into the couch. “You’re right, I probably shouldn’t have brought it up.”
Mark looks down, considering his words before saying, “I’ll consider what you said, but I appreciate a change of topic.”
“Okay, let’s talk about what you’ve been doing instead.”
Just like that, Eduardo is giving him an out. It’s familiar, the way Eduardo accepts his non-apologies, and just moves with it. Mark forgets how easy things are with him sometimes, how well they fit together before they fell apart.
“Other than Eyebook you mean?” asks Mark, willing to go along.
“Please, I read enough about Eyebook in shareholder meetings and the news.”
“I still keep up with my fencing. I decided to pick up Mandarin the hard way, instead of just creating a language-translation software. Last year, I took up cooking, but it’s ridiculously expensive and time-consuming to do it for one person.”
“Cooking? Now this is something I’ve to see,” says Eduardo with some wonder.
“I’ll cook for you once I’ve stocked up. I make a good stirfry, I’m told.”
Eduardo smiles. “I would like that.”
Mark feels his lips turn up in familiar response. He thinks maybe they can do this after all, spend a week together like they’re close friends once more.
# # # # # # # # # #
They learn their way around each other again. Theirs is a slow and awkward orbit, drawn to circle each other, but repelled by the same force. Their chemistry and past friendship make it easy for Mark to take the next few days off, and cook for Eduardo, watch movies together, talk about current issues. But this shared history means they stumble when they meet a thorny subject, and they draw blood too easily with the unsettled friction between them.
Dustin and Chris coming over to visit make things easier and harder at the same time. It’s like they can’t resist the opportunity to be a foursome again, won’t miss out on the chance to talk as a group now that their missing number is back. By unspoken agreement, Dustin and Chris bring neither of their partners over, as if their short time now as a foursome is precious and cannot be shared. But it’s still obvious that Eduardo is not that close to them anymore, and from Dustin’s expression, this hurts him. Mark realizes, over and over again, endlessly it feels, that the disintegration of his friendship with Eduardo has made a casualty of the friendships between Dustin, Chris and Eduardo as well. Those might not be dead, but they’re limping along now, and Mark doesn’t know if they’ll ever fully recover again.
When the night before the meeting rolls up, Mark runs diagnostics to figure out why he feels simultaneously exhausted and content. He finds nothing, as he suspects he would, and he concludes that it’s due to external factors. The biggest external factor in his life right now is Eduardo. The constant edging around topics with Eduardo is grating, but at the same time, everything is just easier with Eduardo around.
It feels like it’s a trade off.
Seeing Dustin and Chris out, Eduardo turns around to face Mark. “Big day tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow will be the same sized day as today,” says Mark with a straight face.
Eduardo shakes his head forlornly. “You used to be so much funnier, Mark. All that cutting wit, fading with old age. That’s just sad.”
“At least I was funny at some point of my life,” says Mark dryly.
He records and keeps Eduardo’s laughter, to be replayed for times when Eduardo isn’t around again.
# # # # # # # # # #
“Mark? Mark, wake up?”
His eyes snap open immediately, coming out of Sleep mode.
“Wha- Wardo? Are you okay?” he asks, processing speed slow as he sits up in confusion.
“I’m fine,” Eduardo whispers from the side of his bed.
Mark looks up and realizes how close Eduardo is standing, knees brushing the bed as Eduardo bends over a little awkwardly.
“Then what’s-”
“Can I?” Eduardo cuts him off, and he’s leaning closer, too close. “Can I have this? Can we just pretend for one night, so I can have this?”
He’s still whispering, and Mark stares with wide-eyed amazement as Eduardo leans down and kisses him. It’s a tentative kiss, gentle and uncertain.
Mark groans against those soft lips and opens his mouth to them. He licks into Eduardo’s mouth, hand coming up to clamp behind that long neck.
Fuck, this is what he wants. This is what he has wanted for so long, but he’s been trying to ignore it because what’s the point in wanting what is impossible, it’s useless.
Except here, it’s possible. Here, Eduardo is straddling Mark’s legs in bed as he ducks down his ridiculously long neck to kiss Mark back with a devastating passion. They slide their tongues against each others’, hands roaming with a desperate need to feel everything right now. They’re fully clothed, though, too busy making out and groping to pull away long enough to completely strip.
It’s only a few minutes before Eduardo pushes down Mark’s sweatpants just enough to pull out his cock. It’s obscene, the way his cock is sticking up hard and leaking from the waistband of his pants. But Eduardo doesn’t care, loves it from the way he’s moaning and jerking Mark off in a tight grip. In a matter of seconds, Mark has Eduardo’s cock in hand as well. He holds the two hard erections and rubs them together. Eduardo starts shivering and moaning in this amazing, guttural voice.
“Fuck me, Mark,” demands Eduardo, and Mark can’t think anymore.
He’s too turned on to concentrate, breathing hot against Eduardo’s neck as he feels his body tighten with pleasure. Everything is a haze of moving arms and hands, gasps as Mark finds some lubrication. He doesn’t remember how, but he has Eduardo slicked up, and Eduardo is sinking down onto his erection while Mark’s sweatpants is still mostly on.
It’s amazing, it’s too amazing, how tight and hot Eduardo is around Mark, the way he’s gasping and throwing his head back. Eduardo grinds down in a sinuous, circular motion, his hips rolling with a mind-blowing sensuality. Mark swears and grips that arched waist, digging his fingers into that smooth, soft back.
“Come on, Mark, fuck me, please,” moans Eduardo.
Mark spreads his legs wider for leverage and fucks up with sharp thrusts, moving into Eduardo’s body with a claiming, desperate force. He’s driven mad by the way Eduardo bounces on his lap, by the way his lips are parted and how he pulls at his own leaking erection in time to Mark’s thrusts. His circuitry is overheating, and his whole body is winding up with an ache of an imminent explosion.
“Mark, Mark, Mark,” cries Eduardo in a desperate litany, his movements speeding up in a clear sign of his approaching orgasm.
Mark keeps thrusting savagely, rubbing a thumb across the head of Eduardo’s weeping cock. “Yeah, come on, let me see you come.”
Eduardo opens his eyes wide, staring at Mark. “We could have had this.”
The sheets beneath him are damp when Mark’s eyes snap open.
It’s silent in his room. His erection throbs in his pants, pressing up against his hand wedged between his thighs. The temperature control keeps his room cool, but he’s covered in sweat, his skin sticking to his shirt and sheets uncomfortably.
Fuck.
Mark hasn’t dreamed of this in years. The dreams had petered out after Eduardo’s long absence in his life. A few days in Eduardo’s presence are enough to reverse all that repression.
Mark buries his face in his pillow, jerking off with gritted teeth. Sometimes, the humanoid body is unacceptably inconvenient.
Eduardo won’t be here for much longer. It’s illogical to be conditioned to his presence again. The inability to tweak his own base code was clearly a big oversight on Felicity’s part.
# # # # # # # # # #
Part 2