(I tried to write a summary and failed. Just read it.)
They tell me that the Yimmin war was over a hundred years ago, but to me it felt as if I had just blinked my eyes. One moment our creators were cursing our existence, calling us monsters although they had designed our purpose, and swearing that we’ll never again move. The next moment I was opening my eyes to see the wide-eyed stare of Atticus looking back into mine.
He had found me, all by myself, stuffed into the corner of some abandoned warehouse. I don’t know what happened to my companions, maybe vandalized, stolen, or sold for scrap. Only I remained.
I am a Cold Man, a machine, made to destroy the enemies of the Yimmi. That is what I and my comrades did, up until the moment when the war was over and there was no use for us. With peace in the lands people started to fear us.
Atticus has never once feared me.
“Charles!”
I turn to greet my friend, a smile stretching my metal skin. Atticus was escorting a lady through the gardens and she picked her way daintily through the flowerbeds following Atticus as he changed course towards me. “Charles, you won’t believe what I found. Lady Gitane here…” It was at this point that he realized that he had left his companion behind. She tripped over the brick border when she tried to cross back onto a garden path, but recovered admirably. “Lady Gitane is the great-great granddaughter of Dale LeVine; Cold Man creator!”
Lady Gitane was staring at me and I self-consciously tugged my hair over the naked part of my forehead. When Atticus found me I had received some damage from rust that had corroded part of my forehead and some of the skin around the eye. There was also some damage to circuitry. Atticus proclaims that I’m a technomancy miracle. I tell him there’s nothing magical about malfunction.
“Lady Gitane was just telling me about her grandfa’s old notebooks that contain LeVine’s notes. She has graciously invited us to look at them, maybe we can finally find out what material was used to create you!”
Lady Gitane looked slightly annoyed. I’ve no doubt that the invitation was not intended for me, or anyone else other than Atticus.
“That was very gracious of Lady Gitane,” I bowed slightly, “but you must go without me, for I’ve something to be done. However, I did find that book you were looking for.” I held up the slim novel that was the purpose of me going to the gardens, “It was stuck between ‘Dragon Colic’, and ‘101 cures for boils’.
“Well, no wonder I couldn’t find it! What a strange place to put it. Thank you, Charles.” Atticus took the ‘Cold Man Compendium’ from me. I’ve no doubt that very soon I would be looking for it again, possibly between ‘How to make beets taste good’ and ‘The secret of dinner parties’. Atticus was nothing if not dependable in the losing of books.
“I say,” Lady Gitane spoke up, “I had heard that you kept a working Cold Man as a servant, but I never dreamed that it would function this well.”
“Charles isn’t a servant, he’s a friend.”
Lady Gitane waved her hand dismissing the fact. Soon after they departed for her estate in one of Atticus’ carriages.
Atticus is an attractive man, and has many women after him. The fact that I am capable of recognizing this Atticus’ attributes to my ‘miraculous’ malfunction. I never noticed things as I do now. Sometimes I curse it, for with the realization that Atticus is an attractive man also comes the realization that I want him for myself. This is the height of folly, for I know what humans do with each other when they mate and I can do not part of it. There is no purpose for a man to be with a machine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You don’t know what that machinery is capable of. You would be better of scrapping it.” I hear Lady Gitane say to my friend as I’m taking them tea. The maids are gone for the night, but Atticus loves to have a cup of tea while studying. Lady Gitane and him returned from her estate for some of the books are in engineer code, and while Atticus is a technomancer he is no where near the stage where he could decode engineer writing without his notes.
“It is a he,” Atticus sounded miffed, “and I know exactly what he is capable of.”
“Then you must agree that he must be shut down.”
“Lady, if your only purpose in talking is to tell me to murder my friend you may cease at once.” I heard rustling of papers, “Charles is his own man, and I trust him implicitly.”
“Come now, see reason-”
There was a loud slam, “Madame, you will cease, or you will be thrown out. You, and your books. The information is not worth enough to listen to you defame my friend.” Atticus’ voice was low and controlled, but I had only heard him that angry once before. It had resulted in the burning of the court house. Officially it was an accident. Technically, that’s what happens when you get a technomancer mad when there is a lot of machinery about.
Lady Gitane scoffed, “You sound as if you’re in love with that thing. Ha! They say technomancers only love their experiments. You might be the first who can rut with his.” If I could blush I am certain I would be.
“Get out! Take your books, and get out!” Atticus surprised me by shouting. A moment later Lady Gitane swished out the door to the study and down the hall. Soon she was followed by a slam as she went out the front door. I walked into the study to find my friend slumped in an armchair by the fire.
“I’ve brought your tea.”
“I don’t want it.”
I set it on the table by his chair. I am long used to his moods, and knew that he would drink it anyways.
I took the seat opposite him, settling onto the soft cushion. My senses are duller than a humans are, but I loved this chair and it’s velvety cloth covering.
True to form Atticus picked up his tea cup and sipped at it. His face was red, and his hair was mussed. “I suppose you heard the whole conversation?”
“Only past the part where she wanted me scrapped.”
Atticus snorted into his drink, “that was the whole conversation.” He sighed and laid his head back. “You must think me the most perverse person you’ve met.”
“Pardon?”
Atticus searched my face. I reached up to cover my eye again but he raised his hand to stop me. “Lady Gitane has the truth of it. I have fallen in love with you, Charles.”
I openly stared at him. His hand still rested on my wrist, but now he averted his eyes.
After a moment I said, “I can’t give you children.”
Startled Atticus looked back at me, “What?”
“The purpose of human mating is children correct? I can’t give you that.”
Atticus’ face turned red, “That’s, that’s not always the case.” He sputtered.
“I can’t give you pleasure.”
He turned even redder and hid his face with the hand that wasn’t holding my wrist, “I am aware of that.”
I slid my arm until his warm hand slid off my wrist to my own cold one. “I am not adverse to your feelings.”
Atticus stared at me, uncomprehendingly. I tugged his hand until he stood up and moved over to me. I grabbed the back of his neck and towed him down towards me. “I’m saying I love you too.”
Warm lips met my cold ones as we kissed.