Stanley Duncan's Robot: Genesis David III (english reading book .TXT) 📖

he lingered there next to him. When the realness of the moment became too intense, he hastened to the couch and picked up the remote. “There are plenty of nice shows to keep us entertained.”

“But I have watched them all already — watched them all.”

Shaking his head, the words chiseled at Stanley’s mind. A dire need to drown his guilt consumed him. Heading toward the liquor cabinet, he opened the door and rubbed his fingers together. This was a road he didn’t want to go back down, especially not in front of Dan. Instead, Stanley grabbed his trusty fountain pen and sat at the dining-room table to write, letting his thoughts drain out as he repeatedly signed his name, patiently and beautifully crafting each stroke. The truth of it was, he knew, the recent crimes in Marshfield were an anomaly. More people drowned in the ocean or died from eating uncooked pork. All in all, Marshfield, with the exception of a few troublesome areas, was fairly safe. Androids operated most of the stores throughout the town. They manned the fire station without any problems. But the few cases of violence had scared him terribly, especially what had happened with Boots — and that wasn’t even outside.

Stanley’s body trembled as he looked at the stack of games. There was another reason he was being so resistant. In here, things were perfect. They were best friends living a life he could only have dreamt about a year ago. But beyond those brown condo doors loomed the unforgiving world. He didn’t want Dan to see the way they treated him.

He could imagine him and Dan happily walking down the street until Dan noticed people staring at Stanley. Looking at him like he was disgusting. Saying one of those horrible stories about him. His heart sank into his stomach at the very idea of Dan hearing anything bad about him. He couldn’t bear anything happening to their relationship.

Hours drifted by, marked by a litany of signatures. Occasionally, he glanced over at Dan, who remained hunched over on the chair by the window, immobile, like a powered-down android.

Stanley wondered what he was thinking. For all he knew, Dan felt imprisoned and hated him for it. Dan had been a great companion, always doing things for him and never asking for anything. The one time that Dan had asked him for something, he denied his request, snapping at him like some spoiled child.

The drone arrived, and Stanley buzzed it in.

“What’d you get?” asked Dan.

“Oh, you know,” said Stanley. “Just a cane to help me get around.”

“With a massive battery like this? You’re making a weapon. A stun cane.”

“Better to be safe than sorry,” said Stanley, walking over to the cabinet. “Row, row, row your boat,” he said. It slid out of place, revealing a spiral staircase in what used to be a pantry. Downstairs was another whole unit turned into a lab. He’d had plans to build all sorts of creations when he’d bought the place twenty years before. That never happened.

He cut through the center of the thick cane with a laser and inserted the battery. He bore a few holes for a trigger and created a release mechanism for a small metal plate at one end. All that was left was a little programming, which he would do when he was less weary.

Stanley knew he was being selfish. There would be risk, but the chances of being involved in anything serious were virtually zero. Especially, as Dan mentioned, in broad daylight. Had Dan researched it and done the math already? What kind of a person — what kind of a father — am I?

Walking upstairs, he braced himself against the back of a chair. He gaped, unable to say anything. Instead, he looked around the room, thinking about all the things that had changed thanks to Dan.

Stanley didn’t drink or smoke anymore. He dressed better, cleaner. The clothes he wore remained the same, but now he had a reason to straighten out wrinkles, align his shirt and pants, and make sure the laundry pile didn’t grow into a mountainous heap. An army of signatures fortified the table, but where was the invading enemy? The ridges in his face screamed out as his hand slowly traversed it. An illusion, he knew. He watched Dan from the corner of his eye. That simple smile, hands folded across his lap. Dan had accepted him completely as he was. Scars, burns, odors, and complications — all of it. Stanley had nothing to hide. Dan had seen him for who he was, and that acceptance wouldn’t change regardless of how poorly anyone else treated him or what rumors he heard.

The words Stanley knew he wanted to say stuck in his throat as he stared at his motionless friend. Friend — the word came like a warm fire upon his icy thoughts. Gradually, the resistance faded. It was time to stop standing in the way of this incredible being. Sprouting from a seismic thought that threatened to shatter his heart, words trembled in Stanley’s throat and erupted in soft invisible fumes that seemed to singe his eye. “Tomorrow, we will venture beyond the complex doors.”

Dan rose, a beautiful smile stretching across his face, bringing his countenance to life like the first rays of a morning sun across a sleeping valley. “You mean it?”

Stanley nodded. “We’ll find out who is responsible for rigging that dangerous demon-cat.” And in case it was a threat intended for them, Stanley was going to be prepared. His inability to protect everyone against the demon-cat was pathetic. The least he could do was prevent it from happening again. He had completed the adjustments for Brutus’s program but delayed posting any of it. If there was any chance that this was all a coincidence, he had to wait before unleashing such a dangerous program online.

Dan pressed his pointer fingers together. “And maybe some grocery shopping?”

Looking at the eagerness in his eyes, Stanley couldn’t say “No.” But he